Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal are finally tying the knot. The couple's wedding preparations have already begun in Delhi. On Friday, 30 September, Richa took to Instagram to share a glimpse of the pre-wedding festivities. Richa and Ali have been in a relationship for over seven years and their journey is no less than a fairy-tale.
From their first meeting to the proposal, here's the adorable love story of Richa and Ali:
How It All Started
The two actors first met on the sets of their film Fukrey in 2012. Both Richa and Ali played contrastingly opposite characters in the film, but bonded well over their similarities in real life. The two continued being friends for several years, until rumours of them being in a relationship started making the news in 2017.
In a recent interview with Femina, the couple recalled their first impressions of each other from the sets of Fukrey. Talking about her first impression of Ali, Richa shared,
"I had a preconceived notion about him when I met him on the sets of Fukrey. I had always known him to be decent and respectful, but kinda naughty and also kinda nutty. I could relate to his nutty side and I could also relate to the naughty side. Among the other boys in the group, I felt closest to him in terms of my mind, and I think that was the seed of it all."Richa Chadha to Femina.
Whereas, Ali revealed that even before he met Richa, he was a fan ever since he saw her work in Gangs of Wasseypur. He further told Femina, "I had never seen that kind of range in a person and I was floored. As an actor, the kind of compassion one needs to have to be able to deliver such a performance with such nuances… that attracted me, and I thought it would be fun to see someone like that or know or meet her and pick her brain."
Confessing Love...
Richa was the first to confess her love for Ali and say the "three magical words" — I love you. In her interview to Brides Today, Richa shared, "We were at my house watching Chaplin, the 1992 British-American biographical comedy drama starring Robert Downey Jr. I was happy to see him enjoy the movie and was grateful to have found someone with similar tastes. That is when I said, 'This is really sweet, I love you' to him." While Richa was the first one to confess her feelings for Ali, he took three months to say the words back to her.
The couple kept their relationship private for several years, as they chose to focus on their professional careers at the time and did not want their personal lives to become news headlines.
Ali also opened up about the time when he first realized that he was in love with Richa. In an interview with Femina, the actor shared, "It is very mysterious. I don’t think I can take you through my love story because it is one of the most beautiful personal journeys of my life, but I can tell you that it is a liking that is unmatched in the life that I have lived until now, and a friendship that I am really, really proud of. Like they say in the movies, it just happened.”
Making It Official!
Richa and Ali made their first public appearance together as a couple at the Venice Film Festival in Venice in 2017, at the world premiere of Ali's film Victoria and Abdul. The pair was later spotted romancing in the city for a while. They also appeared in Fukrey 2 in the same year.
Ali also made his relationship with the actor Insta-official, after he posted a picture with her on the photo-sharing platform in the same year. He captioned the post, "One of my favourite pictures. Hai toh hai (It is what its is)."
Since the first post, the couple has been quite active on social media. Richa and Ali, both proudly flaunt each others' pictures on their Instagram pages. They also shared a few pictures from their visit to the Venice Film Festival, which is now a part of their bunch of nostalgic memories to take a look at.
Ali's Romantic Proposal
Richa and Ali's vacation pictures from the Maldives were the talk of the town, a year ago. What most people didn't know was that it was on this vacation that Ali had proposed to the love of his life for marriage. In one of her interviews with Pinkvilla, Richa opened up about Ali's romantic proposal to her. Sharing the adorable story with the publication she said,
"He had planned a dinner on a small, secluded island at the Maldives. I thought it was for my birthday — I didn't suspect a thing. We had finished eating and were sipping on champagne while Ali, being his spontaneous self, asked me to marry him. He didn't go down on his knee nor did he have a ring, but that's all right. After that, he took a ten minute nap on the sand — I think it was because he may have been stressed about the proposal."Richa to Pinkvilla.
Talking about their equation with each other, Ali shared with Femina, "We live on the imbalances, and we love that. We complete each other, because we are not the perfect 50-50, but that changes with each situation. That’s what keeps us uniquely interested in each other."
Here's Why The Wedding Got Delayed
Soon after the proposal, the couple decided to tie the knot in 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their plans to exchange the vows were delayed for over two years. It was also personally tragic for the couple, as Ali had lost his two closest family members to COVID — his mother and his grandfather, during the first and second waves of the pandemic.
Talking about the same, Richa told Femina, "No one had any idea of what kinda shape COVID would eventually take. We were trying to do it in March and April 2020, but then the world knows what happened and I think we were very wise to postpone it because of travel bans and everything that happened the world over. The next year, when we thought of doing it, there was the second wave and it was horrific for our country in particular.” While Ali said, "We decided we’d do it when the world becomes right and when it feels right."
The Big Announcement
After several years of dating and the unanticipated delay, Richa and Ali finally announced the big news of their wedding in September. The two actors, who come from diverse cultural backgrounds, spoke about their special day with Femina. Speaking about the celebrations Richa shared, "I think you’ll witness celebrations that resonate with our personalities, where we respect our cultures, music, art and things that make us who we are as Indians. And, being artistes, it’s lovely to have the love and support of other artistes as well. You’ll see I can’t say too much.”
The couple's wedding preparations have already begun in full-swing and we wish them lots of love for the future!
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