He’s ready on time; she takes a teensy bit longer. As we enter the sprawling Mumbai house of actor couple Farhan Akhtar and Shibani Dandekar-Akhtar, we are greeted by Tyson and Jimmy, who take their time to warm up to us, unlike their parents. This is the Akhtars’ first Christmas as husband and wife. As they are months away from their first wedding anniversary (Feb 21), we talk to them about their rollicking relationship over a hot cuppa, besides their Xmas tree and their fur babies. Excerpts:

Farhan: We will go for lunch at Shibani’s sister’s (Anusha Dandekar, VJ-host) house, and then for lunch (again) at my mum and sister’s (Honey Irani, screenwriter, and Zoya Akhtar, filmmaker).

Farhan: I met Shibani on a show I was hosting, and she was a contestant. It was a very formal introduction. But we sporadically stayed in touch on social media. This was in 2015. It took us a while to get to know each other.

Shibani: We are different in terms of our personalities, but over time, we discovered we had so much in common. We are both homebodies, love to go to the gym, love the arts. We express [ourselves] differently.

Shibani: With the way our relationship happened, there was never any ‘Let’s date and see where this is going’. From maybe the third-fourth date, it felt permanent. When he asked me for marriage, I was pleasantly taken aback.

Farhan: I don’t, actually.

Shibani: Are you saying I am perfect?

Farhan: Let’s not push it that far! (laughs). She is perfect for me, to me, as she is.

Shibani: There is one thing. I know he’s an actor, director, writer and singer, but he cannot multi-task. On the flip side, he has the ability to focus on something and block out the entire world. I can’t do that. It’s the reason that makes him, well, him!

Farhan: So, basically, there’s nothing you’d want to change!