The Rangeeli actress tied the knot with Kashmiri businessman, Mohsin Akhtar
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 4, 2016)


Her apartment off Turner road in Bandra looks festive, lit up in blue, red and yellow lights. A large mandap has been erected on the terrace. On the first floor, a dozen women are walking around with face packs on. Two professional makeup men are generously applying the war paint on the ladies who are getting ready for the nikaah which will take place once the sun goes down. On the fifth floor of the building, bride Urmila Matondkar is readying herself to say "Qubool hai."

Only 24 hours ago, Mohsin Akhtar Mir, a former Kashmiri model-actor and now an embroidery designer based in Delhi, had driven to the actress's plush suburban residence. The two threw a private, rooftop party for a few close friends and family members, which went on all night. It was followed by a traditional Hindu wedding, complete with 'pheras' and a 'havan' on Thursday morning.

"The celebrations have been on since the last two days. Urmila madam has married Mohsin sir in her house. He moved in with his bags and will be living here. We have been told to inform anybody who asks that Urmila madam is out of Mumbai with her family and that another wedding is taking place in the building," one of the drivers spilled the beans.

The 35-year-old, Mr India 2007 runner-up met Urmila at an event through a mutual friend. He pursued her relentlessly till she finally gave in. "Mohsin sir has been coming here for the last two years. He has three sisters, all of whom are close friends of Urmila madam. His parents visited her last month to fix the wedding date. Mamta madam, her sister, organised the ceremony," revealed another driver, hoping to get some selfies with the bride's filmi friends. "But no celebrities have arrived since yesterday, only relatives and Manish Malhotra (designer)," he sighed.

There was a lot of commotion and the security doubled as more lights flickered to life on the terrace and a DJ began to play Hindi songs. Urmila finally made an appearance surrounded by guests dressed in anarkalis and pathanis. There was a lavish buffet laid out on the rooftop. "Everyone is having a great time except Urmila madam's dog, Max. No one took him out for a walk today," the driver sighed some more.

Urmila's publicist finally came down to inform that the newly weds were happily married and no photographers were being allowed as it is a "private affair". In an official statement, the actress, who according to the voter ID list is 45 years old, said, "We kept it an exclusive wedding with just family and friends at the celebration. Since our families wanted the wedding to be a low-key affair we mutually decided to keep it private. We seek your blessings on embarking on this new journey of our lives."

Urmila has acted in Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Marathi films in her three-decadelong career. At nine, she made her acting debuted in Shekhar Kapur's Masoom, and graduated to lead roles wiuth N Chandra's Narsimha.

Despite a Chamatkar, no real miracle happened till her startling metamorphosis in Ram Gopal Varma's Rangeela. The two went on to collaborate on Satya, Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, Kaun...? and Bhoot before they called it quits in 2007 after the ill-fated Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, a contemporary remake of Sholay.

Mohsin fled from the Valley at 21. In an interview, (Times of India, July 14, 2008) while making his Bollywood debut with Saurabh Sengupta's It's A Man's World, he revealed, "My brother and I left Kashmir because mom started looking for a girl when I turned 21. I didn't want to get married then, I wanted to be a model. So we came to Delhi. Dad thought I'd come back in 15 days, but today he's proud of us. It was a struggle initially, but things changed after the crown (The Mr India runners-up title)."

It took him 14 years to design his marital dreams with Urmila. Hai Rama, yeh kya hua!
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Actress Urmila Matondkar wed a Kashmiri businessman in a secret ceremony yesterday
MID-DAY (March 4, 2016)

In what came as a pleasant surprise, Urmila Matondkar yesterday announced her secret wedding to a Kashmiri model-businessman through a media statement. The Rangeela girl, 42, tied the knot with Mohsin Akhtar Mir in an intimate ceremony last afternoon.

Says a source, “The couple kept it simple and private. Fashion designer Manish Malhotra, who is close to Urmila, was the only Bollywood personality present at the wedding.”

On February 29, actress-producer Preity Zinta, who got married to American financial analyst Gene Goodenough in Los Angeles, had also preferred to keep the nuptials a strictly private affair.

We hear Mohsin is nearly a decade younger to Urmila and has walked the ramp for Manish Malhotra, who might have played Cupid to the couple. The young man apparently ran away from his house at the age of 21 with his brother due to parental pressure to get married. He had a bit role in Farhan Akhtar’s Luck By Chance and played a male escort in an indie film titled It’s a Man’s World. Mohsin also featured as one of the lead heroes in an obscure comedy called Mumbai Mast Kalandar, say sources.

Talking about her big day, Urmila says, “We kept it an exclusive wedding with just family and friends at the celebration. Since our families wanted the wedding to be a low-key affair, we mutually decided to keep it private. We seek your blessings on embarking this new journey of our lives.”

The actress was last seen on the big screen with Himesh Reshammiya in Karzzz (2008), a remake of 1980 hit Karz. In 2012, she did voiceover for an animated Hindi film, Delhi Safari.