For Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story star Pratik Gandhi and his wife Bhamini Oza Gandhi, who has done popular TV shows like Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha (season two), Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai, Khichdi, plays and Gujarati films, “friendship is the core thing in any relationship.”

The couple, who got married in December 2008, became friends in 2005. On Friendship Day, they speak to us about how doing plays together strengthened their friendship, why a couple should continue to remain friends after marriage and more. Excerpts from a chat:

Pratik: We met for the first time at the Prithvi Festival in 2005. I was performing and Bhamini was in the audience. She came and met the team after the performance. Being in the same profession, we would share information about auditions and we even did a few Gujarati plays, for which we rehearsed together. Theatre has played the biggest role in strengthening our friendship.

Bhamini: Kajal, a common friend, introduced us and we bonded over our common love for theatre. I got to know about Pratik’s thought process regarding acting and since we shared the same work ethics, we became very good friends.

Pratik: I came to Mumbai in 2004 and mere paas Surat wala number tha. Back then, phone calls were the only way to stay in touch with friends. After all, WhatsApp did not exist, and I had to worry about roaming charges while calling. And whenever I would call Bhamini, she rarely picked up my call!

Bhamini: (Laughs) That’s because I was also worried about roaming charges! Whenever Pratik called, I would be out of Maharashtra and I would think, “Yeh har baar galat time pe kyun phone karta hai?”

Pratik: Bhamini has always been full of life and her laughter is contagious. I am a big fan of her comic timing. Our profession is such that you need a lot of strength to survive. Aap jab bahar se Mumbai aate ho, it’s never easy and her positivity really attracted me towards her. Our friendship gave me a lot of strength during my initial days in Mumbai.

Bhamini: In Pratik, I found a new friend after a long time. What I love the most about him is the fact that he is never pretentious and once we started meeting regularly, there was no awkwardness between us. I could talk to him about anything and be myself in his presence.

Pratik: Mujhe toh first meeting ke baad hi laga tha, ki this is more than just friendship. I had a lot of female friends and colleagues, but I knew Bhamini was special. Having an engineering degree also made a huge difference. At that time, I was doing a couple of freelance projects with the National Productivity Council. As friends, if you are comfortable about having differences of opinion and despite having fights, that’s the best relationship one can have.

Bhamini: I was impressed because he was well-educated and doing good work as an engineer. I took my time before saying yes to him but the fact that I shared a great comfort level with him as a friend made that decision easier. Friendship is the core thing in any relationship and a couple can remain friends after marriage too. If there’s no friendship, there won’t be anything to talk about. I feel that even in an arranged marriage, the partners eventually become friends.