Though Kamal Haasan and his soul-mate Gautami were not legally wedded they were more compatible and durable as a couple than many married couples.
Or so, I thought. Until Gautami decided to go her own way. It was a shattering moment for me when he told me about the breakup. As a close friend of Kamal Haasan, I’ve seen them together. I’ve seen how they battled her cancer when it hit them like a common enemy. It’s hard to imagine them as separated entities.
But reality, as they say, bites.
The parting is dignified. Thankfully. No mud-slinging. No recriminations. No ifs and buts. The same was the case when Hrithik Roshan and his wife Sussanne parted ways last year. They issued a joint press statement asking for privacy as they sorted out the tangles after the amputated marriage. The parting has been decent and the couple’s two sons divide their non-school time between their parents.
Farhan Akhtar, a friend who I am fond of, also parted with his wife recently. He is currently going through the process of divorce, hoping that their two daughters remain largely unaffected by the separation.
Two other seemingly doddering marriages that of Arjun Rampal-Mehr Jesia and Arbaaz Khan-Malaika Arora have for now, been saved from annulment. A third marriage of a major superstar came to the point of a breakup after his link up with a globally feted actress. That marriage was saved by the arrival of a baby. Now all that matters is their adorable progeny. Libido forgotten.
Now I hear tragic news of two other high-profile Bollywood marriages falling apart. A high-profile internationally celebrated actress is showing signs of fatigue and restlessness in her marriage in a highly distinguished film family. A former beauty queen turned actress married to a sports person is said to be fed up of his philandering ways.
A superstar husband married to feisty brainy witty spouse says it’s time for actors to stop taking their wives for granted.
The day I got married I stopped fooling around. It’s dangerous to presume your wife will turn a blind eye to your extra-curricular activities. Many marriages have recently broken up for this reason.
Let’s hope the marriages that are on the brink in Bollywood will be spared from toppling over the precipice.
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