Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; July 16, 2019)

Pooja Batra tied the knot with Nawab Shah on July 4 in an Arya Samaj ceremony. The couple chose to get married in Delhi in the presence of family members and close friends. For those who came in late, Pooja, who was last seen in the psychological thriller Mirror Game, was a model turned actress in the ’90s and was part of films like Virasat, Bhai and Haseena Maan Jaayegi, among others. Nawab, who was seen in TV shows like Shaktimaan and Saarrthi, also has movies like Don 2, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Dilwale and Tiger Zinda Hai in his filmography.

Pooja told BT that she agreed to make their relationship official within five months of knowing Nawab as she realised that he is the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with. When we spoke to Nawab, he echoed similar sentiments. He said, “One has to be ready to experience something like this, and I guess, Pooja and I were in that space. It was as if we were destined to be together. We didn’t want to think about it too much and delay it (marriage) any further. Both of us have gone through various phases in life and have matured over the years. When I reconnected with her, a relationship wasn’t on my mind. However, at this stage in life, you feel the void of not having a companion. Pooja entered my life like sunshine and I was sure that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. In fact, I wanted to marry her right after our first meeting.”

While Pooja feels that Nawab is more romantic, the actor fell in love with the person that she is. “Pooja is a lovely soul and a great person, and that’s important to me. Romance happens on its own and is an organic process. We are on the same wavelength and are alike. We had no doubts about the relationship or each other, which is rare in today’s day and age. We connected so beautifully, that everything came together for us,” he said.

Speaking about their hush-hush wedding, he said, “We hadn’t planned anything. We were just ready to start a life together and grow together. There was no point in wasting any time and that’s why it happened suddenly. In fact, I tell her that we have less time together as we took some time to get married. I am glad that everything fell in place.”