Their love story began way back in 1988 and now, 22 years later, on the 16th of this month, Farhan Furniturewalla and Laila Khan will be man and wife. “Farhan first saw me at Open House in Bandra in 1988. He took an instant liking for me and started calling me up frequently. I loved his voice and found him interesting to speak to. Then, some weeks later, we met on a blind date,” Laila smiles, a tad coyly.
“Yeah, then after that first date, we never met again, we both just went our different ways,” Farhan continues. Call it destiny or coincidence, but around 17 years later, fate made their paths cross again. “Through a friend, I met her again at one of her art openings. We exchanged numbers, again...” smiles Farhan. And just like a déjà vu experience, their phone bytes began. However, it was at Laila’s brother
Fardeen Khan’s wedding that the two really hit it off. And around three years back, the two got, in Laila’s own words, “intensely involved.”
This is the second marriage for both of them (Laila was previously married to Delhi-based Rohit Rajpal and Farhan to
Pooja Bedi), were there any apprehensions? A case of once bitten, twice shy, perhaps? “Our relationship progressed so naturally that we didn’t have time to think about fears or oppositions. We met as friends, reconnected after years again and gradually fell in love,” says Farhan. “After having being through so much, you learn to value things more. I feel thankful that Farhan has come into my life,” smiles Laila, reaching out to hold Farhan’s hand. Like the quintessential couple-in-love, he grasps her hand, saying, “We’re both older and wiser now. We didn’t do anything wrong the first time, the circumstances were just different then. There’s a different outlook to marriage and life when you’re getting married at 25 and at 42! Our dreams are more real now.” To which Laila quips in, “But we’ll never let practicality seep so deep into our relationship that we let the passion sizzle out. We’ll never take each other for granted. In that respect, I want to stay Farhan’s girlfriend forever.”
But from girlfriend, Laila will soon be Farhan’s wife, and also mother to his two children Aalia and Omar. “Pooja (Bedi) and I have known each other since kindergarten. Our fathers acted together, our mothers were good friends. We share a bond separate to Farhan, one of mutual respect and deep fondness,” says Laila. “More importantly, the kids love Laila. They were the first to call us up and congratulate us! We’re just one bigger, happier family now,” smiles Farhan.
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