The actor on marriage and after, and playing hockey ace Sandeep Singh’s elder brother in upcoming film
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 16, 2018)

After a hush-hush wedding in Delhi last month, Angad Bedi and Neha Dhupia are set to move into their marital home, a three-BHK flat in Bandra. They’ve been decorating the new space.

“The paperwork was completed just in time because Neha will soon start shooting for a new show while I am promoting Soorma. Also a new film will be announced soon. That’s why we tied the knot as soon as we could as our calendars are blocked till early 2019,” Angad tells Mirror.

The actor admits that setting up a home is time-consuming but beautiful. “While deciding the décor, Neha was welcoming of my suggestions. She patiently listens to what I say but eventually she takes the call,” he adds.

Since their wedding was a quiet event, will there be a filmi reception? “We are focusing on doing up the house for now. Things didn’t work in a linear fashion for us, so we are working backwards. Things like reception and honeymoon require time. The wedding was an intimate affair and we wanted to avoid making it an event,” he clarifies.

Angad is looking forward to Shaad Ali’s Soorma, the biopic on hockey player Sandeep Singh, where he plays elder brother Bikramjit to Diljit Dosanjh’s protagonist. “Hockey is the backdrop but the film centers around human emotions. Bikramjit was close to playing for the country but injuries prevented him from doing so, so he raised his younger brother to be a hockey player. Sandeep gets shot in the spine and Bikramjit juggles two jobs to support the family and send his brother to rehab in Holland. When Sandeep is written off, Bikram goes to the lengths of playing against him in local tournaments just to get his game back,” Anagad points out.

What was it like interacting with Sandeep Singh’s real family? “There is not a single photo of Bikramjit in his house, it’s all Sandeep and his medals. He said that his brother’s medals are his too. ‘He played for India and I feel like I did,’ were his exact words,” Angad says.

Post a hush-hush wedding in May, Angad Bedi confirms after-party next month as Neha Dhupia and he await availability of friends and colleagues
Mohar Basu (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 8, 2018)

Delighted though they all were, friends of Angad Bedi and Neha Dhupia had playfully lamented about the lack of celebration to mid-day a day after the duo tied the knot in a hush-hush wedding in May. It appears, the couple is finally ready to include their close pals in their revelry by throwing a party in the first week of July.

"We are hoping to host a reception in the first week of July. Shaadi toh kar li, but we have to go reverse now," laughs Angad Bedi, admitting he's having a hard time getting his wife to "sit down and plan this" with him. "She needs to give me five days to figure this out. We have seen a few venues and are yet to zero in on one." Given his stint in cricket and cinema, the actor reveals his guest list is fittingly long. And while it's hard to get everyone under one roof, he knows he can't host the reception in the absence of a few special ones.

"I want my close friends to be there. Right now, all of them are busy. [Ashish] Nehra is not in town. From the film industry, I want Mr [Amitabh] Bachchan and Salman [Khan] bhai to be there, and they are both caught up right now," says the actor, adding that wife Neha Dhupia too has a sizeable list of friends she hopes to invite given her long stint in the industry. The celebrations, he says, will follow after they lock in on a house they wish to purchase. Reflecting on his nuptials, that took the country off-guard, Bedi admits "it was sudden". A casual conversation with Dhupia about life kicked things into gear.

"One day, Neha and I were talking about life, and I told her I want to settle down with her. We've known each other for a while. I have been interested in her for a long time. I spoke to her parents. They loved me, especially her mother. We had the idea of having a winter wedding, but my dad [Bishan Singh Bedi] said we should keep it small. Between the cricket and Bollywood industries, we should have a guest list of 2,000 people." Had the ceremony not taken place last month, the couple's commitments would have kept them busy for a year. "Neha is leaving for the US soon, and I am in between three projects. So, it was now or never for us."

Lasyapriya Sundaram (BOMBAY TIMES; May 23, 2018)

It has been less than two weeks since Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in Delhi. In their first ever interview post marriage, the couple reveals why the wedding was such a hush-hush affair and what made them want to become life partners after being friends for so long. Excerpts...

Two days after the much-talked about Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja wedding,the news of your shaadi grabbed headlines. In fact, no one got a whiff of it until Karan Johar and you tweeted a photo of your nuptials...
Neha: Karan was the only person in Mumbai who knew about the wedding. We knew that after reading the post, all our friends were going to kill us. Less than a week before we got married, I was chilling in Karan’s house and I told him that I was ready to get married. He said it was a great idea and went back to checking posts on social media! When I asked him how he could be so casual about it, he said that it’s the right thing to do. And he added that I should ensure that he was the first one to tweet the picture (laughs!).

The announcement of your wedding came like a bolt from the blue. Was there any reason you kept it hush-hush?
Angad: Our intention was not to keep it a secret. We just wanted it to be a private affair. What happens is that, the process of making up our minds, planning the wedding and inviting people is never-ending. When we went to Delhi, we didn’t think that we were going to get married. I went in my track pants and T-shirt along with one bag in my hand. We intended to stay overnight and come back. On the way, we discussed how we were going to approach the topic of marriage with her parents. Neha still consults her parents before taking major decisions. I just told them that I wanted to marry their daughter. There was silence for a bit and then her father said that he didn’t have a problem, but that I should speak to my parents about it. I have a great equation with her mother and she was fine with it. When I spoke to my father, he said that if I thought I was ready to go ahead, he will support me. Like all mothers, my mom, too, had dreams of a grand wedding for me, but I wanted it to be an intimate affair between the two families. The decision to get married was taken overnight.
Neha: Angad didn’t propose to me, instead, he went with the rishta to my parents. His mother was not ready to give her nod for the wedding date, till she met me. I met her two days before the wedding and she asked me if I was sure about getting married to him and some other questions, which a to-be mother-in-law would generally ask. As far as his father is concerned, we had got strict instructions from him to keep it low-key or else the press would get a whiff of it and there would be OB vans outside the gurudwara.

But you guys were friends for a long time…
Angad: When I used to play Under-19 cricket in Delhi, during a gym session, I spotted this girl in really tiny shorts. I was impressed with her running technique. I figured out that her name was Neha Dhupia and that she was preparing for the Miss India pageant. Then, many years later, we met in Mumbai and became friends. I was interested in her, but she said that she wanted to be just friends. We have both been in relationships with other people and there has never been a facade. When it comes to spending the rest of your life with someone, you should do it with a friend. It doesn’t matter if that person is illiterate, educated or earns Rs 10 or Rs 10 crore. Eventually, these things don’t matter.
Neha: Our friends knew that Angad had feelings for me, but it was one-sided, till I came around. He had proposed marriage to me four years ago, but I turned down his proposal at that time because I was in a relationship. He came back four years later and said that I had wasted four years of his life. He said, ‘I don’t want to be just in a relationship with you. Either you are my wife or nothing’. I always believe in one thing — the right time and place. In the past four years, I have seen a huge change in him. He has matured a lot. In the end, everything else goes flying out of the window and friendship is all that matters. I can promise you that we aren’t going be a couple who will post a lot about ourselves on social media.

Neha is successful and a well-known celebrity. Do you think that will ever make you insecure?
Angad: I am not insecure about her being more successful than me. She has been in the industry way longer. She is an actor with a phenomenal body of work. She is multifaceted and has managed to do all of this because she has been at it for a long time and has worked hard to be where she is today. I have been in the industry for six years and I have done six films. I don’t think I am as multifaceted as Neha. I think I have done good work so far and I am still chasing things, which I know I can do well. I am still trying to win over the audience.

Often women are asked how they will strike a balance between work and home. Since you’re a married man now, have you thought about it, too?
Angad: I was a commitment-phobic person. I never thought that I will settle down. Marriage has happened beautifully for me. As far as having kids and striking a work-life balance are concerned, I will be able to respond to the situation when I am in it. When we are in that situation and those sacrifices have to be made either by her or me, we will do it. Work is important, but there is a life beyond that. Kids are an extension of you and it is important to raise them well. If that requires sacrifice, even professionally, then we will do it. The happiness of having a child cannot be matched by any number of zeroes on a cheque. So, you got to look at life from that perspective.

Invitees spill the beans on Angad Bedi and Neha Dhupia's nuptials on Thursday
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; May 11, 2018)

Still feasting on the heart-warming images spilling out from Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja's recently concluded wedding, netizens did not expect to find themselves waking up to news of Angad Bedi and Neha Dhupia's nuptials yesterday. The lovebirds took everyone by surprise by announcing their marriage by sharing pictures from their Anand Karaj ceremony held at a Vasant Vihar Gurudwara.

A source, who attended the wedding told mid-day, "It was a quiet ceremony because that's how they wanted it to be. It was an intimate affair, with only friends and family in attendance. They wanted to break the news to the world, so even we refrained from posting photos online."

The former cricketer's friends from the field, Ajay Jadeja and Ashish Nehra, apart from actor Gaurav Kapur and photographer Prasad Naik showed up for the ceremonies - starting with the mehendi rituals on Wednesday evening - at a half-day notice. Neha Dhupia wore a blush chanderi embroidered lehenga designed by Anita Dongre. Apt for a daytime ceremony, the lehenga had exquisite zardosi and resham work. Dhupia teamed it with a kundan choker and matching earrings from Dongre's jewellery collection.

Another friend of the couple adds, "They are planning a Mumbai reception. They will host a party to make up for not having invited us to the wedding. But, they are in most likelihood, leaving for the US tonight for a charity event, and will be back next week."

In a joint statement, the couple announced, "Marrying your best friend is one of the greatest feelings in the world, and we are extremely fortunate to have found love in each other."


Neha Dhupia at the mehendi ceremony earlier