After being in a committed relationship for 11 years, Patralekhaa tied the knot in an intimate wedding ceremony in Chandigarh last November. Not the one to talk about his personal life very often, Rajkummar Rao, who will soon be seen in the upcoming Badhaai Do, releasing on February 11 in theatres, gets candid about his wedding and how life has unfolded after that. Read on…

It’s a beautiful feeling. I am so elated to be married to Patralekhaa. She is my best friend, the love of my life, my family and my everything.

As you rightly said, we have been living in for a while now. I would always be out shooting, and she would be out for her shoots. The last two years, which included the lockdowns, was the time we could spend with each other. At that point, we thought that when we are so sure of spending the rest of our lives together, let’s just do this (get married).

Something changes on a subconscious level. I feel more complete now. We are still getting used to the idea of being husband and wife. I love calling her wife now, just for fun, though.

(Laughs!) Yes, I do that, especially if I am out of town and Patra is not around. Even recently, when I shot in Lucknow, whenever we had our day off, I would go out and watch movies alone. I like that.

We are just the way we were. We talk to each other a lot throughout the day if we are out on our respective shoots. And we talk at length! Thanks to technology, we connect over video calls. People often say that after 11 years of being together, the desire to talk is not the same as it is in the first or second year of a relationship. With us, it’s the opposite. Our interactions and the span of our interactions have only increased.

It was the perfect culmination to their 11-year love story as Rajkummar Rao and Patralekhaa tied the knot in a dreamy wedding in Chandigarh on Monday. Staying true to their fiercely private nature, the couple hosted an intimate ceremony that saw only close friends and family in attendance. But for those who thought the newlyweds will dash off to an exotic location for a honeymoon, you may be disappointed. Rao, who plays the leading man in Anubhav Sinha’s Bheed, will report to work on November 18, only three days after his D-day.

The director, we are told, is already in Lucknow setting the groundwork for the Bhushan Kumar-backed social drama that also features Bhumi Pednekar. A source reveals, “Anubhav sir had planned the schedule in such a way that Bheed can kick off immediately after Raj’s wedding. It is one of the director’s most ambitious movies to date. Given the milieu and setting of the film, he felt November and early December would be the best time to shoot it. When the director discussed the schedule with Raj, he understood the time constraints and immediately agreed to honour the commitment before going on a honeymoon with Patralekhaa. The film, owing to its subject, is special to the actor; he was blown away by the script.”

As the title suggests, the drama will feature multiple crowd sequences for which the production has procured the necessary on-ground permissions. The source adds that Rao has been prepping for the film over the past few weeks. “Anubhav sir held readings with the cast through October to ensure that the actors are completely familiar with their characters and the universe of the film. Raj had informed the team about taking a week off for the wedding. He is expected to land in Lucknow today.”

Sinha has apparently charted out a start-to-finish schedule in the Uttar Pradesh capital.

On Monday afternoon, Rajkummar Rao and Patralekhaa tied the knot at a remote seven-star wedding venue away from the city of Chandigarh. The couple took to social media to share pictures from their dreamy wedding ceremony soon after.

“Finally after 11 years of love, romance, friendship and fun, I got married to my everything today, my soulmate, my best friend, my family. Today there is no greater happiness for me than being called your husband @patralekhaa Here’s to forever .. and beyond (sic),” wrote Rajkummar, while Patralekhaa posted, “I got married to my everything today; my boyfriend, my partner in crime, my family, my soulmate...My best friend for the last 11 years! There is no greater feeling than to be your wife! Here’s to our forever (sic).”

Besides celebrities like Farah Khan, Huma Qureshi, her brother Saqib Saleem, Aditi Rao Hydari, and filmmakers Mudassar Aziz and Amar Kaushik, the wedding also saw Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar, in attendance.

During the couple’s reception in the evening, Rajkummar was seen dancing with Patralekhaa to Shah Rukh Khan’s songs played by a live band helmed by playback singer Tushar Joshi, who has sung for films like Jagga Jasoos and Chhichhore.

Says a source, “Since Rajkummar is a big SRK fan, it was a given that songs from SRK’s films would play at the wedding.” Later, Rajkummar even joined the band on stage to belt out a few of his favourite SRK tracks. He also sang Channa Mereya from the film, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

Patralekhaa joined Rajkummar for the initial few moments of the band’s performance, and then was seen hanging out with friends Huma Qureshi and Aditi Rao Hydari, as well as her family members. Rajkummar, however, didn’t leave the spot near the stage, grooving enthusiastically to tracks like, Dil Se Re. The event went on till the wee hours of November 16.

Rajkummar Rao and Patralekhaa chose to keep their wedding celebrations an intimate affair with just a few close friends in attendance, apart from their family members. The celebrations were hosted at a remote seven-star wedding venue away from the city in Chandigarh.

After an all-white themed engagement ceremony on November 13, the couple had their mehendi and sangeet rituals on November 14, which was followed by their wedding on November 15.

While Farah Khan, Huma Qureshi, her brother Saqib Saleem, and director Mudassar Aziz reached Chandigarh on November 13, Aditi Rao Hydari, filmmaker Amar Kaushik, landed in the city on November 14.

Aditi and Patralekhaa were flatmates in Mumbai at some point.

Apparently, a Ludhiana-based DJ, who had also performed at Virat Kohli-Anushka Sharma’s wedding, was hired for the celebration.

Rajkummar Rao and Patralekhaa got engaged on Saturday night in an intimate pre-wedding celebration at Chandigarh. The photos and videos from the celebrations have been doing rounds on the internet.

It was a white-themed event, and everything from decor to dress code was pearly white. While Patralekhaa opted for a white and silver off-shoulder, side-slit gown, Rajkummar was seen clad in white Indian fusion wear with white sneakers.

In a viral video, Rajkummar could be seen going down on one knee to present the engagement ring to his ladylove. Patralekhaa, too, went down on her knees, and they exchanged rings.

Among the attendees were Saqib Saleem, Mudassar Aziz and Huma Qureshi

Rajkummar Rao and long-time girlfriend Patralekhaa are all set to tie the knot in Chandigarh today. A seven-star hotel in the city has been prepped for the celebrity wedding. While the couple has kept all details about their wedding plans and guest list a closely guarded secret, among the first guests to arrive in the city was Huma Qureshi, a friend of Patralekhaa.

She was papped at the Chandigarh Airport on Friday evening. The actress was dressed in white trousers and a matching shirt and wore a face shield and mask. Director Hansal Mehta is one of the guests on the list. Rajkummar and Patralekhaa got to know each other while working in Hansal’s film CityLights.

The couple apparently reached Chandigarh by road from Delhi. Owing to Coronavirus restrictions and to ensure that all precautions are taken, Rajkummar and Patralekhaa have limited their guest list to a select few, with largely the family members in attendance, besides some friends from the film fraternity.

The menu and decor follow a royal Rajasthani theme. Rajkummar had shortlisted this as one of the potential wedding venues when he had visited Chandigarh for a film shoot earlier.

Actors Rajkummar Rao and Patralekhaa have been together for long, and now, the couple has finally decided to say, ‘I Do’.

“Chandigarh is the place decided for the marriage, and it is happening,” a friend of Rao tells us. But, only family and close friends have been invited, keeping in mind the Coronavirus situation. The bride’s and groom’s families have already reached Chandigarh.

Meanwhile, Patralekhaa’s sister Parnalekha re-shared on her Insta Story a video by reality TV star Rakhi Sawant and wrote, “Intimate footage of me” along with #patraj, a combination of Patralekhaa and Rajkummar’s names, further confirming the news.

Reports suggest that Patralekhaa might opt for a Sabyasachi saree with delicate embroidery work for her big day. “She’s also picked up a lehenga and silk dupatta from the designer. Apart from the pheras, there will be other rituals, for which she has picked up a few options. Her brief to Sabyasachi Mukherjee was elegant but minimalistic. She didn’t want something very heavy, and wanted to feel comfortable,” a friend of hers revealed on the condition of anonymity.

The duo has been in a relationship for over 10 years now, and has been asked time and again when they plan to take the plunge. While they never revealed their plans, they’ve not shied away from talking about each other or posting pics. The duo has even shared screen space in the film Citylights (2014) and series Bose: Dead/Alive.