Actor-couple Aditya Seal and Anushka Ranjan are all set to walk down the aisle on November 21. The couple plans to have an intimate three-day wedding, which will include sangeet, mehndi and the wedding ceremonies. They were in a relationship for the last four years before Aditya proposed to Anushka in Paris in October 2019. In a chat with BT, they talk about what makes their bond so special and the excitement around their upcoming shaadi. Excerpts:

The Student Of The Year 2 actor initially felt that Anushka was way out of his league. He says, “We connected very well in the first meeting itself, but I was hesitant to ask her out. I felt she was too cool for me.”

Aditya says, “Gradually, I realised that Anushka is a very evolved lady and has a deeper understanding of situations and people than I do. She can get people to open up easily, and I find that ability very heartwarming.”

Talking about the phase when they were getting to know each other, Anushka shares, “Aditya and I have had different upbringings and while my family is flamboyant, his family is simple and soft-spoken. But when we started meeting regularly, he realised that we connected as people and genuinely liked each other. I have immense respect for Aditya because deep down in my heart, I realise that I have never loved so deeply.”

The couple is all set to tie the knot in a few days. Aditya says, “It feels like I will move in with my girlfriend after a few days and embark on a new adventure. We wanted to get married sooner, but we waited for the pandemic to get over. I used to live in Bandra earlier, but after my father passed away in the pandemic, I found an apartment in Anushka’s building complex, so my mother and I will be close to Anushka’s parents in Andheri.”

Anushka adds, “I have never wanted a big fat wedding. Also, I am not someone who will fuss over her lehenga or take days to decide on songs for my sangeet! I come from a family where my parents had never made it mandatory to get married at a certain age. It was all about work and doing what I like. The feeling of becoming a wife hasn’t sunk in yet, but I am happy that I will be with someone I have loved and known for a long time now and everyone around me is happy, too. That’s ideal.” Quoting a line from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Aditya says, “Pyaar dosti hai... Anushka and I have been great friends. We share almost everything, and there is a great level of communication.”

Talking about her family’s fondness for Aditya, Anushka says, “My mother (Anu Ranjan) feels that Aditya is her son and can’t stop talking about him, while my father (Shashi Ranjan) is still portraying that since he is the girl’s father, he will take longer to love the son-inlaw. It is quite a happy time when we all get together, and we can talk about anything in front of my parents or his mother.”

On a parting note, Aditya says, “This is the first good event happening in my family after I lost my father and we are looking forward to this new chapter in our lives.”

Aditya Seal is quite relieved that he has finally recovered and tested negative for COVID-19. The Student Of The Year 2 actor, who had tested positive last month, was worried about breaking the news to his mother considering his father succumbed to the virus last year. Aditya, who will next be seen in choreographer Bosco Martis’ directorial debut, Rocket Gang, talks to BT about battling the virus, how his girlfriend Anushka Ranjan helped him through the phase and his thoughts on taking the relationship to the next level. Read on…

On the night of my birthday (March 22), when I got together with a few of my friends, I started feeling a little uneasy, so I left the party early. The next day, I had a massive headache, and I got myself tested. The results were negative. A couple of days later, I got tested again after a co-actor on the sets of Rocket Gang tested positive. While the results were awaited, I began with my digital project. I was getting ready in the vanity van and was about to start the shoot when the results arrived, stating I was COVID positive. I rushed home and quarantined myself.

When I tested positive, I immediately called up my sister, as I didn’t know how to break this news to my mom. When my sister informed my mother, she panicked and was in tears. I spoke to my mother over the phone and assured her that I was feeling absolutely fine. While I was locked in one of the rooms of our house, my mom took good care of me. I felt blessed. For those 14 days, I missed being around her, so after testing negative, the first thing I did was give her a big hug.

This year, we sold off our home in Bandra and moved into a new house, which is in the same building where Anushka lives with her family. Given that my work involves a lot of travelling, I didn’t want my mom to be alone. My mom gets along with Anushka’s family, so moving to this house has worked out very well. When I was under quarantine, I was happy that my mom had Anushka and her mother around. Through my quarantine phase, Anushka and I were constantly in touch with each other through phone calls.

Anushka and I are very different from each other. She has a much stronger personality than I do. Her thought process is clearer, and she is an exceptionally good speaker. We are very different in a lot of ways, but together, we are right for each other. We met three-and-a-half years ago. I was invited to an event hosted by her family, and that’s where I met her for the first time. We clicked pretty well that day and chatted a lot, even after the event was over. Then we started hanging out together. It took a while for us to get into a relationship, but eventually, it happened.

We have a lot to do before we think about settling down. There is a lot to achieve and prove. I don’t want to get married at a time when I am not completely satisfied with where I am in terms of my career. Yes, it’s shaping up well, but if I want to enter that phase of my life, I would want to do it when I am more comfortable than rush into it.

Actor Aditya Seal’s father, producer Ravi Seal, succumbed to Coronavirus in Mumbai on Friday, after a brief spell of hospitalisation. A few months ago, Aditya (known for his turn in Student Of The Year 2) had posted a heartfelt note for his dad on his social media account, celebrating Father’s Day. Ravi Seal, who had produced and acted in a Garhwali film years ago, played a significant role in his son’s professional and personal journey. Aditya was looking forward to a couple of his projects and had been completing professional commitments over the last few days, while keeping a tab on his father’s health.

Confirming the news, one of Aditya’s friends said, “Ravi uncle tested COVID-19 positive on September 6, and was admitted to a nursing home on September 8. After that, he was moved to a medical facility, specially meant for COVID-19 treatment, in Andheri. However, he passed away on Friday morning, which has left the entire family devastated. Aditya completed all the formalities, and is home with the rest of his family, looking after everyone.”

Kiara Advani goes berserk with a dating app in her upcoming film
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 15, 2020)

2019 was a career-defining year for Kiara Advani with Kabir Singh and Good Newwz. The actress had hoped to keep the momentum going with four releases this year, till the Coronavirus-triggered pandemic played spoilsport. Now, finally, Indoo Ki Jawani, a-coming-of-age story of a free-spirited, small town girl from Ghaziabad, is gearing up for release over the next couple of months and Kiara is smiling again. “None of us had imagined that our lives would pause like this. Last year, I was showered with so much love and support that multiplied with every release. I’m excited to reach out to the audience who have been so positive amidst the pandemic and bring joy in these gloomy times,” she exults.

Nikkhil Advani, who is producing the film with Bhushan Kumar and Ryan Stephen, describes it as a comedy, but is quick to add that it’s also a story of heartbreaks. “It’s because Indoo has broken up with her boyfriend that she decides to experiment with a dating app and brings chaos into her housing colony as she randomly swipes on it,” he explains.

For Kiara, her screen avatar and the essence of the film is encapsulated in the song “Hasina Pagal Deewani”. “Indoo is every young Indian girl… Endearing and lovable, quirky, feisty and spunky, all at the same time,” she states.

The Mika-Asses Kaur song is picturised on a heartbroken and sozzled Indoo, who creates a tamasha at a wedding in her own colony in the presence of her shocked parents and neighbours. “It is a fun song, composed by Mika, and also features Aditya Seal. Watch out for Kiara and Aditya, they are a riot together,” Bhushan promises. The film marks the Bollywood directorial debut of Bengali writer-filmmaker, Abir Sengupta.

Ask Nikkhil about the film’s release plan and he keeps it short, “We are committed to making films for the big screen.”

MUMBAI MIRROR (March 18, 2020)

After a song for the horror-comedy Laxmmi Bomb with Akshay Kumar in Dubai and another with rumoured beau Sidharth Malhotra for Shershaah in Lonavala in January, Kiara Advani was spotted getting groovy with Aditya Seal last week at Mumbai’s Film City studio. Enquiries revealed that the duo was shooting a fun track for director Abir Sengupta’s Indoo Ki Jawani over a two-day schedule. The shoot began early and continued till 9 pm.

The actors were dressed in representative costumes from films down the decades. While the production crew remained tight-lipped on the subject, the shikara on the lake and Kiara dressed as a Kashmiri girl brought back memories of the swinging ’60s and Shammi Kapoor crooning “Yeh Chand Sa Roshan Chehra” to Kashmir Ki Kali Sharmila Tagore.

Cut to the seductive ’80s and a sizzling-in-gold Kiara was reminiscent of Parveen Babi as the night club crooner of Namak Halaal, luring Shashi Kapoor towards his doom with the husky notes of, “Jawaani Jaaneman, Haseen Dilruba.”

Skip 10 years to the naughty ’90s, and the actress’s mini dress, cap and boots was a shout out to a red-hot Urmila Matondkar in RGV’s Rangeela, with Aditya doing a Munna in sunshine yellow pants and a black fishnet vest. “While their looks are inspired from earlier films, the song is an original,” informs a source.

The Bhushan Kumar, Nikkhil Advani, Niranjan Iyenger and Ryan Stephen production revolves around Indoo’s tryst with online dating after a break-up and how things unfold when she swipes-right on Aditya’s character.

Bosco Martis says Aditya Seal, frontman of his directorial debut, is a skilled actor and dancer
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; September 26, 2019)

Having announced his decision to hop aboard the bandwagon of choreographers dabbling in direction, Bosco Martis — of Bosco-Caesar fame — had discussed his upcoming dance movie, a horror-comedy fest.

Talking about roping in leading man Aditya Seal, Martis tells mid-day, "Aditya is a multi-talented artiste, who is a skilled dancer, actor and action performer. His potential has not been fully tapped into yet. He fits the protagonist's shoes perfectly, and his personality will blend well with that of this character. We are finalising the screenplay and should start the pre-production work by October. We plan to roll by February 2020."

Akin to Remo D'Souza, who had roped in reality show participants for his dance-based film, Any Body Can Dance (2013), Martis too plans to employ participants of Dance India Dance, the reality show that sees him as a mentor.

"We are in the final leg of the show, and the winner will definitely feature in the film. Apart from that, I am looking to rope in a few other contestants as well; those whose skills have impressed us." Shariq Patel, CEO of Zee Studios, which will produce the 3D film, says, "The film is especially targeted at kids, pre-teens and teens."