Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 23, 2014)

It’s official. Rani Mukerji is now Mrs Rani Chopra. The actress tied the knot with her longtime partner, Aditya Chopra, on April 21 and going by her statement, “it was a beautiful wedding in the Italian countryside with just a few of our close relatives and friends with us”.

Though it’s being made out that the wedding was a spur of the moment decision taken while on an Italian holiday, a visit to the (late) Yash Chopra’s house revealed that Aditya’s mother Pamela had left for Italy around April 10.

“Madam left with a lot of bag and baggage,” the watchman on duty told Mirror. Meanwhile, Rani’s staff at Juhu’s Theosophical Society told us that her bungalow was under renovation, possibly prepping for the newly weds.

“Shabnam Gupta is doing the interiors and our guess is that madam has been staying at Vikas Park (Aditya Chora’s residence) since the renovation began,” they informed.

Buzz is, Rani has been shopping for her trousseau for the past several weeks and picked up around 12-13 designer outfits from a Juhu boutique outside her mother’s home in Janki Kutir.

Rani and Aditya left with his brother Uday, her parents, Ram and Krishna Mukerji, brother Raja and sister-in-law Jyoti on Friday for Italy. The couple’s best friend Karan Johar flew out a day later. Rani’s bosom pal, choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant also joined the group.

Another friend of the bride (name withheld on request) revealed that she had kept the wedding a closely-guarded secret from almost everybody.

“When we asked her last week what she was getting ready for, she simply said that she was going for a holiday,” said the friend.


Uday was keen that his ladylove Nargis Fakhri be present at the shaadi. But the actress was shooting for her international film, Spy, at Budapest and couldn’t make it.

Rani’s cousin Ayan and her uncle Deb Mukerji were conspicuous by their absence. When we dropped by at Deb’s Santa Cruz home to talk about the wedding he turned cagey. “Rani and Adi have been going around since a very long time. They are very happy with each other and have now settled down. What’s there to discuss?”

Aditya Chopra was earlier married to interior decorator Payal, though they filed for divorce in 2009. Rani and Aditya’s friendship predates the event, though the couple never publicly admitted to the relationship. Perhaps because both Yash and Pam were very close to Payal and refused to acknowledge Rani as a good friend of their son.

According to the grapevine, the duo had exchanged the vows two years ago, around the time Jab Tak Hai Jaan was in finishing stages. Rani was present at Yash Chopra’s funeral and the chautha, standing by Aditya’s side.

Then, Shatrughan Sinha created a flutter in February 2013 at the unveiling of Yash Chopra’s statue when he referred to Rani Mukerji as Rani Chopra and later insisted it was not a slip of tongue.

Then, around six months ago, she started flashing a diamond ring that close friends insisted was an engagement ring.

Finally on Tuesday morning, Rani in her statement confirmed Shatru’s guess saying, “I have always believed in fairy tales and with God’s grace my life has been exactly like one, and now as I enter the most important chapter of my life—the fairy tale continues.”

And Shatrughan says that his intuition has now proved right. “I had a feeling that they would get married very soon. I was only pushing the case. Kudos to Adi. Good sense has prevailed. Rani deserved this marriage, as she has been committed to him. I hope they have a happy and peaceful married life.”

While Mahesh Bhatt who gave Rani her first chartbuster Aati Kya Khandala in Ghulam said: “Better late than never. Thank God, this love story has had a happy ending,” Pradeep Sarkar sounded a wee bit worried about the development even though he has completed his film with Rani, Mardaani.

“I don’t know if I’ll need to shoot with her for a few more days and I am yet to edit the film,” he sighed. However Sarkar need not worry. Rani’s staff told Mirror that she is expected to be back in Mumbai in the next 8 to10 days.

Rani’s Man Friday Anoss who has worked with the actress for nearly a decade, described her as a “lovely person” and said she was never tense about whether “Adi sir” would marry her or not. “She had her family’s support and trusted him implicitly. Sabar ka phal meetha hota hai,” he asserted. Aditya’s staff is in high spirits waiting for him to bring home his bride. “Hum Adi sir aur Rani madam ko welcome karne ki liye tayyar baithe hain,” they echoed exuberantly. 
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Gaurav Dubey and Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; April 23, 2014)

Speculation about Aditya Chopra and Rani Mukerji’s marriage is known to have taken up reams of paper over the years. But the couple — that has been seeing each other for more than six years — finally got married on Monday in Italy. Rani, 36, issued a statement, saying: “I would like to share the happiest day of my life with all my fans whose love and blessings have been part of my journey all these years. It was a beautiful wedding in the Italian countryside with a few close family and friends. The one person I missed terribly was Yash uncle, but I know he was there with us in spirit. His love and blessings will always be with Adi and me. I have always believed in fairytale and my life has been exactly like one. Now as I enter the most important chapter of life, the fairy tale continues.” A source points out that incidentally, birthdays of the couple, which got married on April 21, also fall on the 21st of the month. “ Rani’s birthday is March 21 while May 21 is Aditya’s birthday. Looks like the number 21 holds a special significance for them,” says the source.

Extended family left out?
What’s more interesting, however, is the fact that the lovebirds, in a bid to keep their wedding a secret, didn’t choose to invite their extended families.

Most of these relatives were clueless about their marriage and were, in fact, shocked to hear about it from others.

Neelam Mukerji, Joy Mukerji’s wife and Rani’s aunt, said, “ I didn’t know about the wedding, but I am very happy for her. When a girl gets married and starts a new life of her own, it’s reason enough for all of us to celebrate.” Subir Mukerji, Rani’s uncle, was unaware about the actress’ Italian wedding. “ I only came to know about the wedding when the media started calling me in the morning. I used to keep teasing her about her marriage and I am glad to know that she has tied the knot,” he said.

Renu Chopra, Aditya Chopra’s sister- in- law, too was in the dark about this development. “I am really happy for both of them. But I only know what you know. Of course, we knew they were going to get married but nobody knew when. Rani would keep telling us that they would marry when the time is the right. Adi has always been a private person and we respect that,” Renu said.

Another close friend of the actress reveals that Rani’s choreographer friend, Vaibhavi Merchant, was privy to this intimate ceremony. “ Vaibhavi is currently in Italy with Rani,” says the source.

Will Aditya Chopra step out in public with Rani?
The big question being asked now is whether Aditya will ever be spotted in public with his wife. Ever since his production house sent out a press release about the wedding, B- Town has been buzzing about whether anyone will be able to get hold of their wedding snapshots.

The 42- year- old filmmaker has always preferred to stay away from the media glare. Many have even jokingly asked whether he actually exists.

Unfazed by talk surrounding his need for privacy, Aditya Chopra has zealously guarded the same and stayed away from premieres, awards events and parties. A few years ago, when he was spotted outside a suburban multiplex, he ran for cover as he shied away from the paparazzi.

Over the past two decades, there have been barely four photographs of him in circulation. One apparently dates back to his 1995 film, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. The other was when a few years ago he was spotted outside a multiplex and another in January 2012 when he was snapped with his family members and Rani at Mumbai’s international airport on their return from a New Year vacation. Later that year, some snapshots were taken during a Diwali celebration at Rani’s residence.

The filmmaker has successfully kept away from prying eyes despite the age of cell phone cameras. This is a remarkable feat considering that he is a part of B-Town where every celeb movement makes news. Those around him respect his need for privacy and ensure that no information about him is leaked out. Now it remains to be seen if this scenario will change post his marriage with Rani.

(with inputs from Shaheen Parkar)