Ghajini actress Asin took to social media yesterday to dismiss rumours of trouble in her marriage. The speculations began after the actress, who had tied the knot with Rahul Sharma in 2016, deleted their pictures from her Instagram page.

Issuing a clarification, she said, “In the middle of our summer holiday right now, literally sitting across each other enjoying our breakfast and came across some very imaginative and utterly baseless ‘NEWS’. Reminds of the time we were sitting at home together with our families planning our wedding and we heard that we had broken up. Seriously?! Please do better. (Disappointed to have wasted 5 mins of an otherwise wonderful holiday on this!) Have a great day you guys (sic).”

While it is unclear why Asin deleted her pictures with Rahul, she has denied any hiccup in her marriage. The couple has a five-year-old daughter Arin.

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Actor Asin Thottumkal has shut down reports that suggested all is not well between her and husband, businessman Rahul Sharma. The speculations regarding their separation first sparked when the actor’s deleted Instagram posts featuring her husband caught the attention of social media users.

Taking to Instagram Story, the Ghajini (2008) actor revealed the couple was on a “wonderful holiday” when they came across this “imaginative and utterly baseless ‘news’”. Debunking the rumours further, a source close to the pair tells us, “They are one of the happiest couples we know. Rahul is a doting husband and father and absolutely adores Asin... They are very low profile and keep away from social media for this reason. It’s ridiculous to see this written about them.”

The source also clarifies that the actor had “cleared up old photos from her feed” back in January or February. “After that, she posted Rahul’s photos on her [Insta] Stories on Easter and other occasions. Whoever wrote this story conveniently forgot to notice these,” adds the source.

Asin and Rahul tied the knot in January 2016 and welcomed their daughter, Arin, in October 2017.

After a quiet Christian wedding with some live music and a choir on Tuesday morning, Asin and Rahul Sharma tied the knot in a North Indian style ceremony in the evening. Asin wore a lehenga for the traditional Hindu ceremony while Rahul opted for a sherwani. Preparations for the Hindu wedding started soon after lunch, and seven priests arrived at the venue to set up the mandap at around 2pm. “The wedding rituals will wrap up by early evening. There will be a baaraat, varmala and pheras,“ said one of the priests.

NO NAACH-GAANA?
A group of dholwallahs from Shadipur did reach the venue, but there wasn't too much naachgaana during the wedding. “The dholwallahs were there for only a little while and there wasn't as much naach-gaana as one would see in other Delhi weddings. It was a simple affair,“ a source at the wedding told us.

A SHORT GUEST LIST
While around 100 guests attended the Christian wedding in the morning, the evening guest list had over 150-200 names on it. Akshay Kumar, who was the best man for the Christian wedding, returned around 8pm to attend the dinner after the Hindu wedding. “There were some Delhi-based guests attending the dinner from Rahul's side. After all the rituals were completed, a dinner was organised and the couple met their guests,“ said a source.

Asin's wedding to Rahul Sharma on Tuesday morning was a well-guarded affair, strictly attended by family members and close friends of the couple. Akshay Kumar, the best man at the ceremony, was among the guests who arrived well on time. The couple tied the knot as per Christian rituals. The ceremony started at around 11.30 am. As per sources, around 100 guests attended the event and stayed for a special lunch with the couple. A staff member and security official of the hotel where the wedding took place told us, “We are booked for a private function and entry of any other guest is not allowed. The hotel is closed for two days for other guests.“

Bollywood actress Asin is all set to tie the knot with Delhi-based entrepreneur Rahul Sharma in the capital on January 20. Sources, who are involved with the preparations, informed us that the wedding celebrations will take place at a hotel on NH8 on January 19 and 20. Arrangements are in progress for over 100 guests, who will participate in the two-day event. “It will be a private ceremony with only family members and close friends attending it. The mehendi function will be held on January 19. The nuptials will take place as per Hindu as well as Christian rituals. Both Asin and Rahul want a simple wedding and mostly vegetarian food will be served to the guests. On January 20, there is a formal wedding ceremony and a party has been organised for over 250 guests, including Rahul's Delhi-based friends,“ says the source.

This will be followed by a reception in Mumbai on January 23, invites for which have been already sent out. “The Mumbai reception is especially for the couple's Bollywood friends. Only a few people from the Hindi film industry are on the guest list for the functions in Delhi,“ adds the source.

Akshay Kumar was the first person from Bollywood to receive Asin's wedding invite. He tweeted on Sunday, “Happy to receive the 1st wedding card of 2 of my close friends, Rahul & Asin. Wishing you both happiness always (sic).“

Asin is engaged to be married to Delhi based entrepreneur Rahul Sharma. In fact, the two of them are currently on a birthday break. Yes, the actress turns a year older today and her beau has flown her to an unknown destination to ring in the celebrations. However, the one thing that Asin categorically denies is that she is marrying on November 26 in the capital. She says, “It's really funny to see all these false dates about my wedding being thrown about. I am completing my assignments and contracts till the end of this year and post that only will there be a wedding. So, please wait for an announcement from me.“

Guess we will wait for the official announcement from the bride and groom.

Asin and Delhi based entrepreneur Rahul Sharma's wedding will take place on November 26 at a hotel on NH8 in Delhi, a source tells us. The wedding will be a “private and closely guarded“ affair with only the couple's close friends and family. The couple will also host a reception on November 27 at a private farmhouse at West End Greens, the place where Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput also got married. The celebrations will continue in Mumbai as Asin is expected to host a reception in the city on either November 28 or 29 (date not finalised yet). Preparations for the wedding have already started with the couple's active participation.

Asin is on cloud nine. Her businessman beau Rahul Sharma apparently has a birthday surprise in store for her. The actress turns a year older on October 26 and her fiancé will reportedly whisk her off to an unknown destination to ring in her special day. An insider said, “Rahul has it all planned. However, Asin has been kept in the dark because he wants the birthday break to be a big surprise for her.“

Meanwhile, Mallika Sherawat will reportedly ring in her birthday on October 24 in Paris this year. Once again sources inform that Mallika's French boyfriend is planning a big bash for the Bollywood actress in the French capital.

We were the first to tell you about Asin's plans to marry businessman Rahul Sharma. We have now exclusively learnt of the details of the ring that Rahul presented Asin with, when he proposed to her for the first time about a year ago. While Rahul and Asin have yet not been engaged in a formal family way, Rahul decided to surprise her a year ago when he went down on his knees much like the Westerners do and proposed to his lady love. He made this even more special by gifting her with a 20 carat solitaire (specially imported from Belgium), that he personally got designed from one of their common designer friends. As per our confirmed source, the ring is currently valued at Rs 6 crore. It has a monogram of the couple 'AR' (A for Asin and R for Rahul) under the diamond and the band of the ring, that is also made of diamonds, carries a personal message from Rahul to Asin engraved on it. Both families of Rahul and Asin have been waiting for Asin's professional commitments to get over and now that they are over, the formal celebrations are expected to soon begin.

Asin, 29, is marrying Rahul Sharma, 36, a Delhi based first generation entrepreneur, who is six feet two inches in height, has done an engineering and then been to Harvard. He has two older sisters who are both married and his parents, who retired as principals of schools, were both teachers and now live with him in Delhi. Asin is a selfmade girl and always wanted to marry a man who was, too. Rahul is down-to-earth, principled and correct and unlike Asin who likes to take her time before coming to a decision, he is instinctive and a quick decision maker. ASIN OPENS UP FOR THE FIRST TIME ABOUT HIM. EXCERPTS:

All Is Well took over two years to make. Did that delay your plans of marriage?
Honestly, at the beginning of 2012, I had three films in hand - Bol Bachchan, Housefull 2 and Khiladi 786 - but it wasn't exciting me so much as an actress, so I had decided to not act any more after finishing these three. I had several self imposed restrictions, for instance I don't do bikini scenes, don't wear skimpy clothes, don't do physical intimacy onscreen. I come from the Southern most part of India and had worked in the South and then made the shift to Mumbai. I had no grandfather, Godfather or even a satellite connection with the film industry. I didn't even have a star boyfriend to keep me in the news. And therefore honestly, it's quite miraculous I have done the films that I did. I have always said that I came into this field not because I needed the money and nor did I chase fame that was a bonus. What I liked was acting and working in films. After Khiladi 786, I was on a break when Umesh Shukla wanted to come and narrate All Is Well to me. I could not say a no to him as he had made one of my favourite films OMG Oh My God and I was keen to meet the maker of it. So we met. I had done 24 films till then and everyone felt that I should do 25 films before I took a break. I asked Umesh, 'What kind of a film would you like to make?' And he said, 'I would like to make entertaining films that makes sense to people. People say leave your brains behind and see the film. But why leave your brains at home? It's an organ that is a part of your body, please bring it with you when you come for the film.' I liked that. All Is Well was a simple family film talking about relationships, giving a sweet message. It didn't involve me to shake my booty and Bhushan Kumar called me to tell me that the film would be completed in 45 days flat. I said to myself, 'Wah it's a quickie!' And I said a yes. But it turned out to be the longest quickie of my career as it took more than two years to finish it.

Talking about your marriage, when will you be getting married to Rahul Sharma?
Rahul and I have been together for almost four years. I will get married by the end of the year.

How did you meet Rahul?
My story is eerily similar to the story of my film Ghajini. Just like my character Sanjana in the film faffs and makes up the story of being linked to Sanjay Singhania, that I met him first at the Mumbai airport, and that he said a hi and I said hi and how he came and sat next to me and then said I love you. My story is eerily similar to that. Rahul and I first met at the private airport of Mumbai as I was going to another country for work with Akshay Kumar for the promotions of Housefull 2. Now, I have just walked in and Akshay takes these early morning flights. So there was Akshay, me and this person who was just a stranger not connected to the film. So I wished everybody good morning and then there is this guy standing next to Akshay who he introduced me to as his friend Rahul. We exchanged 'hi's and went into the flight. All big stars have their friends accompanying them, so I assumed he was that friend. Eventually, as the day unfolded, during the day I have realised who he was. I realised that it was actually, his flight, his tournament we were going for, he was sponsoring us and basically everything was happening because of him. I liked the quality. He was very simple and down-to-earth and that quality stuck with me. And then Akshay tells me the same day, 'I think you two will be good for each other.' I was like, 'What? Where is this coming from? Akshay is a very good friend, one of my favourite co-stars and can joke with me, so I thought this one was also one of his random jokes. Akshay is family for us and some how, has a good sense of people so he sensed that similarity between Rahul and me. Of course I didn't know what Rahul's side (Rahul and Akshay are best friends) was as that may have also been the reason why Akshay was pursuing it.

How long did it take to convert your first meeting into a relationship?
So after our first meeting, we had spoken a few times over the phone and then Rahul was somehow convinced that I was the girl for him, so on one of the times, he asked me if he could meet my parents. He said, 'I have clarity that you are the girl for me and I want to meet them and make my intentions clear.' I found that extremely gentlemanly, to meet my parents upright right at the initial time. We had just spoken 2-3 times, that too thanks to Akshay. Anyways, Rahul came and met my parents and expressed his intention to them. He is very sorted and knows his mind clearly. And he tells them, 'I would like your daughter's hand in marriage.' And they said, 'Okay, but let's ask her what she wants.' I said, 'I want some time.' So with their permission, we started to get to know each other.

You are not an intuitive person and would like to think through all your decisions. What attracted you to Rahul?
Yes unless I am not convinced about it, I will not do it in life and that applies to everything I do. My expectation of a life partner is a guy who is self-made. Because I am a self made person, so if someone is a self made person, I would appreciate that about him and Rahul is. He started his business at such a young age and has reached the place he has. No amount of money would appeal to me, but achievement on your own merit would. He has that drive, ambition and passion. And I have always said that integrity and strength of character is of utmost importance to me and he has it and like how. Also he is level headed, mature and along with all of that, the fact that he is so grounded, and simple. He is very correct in doing things the right way.

Is he romantic?
Yes, he is romantic but he is not very verbally expressive. Neither of us are cheesy. He is not very overtly expressive and is very underplayed as a person. So he does a lot of things, big things but he does it subtly. He is never like I am the man. He has clarity of thought, vision and an opinion. His decisions are thought of but he arrives at them quickly. Also, he is very family oriented with strong roots.

You waited for All Is Well to release to announce your marriage. Did it bother him?
No, he is very chilled and cool and his only policy in life is whatever makes you happy, do that even if it does not include me and that is the footnote also. He is very selfless and outstandingly secure and I feel that's pure love, the rest is selfishness. He has no 'I' in him, it's all about 'You' with him. Throughout the relationship, his sole concern is my happiness. People profess love but a lot of times, it is actually selfishness. I have always believed that love is what helps you develop into the best person you are, it's a selfless emotion but people usually follow the corrupted version. The true version is when the other person is happy. When he came home to meet mum and dad, he was not like I like her so I want to marry her. Even then he said, 'It's her choice. Now you figure out, you make a decision, I am here.' To find that kind of non selfish love is very rare.

You managed to keep this relationship a secret for this long.
My relationship is not a secret, it's just private. And there is a difference between what is a secret and what is private. Both of us are extremely low profile and we don't like to flaunt anything, be it our relationship or anything else.

He is a vegetarian and you are a fish eating Malayali. So will the fish be comfortable in your life?
Actually, I am not a fish fanatic unless it is made in a certain way. Most of the time, my parents and I would eat very light vegetarian food. But also honestly, Rahul doesn't care. He will eat whatever he wants to eat and I will eat whatever I want to.

Does he have a favourite film of yours?
After we started dating, one of his sisters said to me, “I saw Ghajini and came back and told Rahul, 'This is a film about you'.“ He was in the same state of life that Aamir's character (Sanjay Singhania) was at that point in time. He was trying to build his company into the biggest mobile company in India Air Voice Mobile with orange brand colour. He was even driving the same car as Aamir in real life. And can you imagine it's eerie that Rahul built Micromax mobile and his brand colour too is orange. The only difference being that he did not have that girl in his life. So his sister told Rahul, 'Aisi wali ladki le aa.' Rahul apparently went and saw the film post that. And then his sister tells me, 'We had told him to get a girl like that. We didn't know he will bring that girl only. We could not have been happier'

So A R Murugadoss, who has written and directed both the Ghajinis, is the real culprit?
Yes and I told him, 'What pen have you used to write this story with? Please write a happier ending though in your third version (as in the first two, my character dies).' Even in my dreams I could not have imagined that it would come so true in my real life.

Where will you be based post marriage?
I will be based out of Cochin as I have my home there, Delhi where Rahul lives and has his HO and Mumbai where Rahul and I both have homes. Rahul anyways travels almost a fortnight a month.

Are you going to continue with films post marriage?
I have been working from the age of 14 and as of now, I am not taking up anything and will definitely take a break from films.

Do you plan to play a role in business post marriage?
I have not really thought of it, but no, not as of now. Right now, I am looking forward to experiencing this phase in life of marriage.

Any plans of becoming a mother?
I have not really thought of motherhood or that far ahead but it will be a natural succession.





Umesh Shukla's directorial debut, OMG Oh My God!, with Akshay Kumar released in 2012. It has taken the filmmaker three years to wrap up his second film, All Is Well, featuring Rishi Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Asin and Supriya Pathak. Explaining the delay Umesh says, “I give a lot of time to scripting as I believe content is king. Also, we needed combination dates from all these actors. Abhishek was busy for a while promoting Happy New Year.“

Wasn't Smriti Irani also one of the main reasons for the film being delayed? After she became the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, the actress got busy with active politics and had no dates to spare to complete the film. Finally, after a six-month-wait, they replaced her with Supriya Pathak and reshot the scenes. Did her exit leave behind a trail of bad blood? “Not at all, we parted amicably,“ Umesh is quick to assure. “In fact, Smritiji herself told us to replace her as it was getting difficult for her to find the dates for the shoot. I knew Supriyaji from my theatre days and requested her to play the role. She agreed without any tantrums.“

He insists that the film isn't an inane comedy. It showcases a father-son relationship and the concept of a joint family which is lost today. “It's not only about the children but parents too who, in this competitive world, have so many expectations from their children, which is unfair and stunts their natural growth. I'm sure after watching the film, families will understand each other better,“ he promises.

Was Abhishek's box-office prospects a source of concern for him? Umesh insists he cast the actor for his versatility and not commercial viability. “I don't look at things from a business angle. For me, Abhishek has a certain poise which was evident in Guru and Dostana, amazing comic timing and can carry off subtle scenes equally well. That's something that I really like about him,“ he says.

And Asin? She has also been out of circulation for a while and apparently unhappy about her part. Buzz is, she won't promote the film.“Rubbish!“ he exclaims.“Every character has an equally important role. Abhishek and her track is relevant to the script and shows how the family environment can affect one's romantic life. Asin is happy with her role and excited to be a part of the promotions.“

Sonakshi Sinha, who had done a special number in OMG-Oh My God!, has done a song in this film too. “When Bhushan Kumarji played Farrate maarke for me, I could only think of Sonakshi. She is a dear friend and instantly loved this peppy number too. It features all the lead actors too and we had a great time shooting it,“ he beams.

Post the film's release, Umesh will start 102 Not Out with Amitabh Bachchan and Paresh Rawal. Written by Saumya Joshi, it is an adaptation of one of his plays with the Big B playing a 102-year-old man and Paresh his son. “I'm ready with my first draft. It is inspired by a 118-year-old Chinese man who set a record of longevity,“ he informs.

102 Not Out will kick off before he starts his film with Sanjay Dutt, which he is still scripting. “I'll discuss with Sanju once he is out from jail. I have yet to cast the other actors. I can't wait to begin,“ he asserts.

Himesh Reshammiya composed a song 'Baaton Ko Teri' for the film Khiladi 786 sung by Arijit Singh. Everyone was in love with the song and Asin shot montages of the song with Akshay Kumar but finally the song was not used in the film as it did not fit in. Asin then started shooting for Umesh Shukla's All Is Well in Bangkok. On the first day of shoot, Asin was asked to shoot montages for a song in the film. She asked for the song to be played and she said, Aahhh. This song? I know 'this song.' It was again the same' Baaton Ko Teri' song. Only this time, she was shooting with Abhishek Bachchan. It was an uncanny coincidence but one that she loved as the melody of the song had continued to haunt her ever since she had heard it for the first time. It seems for certain that the song was certainly destined for her. Asin, we eagerly await this soonto-be-released song now.