Aayush Sharma, 24, and Arpita Khan, 26, may come from different backgrounds, but both belong to families that are affluent and well known. While Arpita is more emotional, sensitive, straightforward and outgoing, Aayush is more reserved and diplomatic and while both have strong likes and dislikes and are strong-headed and opinionated, Arpita is more forgiving than he is. Both think that they are difficult to live with and emotionally dominating, but they are finally best buddies who give into each other. While Arpita makes the choice on holidays and food, Aayush gets to decide on the movies they watch. They feel blessed with all the love and attention they got during their wedding and are currently enjoying their honeymoon period. They have travelled to London, New York, Dubai and now Maldives, but their most special outing remains with Salman Khan in Mandawa, where they spent a week with him. While much is known about Arpita due to her superstar brother Salman Khan, not much is known about the reserved boy Aayush, who is equally affluent as her and comes from Mandi's first political family. We bring you excerpts from their first ever interview post marriage.

CONVERSATION WITH ARPITA KHAN SHARMA:

What made you cry at your wed ding during your speech?
For me, it was very emotional obviously. I was moving into another family, but at the same time, my family is my family. When I saw my brothers and my father crying all around me, then there was nothing that I could do. While I could see them all crying, everybody was looking down as no one wanted to have eye contact with anyone else. I didn't want to cry, which is why I didn't do a bidai ceremony, but kept it to a modern wedding.

How does it now feel to manage your own house?
Not very stressful as I used to manage my mother's house for the longest time. Today, my mother manages more or less my house, so, there is a lot of give and take between us and there is no your house or my house. I have a great back-up system so I have nothing to worry about.

Any memories from the marriage?
During my wedding from the pheras to the party, we had another venue, but it started raining. Everyone said it was auspicious, though at that time it didn't seem very auspicious for me as my whole venue had to change. But it was with all the blessings we got.

When did you and Aayush meet?
We met through a common friend and then lost touch in the middle and then again met about two years ago and then started dating.

What do you like the most about him?
He is a very chilled out and sorted person and just lets me be who I am. He is simple to be with. I am a very difficult person to be with as I am not a normal conventional person. I am very strict and stuck to my ways. I am very family-oriented and for me, it is important that everybody has to respect my family.

Who is your biggest support?
My dad is my backbone, Salman bhai's the person who makes me believe that I can walk over this world and nothing can happen to me. Sohail bhai is my protector and my friendly brother. My mum, who has gone through too much, but who always smiled for us to go through anything. And Aayush, the person who has taken on this kind of pressure in marrying me. It's not easy to marry someone who comes from this family.

Were you both overwhelmed with all the attention and love you got during your wedding?
It was quite shocking and overwhelming and you didn't know whether it was intrusive or nice. We belong to a society where a section of people are our well wishers and there is a bunch that is jealous. We also are human beings who feel hurt when people say nasty things on social media. They are comments not called for and I wish people just live and let live and don't keep judging you. My family being filmi are more well known and have a larger than-life image, but without knowing about the other person's background, don't say nasty things. They would say things like, 'Oh, he is married to her because of this or that.' How do you know? May be I have married him for another reason? I don't approve of it and find it disgusting and hurting that you take a dig at somebody, not knowing where they come from. You put up a picture of a holiday and someone says, 'Oh, you are living off her.' That's so regressive and uncool. They forget that he comes from an affluent family, just that they are in politics and not in films. If pictures of where we are travelling, what jewellery we have, what cars is bothering you, don't look at us or follow us, but why comment? Don't look at our blessings as something wrong. They will ask Aayush on Twitter how much money he makes. Well, he is not going to file his income tax returns on Instagram, right?

Why do you follow people to discredit the relationship and abuse and assume that we are so stupid that we have allowed us to make such an ass out of us. I follow Beyonce and am really fond of her and one day I noticed that she too gets bad comments and that made me feel good. Coming from where she does, given that she has achieved so much, there were people who were nobodies still finding fault in her. It's really not needed.

Since Aayush is still training for his Bollywood debut, who runs your house financially?
My father-in-law supports us and he has given us a budget to run our house in. It is so sweet of him to support us and for even having allowed Aayush to have got married at 24 despite him not being settled yet. We have had everything easy on a platter, but he wants Aayush to make it big in his life and not become complacent, so, he has put some restrictions on us. Again, I am very spoilt and have been brought up a certain way and if I don't think it is right to ask my husband for something, I can get it from own money or can get it from Salman bhai. Aayush and me don't look at things as his or mine. It's ours.


CONVERSATION WITH AAYUSH SHARMA:

Talk about your political background.
My grandfather Pandit Sukh Ram was a veteran in Congress and represented Himachal Pradesh from a time when it was not even an influential state. The people of Mandi have loved us so much that past 50 years, we have never lost an election there. My grandfather was the man who got cellphones to India. My father Anil Sharma too is a politician and is currently the Cabinet Minister in Himachal Pradesh for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Animal Husbandry. Our family conversations have always been about politics. I have grown up with dos and dont's in public and how to behave in your constituency. We have always been taught that in politics there are no friends and so my family is very reserved. They may not interact with media as much, but they are very conscious of what people think of them. It's easier for me to walk in Mumbai as no one knows me here, but in Mandi, they all know us.

What made you choose Bollywood over politics?
I have always felt that politics is a thankless job. I won't say that I will never join politics, but not for now at least. When I first told my parents that I wanted to become an actor, they did not take me seriously. They felt it was just a phase that would pass. But then after completing my Class XII from DPS RK Puram in Delhi, I moved to Mumbai alone to do my graduation at Jai Hind and had decided that I wanted to become an actor. I wanted to move out at a certain age to learn and handle things myself. And while my parents knew that it would be much easier for me to join politics over wanting to become an actor as no one from my family had done that, they were always supportive towards me. My father doesn't say much, but he has always been there for me. He has never discredited me for choosing this profession or put a time frame for me to be successful. He always says, 'Take your time and learn whatever you can.' He has not made me very comfortable as he does not want me to become complacent, but is still my biggest security.

How different is Bollywood from politics?
People are always judging in both as both are public personalities. They both have power, name, fame and people's admiration and responsibility towards society. The difference is that while in films, you can have friends, in politics, there are no friends.

What do you like the most about Arpita?
She has her opinions and is strong-headed and is not a typical Indian girl and that is good for me. She knows so much about the world and she is my backbone. I love that she is crazy and is more like a guy. She is very caring and that is something she shares with Salman bhai. She is fine and likes to pretend that she is difficult, which she is not. She is selfless and that is very important as I am very selfish. I am a very difficult person to be with. I am very impatient. If I want to do something, I want to do it. I tend to get bratty with her as she pampers me. I was leading a complete bachelor's life before her, where nothing was organised. I can't talk to my father about movies, but with Arpita I can talk about anything. We love each other because we are friends. I sometimes even call her bro. It's like sitting with a guy friend and not being judged. She is also very overtly-protective about me.

Do you have a favourite member in her family?
I have a different equation with each of them, but I have spent a lot of time with Sohail bhai as we used to go to the same gym and I have known him even before I knew Arpita.

Any special memory for you from your wedding celebrations?
What was most special was when they finally announced that she was officially Mrs Sharma

Shah Rukh Khan stole the lime light at Salman Khan's sister Arpita's wedding reception last Friday. The actor couldn't make it to the November 18 wedding in Hyderabad, but he made his presence felt at the Mumbai five-star hotel. He arrived at 2 am and immediately dragged the bride to the dance floor. Her husband Aayush joined them and then the couple moved away. But SRK danced non-stop for over an hour, much to the excitement of the DJ who played everything from Baazigar's Kali kali aankhen and Chennai Express's Lungi Dance to Happy New Year's Indiaawale. The other guests were left speechless by this spontaneous performance with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai's Mujko kya hua hai getting the loudest cheers and even getting some oldies to the dance floor.

Hrithik arrived a few minutes before Shah Rukh, but didn't dance for too long even though he was greeted by his Bang Bang title track. After that, his other chartbusters, including Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara's Senorita, played on a loop.

Ajay Devgn was in no mood to display his Elvis keeda. He headed straight to the bar and then the smoking zone. However, his Action Jackson co-star Sonakshi Sinha shook a leg, but dad Shatrughan Sinha retired to a corner to pow-wow with the bride's father Salim Khan. They were joined by Asha Parekh and Waheeda Rehman, the latter having lots to say to Helen too. Salman's Partner, Govinda, was at his chirpy best. He had a long conversation with director friend David Dhawan, thereby putting an end to speculation about differences between the two.

Seeing SRK bristling with such energy, Arbaaz and Sohail joined the dance floor, followed by Pulkit Samrat (with wife and Salman's rakhi sister Shweta) and Dolly Ki Doli director Abhishek Dogra. And, Rajkummar Rao and his girlfriend Patralekha did not lag behind either. Dia Mirza made an appearance with hubby Sahil Sangha. The recently wed couple looked like a poster for a happy marriage.

Having let his hair down, Shah Rukh stopped for a sip of water. But Huma Qureshi and brother Saqib dragged him back to the floor. And it was Kali kali aankhen again. The party wound up at around 6 am. Everyone was in high spirits, Zayed Khan a bit more than others.

My respect for Salim Khan sahably goes up every time I meet him. He is a great head of the family. He is not only an extremely responsible man, who loves all his children equally, but he knows how to keep them grounded, has taught them humanity and above all, knows how to keep them together as a family. Such is the goodwill and the love he and his family have within the film fraternity that almost every film person, who was in town, turned up to give Arpita and Aayush their blessings at their reception held at a Bandra five star hotel on November 21. Excerpts from a conversation with Salim sahab on her reception night:

Salim sahab, Arpita was your youngest child who lived with you. Your feelings after her getting married?
It feels like a vacuum. Kya aap kabhi bhi apni sabse chhoti ungli ki tareef karte ho kisi se? (Do you ever praise your smallest finger to anyone?) Do you ever thank God for giving your smallest finger? No. We don't even pay attention to it. But for some reason, due to an accident or otherwise, if God took away that finger of yours, you realise its value and utility. It's only when it is not there that you realise that you needed that finger in every work of your life. But it's a catch-22 situation. You feel the pain when your daughter is getting married as you want her to be with you forever, but at the same time, you also want her to get married, have her own family and kids.

Did you cry on her bidaai?
When you bring up a child, especially a daughter, for so many years and when she leaves your house, you feel so emotional that it is natural for you to start crying. The same thing happened to me when Alvira had got married. It had to happen with Arpita too.

Your feelings for her at this point?
You feel anxiety. You wonder how she will manage her house, she has to prove herself as a good wife. I also know that she is on her own and will have her own experiences and challenges. She also saw her father's marriage that stayed for 50 years and she would be thinking of how she too, can keep her marriage for 50 years. But I have met her in-laws and woh achche and simple log hain. She is blessed to have them.

Your advice to Arpita?
Love and respect your in-laws as much as you have loved and respected your own family and parents. There should not be any distinction in that.

Did Mr Narendra Modi accept your invitation to attend Arpita's wedding and reception?
I know Mr Modi much before he became the Prime Minister and we have a lot of respect for each other. Salman had gone to personally invite him and I had also spoken to him to invite him. Woh mera farz hai. He had said that he would try his best. But I know that he has just taken the responsibility of the country in his hands and there is a lot that he needs to attend to. He returned from Australia only on November 20 and the function was on November 21, so he must have had so much to attend to. But it is my duty and my farz to invite him for all our family functions and I will always do.

The young bride wrote down a little speech for her family and wanted to go up on stage and read it out to them. But she got so emotional that she started to choke. She went up to Priyanka Chopra and requested her to read it on her behalf. PC then came up on stage and told the guests, Arpita is afraid she might 'break down, so I am going to read out what she has to say...' “I am the luckiest girl to be brought up in a family like mine,“ Arpita wrote in her speech, adding that her brothers are her pillars of strength. “Sohail bhai and I shared the same room until he got married - he's like a friend to me. Arbaaz bhai is like my guide, he always told me what's good and what's bad. Salman bhai though, has the biggest heart. For him, I can do no wrong. Everything I did, he was there to support me.“

Arpita also said she considers herself lucky to have a father like Salim, and mothers like Salma and Helen
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SALMAN KHAN CALLS 'KATRINA KAPOOR' ON STAGE

Sources say that Ranbir Kapoor and his parents Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh were not on Arpita Khan's wedding invitation list. However, Ranbir's sister Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, who resides in New Delhi, was invited to the wedding ceremony in Hyderabad yesterday and the reception in Mumbai on November 21. Riddhima confirmed that she has received the invitation. She also said she was unable to attend both the Hyderabad and Mumbai functions because of her daughter's school schedule.





The stage is set for Salman Khan's sister, Arpita's wedding in Hyderabad on November 18 and 19. The Faluknama Palace has been booked from November 13 to 22, reportedly at the cost of Rs 1 crore per day.

The formal luncheons for the guests will be held at the historic '101 Dining Hall'. Event managers and decorators are being flown down from Mumbai to take care of the decorations. Chefs are also coming down with the family, who arrive on November 17, followed by the guests the next day.

The bride and groom will ride a chariot escorted by 50 soldiers and beating drums. The guests will be taken on horses to the palace from the approach road, where they will have to leave their private vehicles. According to sources, 600 bouncers had been hired to control mobs.

A huge stage has been erected at the palace and Arpita's brothers, Salman, Arbaaz, Sohail, along with filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala, will put up a show on November 18, the wedding day.

Mirror has learnt that Salman will do his iconic towel dance from Mujhse Shaadi Karoge's, Jeene ke hain chaar din while Arbaaz will swing to Udd udd Dabangg and Sohail will match steps to the Jai Ho title track. The surprise is Sajid's choice of tapori number from his film, Judwaa, Chalti Hai Kya Nau Se Barah.

According to a source, the four have been rehearsing at the Khan residence, Galaxy Apartments, since Thursday. And they are all in high spirits! --With inputs by P Pawan