Bollywood celebs who opted for an arranged marriage

Arranged marriages were commonplace in the years gone by, but that has changed over the centuries and the same finds reflection in Bollywood too. The film industry has been known for shunning old traditions and blazing its own trail. But even some of our favourite B-town celebs are not far away from going down the age-old route of getting hitched to someone who’s not exactly our love at first sight. Here’s taking a look at celebs who had arranged marriages.

All the buzz about Shahid Kapoor’s wedding stirred the media and broke millions of hearts. The cute chocolate boy of Bollywood started off as a dancer and is an acclaimed actor today. Not just that, he has grown up much more even in his personal life as he tied the knot with Delhi girl Mira Rajput. In this case, it was not cupid, but Radha Soami Satsang that brought them together.

Karisma Kapoor-Sanjay Kapoor: The ‘Khatiya...’ chick did throw us off our beds when she announced her marriage plans with businessman Sanjay Kapoor. Karisma was engaged to Abhishek Bachchan, but their wedding was called off. The reasons are still behind the curtains. Both, the Kapoors and the Bachchans, are tight-lipped about it. However, she married Delhi based industrialist Sanjay and has two kids, Samaira and Kiaan. In 2013, they filed for divorce as the marriage was apparently not all paradise.

The ‘Dhak dhak’ girl broke several hearts when she announced her marriage to Dr Shriram Nene in the year 1999. After alleged link-ups with Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri settled with Dr Nene, moved to US and bid farewell to Bollywood, not for long though. She came back to India with her musical drama, 'Aaja Nachle' in 2007. According to a report, Dr Nene confessed that the two did date for a brief time before announcing their marriage.

After allegedly breaking up with Bollywood’s beauty, Aishwarya Rai, Vivek moved on and got married to Priyanka Alva. According to a report, Vivek said that it was love within twenty minutes for him. However, if it weren’t for Mumma dearest, the two would never have met, as she set him up with Priyanka. The 'Company' actor is happily married and has two kids.

Neil Nitin Mukesh also chose the arranged marriage path. He surprised everyone with his wedding news and walked down the aisle on February 9, 2017, in a destination wedding in Udaipur. The wedding ceremony was then followed by a lavish reception party on February 17, 2017, in Mumbai. Before the grand wedding, the two had a hush-hush roka ceremony at a five-star hotel in 2016. The couple looked every bit of royal in their wedding looks.

Late Shammi Kapoor and Neila Devi also had an arranged marriage after the demise of his first wife Geeta Bali. In an interview, Neila Devi reminisced the days when she first saw Shammi ji at the age of 9, and what a big fan she was of the Kapoor stars. It was a marriage arranged by Krishna Kapoor (Raj Kapoor’s wife). Shammi was unable to meet Neila as per Krishna’s plan but later that night, he called up Neila and spoke to her till dawn and finally told her to come home for breakfast and stay in his life forever, she recollected in the interview.

The ‘Chaplin’ of Indian cinema and one of the most legendary actors, Raj Kapoor too, had a traditional arranged marriage. He was married to his distant cousin Krishna Malhotra. Reportedly, his father, Prithviraj Kapoor brought them together. There were reports about his alleged affairs with Nargis, Zeenat Aman and Padmini. But wife Krishna never left his side and always stood beside him.