10 Real Love Stories From Bollywood That Will Restore Your Faith In Romance

¡°There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.¡±

Love is what makes life beautiful. Apart from a career and other relationships that give us a true purpose to live, love just makes the journey easier. The joy of finding a partner who accepts you for who you¡¯re is incomparable.

While heartbreaks and the luxury of finding options on dating apps may shake your faith in love and ¡®forever¡¯, there are still people who have a rock-solid faith in love and its power.

Well, if you¡¯re someone who belongs to a category that maybe not everyone will find their ¡®happily ever after¡¯, there are real stories of love, compassion, and indestructible faith that'll restore your faith.

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There are several Bollywood actors who despite all odds and chaos that their careers can bring in often, turned the concept of ¡®forever¡¯ a possible reality.

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We picked 10 such love stories that will revoke your lost faith in happy endings. Because, come on, we all secretly want and long for someone who will hold our hand and make our journey of life interesting, exciting, and joyful. Read on.

1. Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak

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"We are the last of the bloody liberals left. Today, girls are doing Karva Chauth! C¡¯mon, that¡¯s what we fought against."-Ratna Pathak Shah for Open magazine in 2014.

Naseer met Ratna Pathak for the first time in 1975. While Ratna was still a college student, Naseer had graduated from FTII. They were rehearsing together for Satyadev Dubey¡¯s play, 'Sambhog Se Sanyas Tak'.

¡°One day we were not even friends; the next day we were going out together.¡±, said Ratna, in an interview with Mumbai Mirror in 2012.

Recollecting their first meet, Naseer spoke to a weekly magazine and said, ¡°I was first impressed by how clear her speech was and the fact that she spoke Hindi very well, which was a rarity in Bombay.¡±

Breaking norms of their time, Naseer and Ratna opted for a live-in relationship as Shah was separated but not divorced from his earlier wife. Naseer waited for his divorce before marrying Ratna. After patiently waiting for things to fall into place, Naseeruddin and Ratna got married on 1st April 1982. It was an intimate affair with no pomp and show. They had a registered wedding at Ratna¡¯s mother¡¯s home. Together, they now have two sons, Imaad and Vivaan.

2. Pankaj Kapoor and Supriya Pathak

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"I had no problems at all that he was married before. I met him with a clean slate. He had made it clear from the beginning that his son Shahid meant the most to him."-Supriya Pathak

Who says one doesn't deserve a second chance at love? Even when they both met at a time when they had the baggage of failed marriages in the past, they gave love a shot once again. They both were craving for true love after their respective divorces. The couple met in 1986 for the film Naya Mausam. The film never released but it played cupid for both Pankaj and Supriya.

They were drawn towards each other. After two years of friendship and love, they tied the knot in 1988. While Pankaj had a son Shahid from his first marriage, Supriya and Pankaj welcomed their first child, Sanaah in 1990 and their second child, Ruhaan, in 1994. Even with all the complications, Pankaj Kapur's three kids and his ex-wife Neelima Azeem's son, Ishaan, together are one happy family. The siblings have supported each other throughout their personal and professional journeys.

Together, they're a modern family in every sense of the word who knows how to co-exist and love each other.

3. Sharmila Tagore and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi

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"When we decided to get married, we didn¡¯t even know the words secular or communal ¡ª we were in the throes of young love; we didn¡¯t know what the fuss around us was all about. We weren¡¯t aware of the larger ramifications because, for us, the world began and ended with each other. Being together wasn¡¯t really deliberate defiance of norms, it just stemmed from an overwhelming desire to be together."-Sharmila Tagore said in an interview with The Print in 2018.

Tiger hadn't seen much of Sharmila's movies but when something is meant to be, the universe conspires. Tiger Pataudi, a polished nawab, and Sharmila, Bengal's best gift to Hindi cinema- together they made a solid couple. They were more established, successful in several ways as individuals.

While he was a Muslim royal, she came with a prestigious tag of the Tagore family. Despite their family's inhibitions, the couple was in love and decided to take the plunge in 1969. For obvious reasons, it was one of India's most talked-about weddings. As per rumors, Tiger Pataudi had proposed to Sharmila in Paris. Even when they were touted as unconventional, their love had cliches that make their love-story beautiful & dreamy in every sense of the word.

4. Sonali and Goldie Behl

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"I bumped into Sonali on the sets of the film Naaraaz. I just found her attractive. I still do. Believe it or not, what appealed to me the most was how slowly she ate her food. We were having lunch together and I commented on her eating pace. She got a little upset with my comment. At least, it broke the ice and we started talking. So our first conversation was about food and to date most of the time, we simply talk about food. (Laughs) Now, most of it is about how little I should eat.¡±- said Goldie Behl in an interview with Filmfare in 2013.

Goldie got down on one knee at a party thrown by Abhishek Bachchan (their common friend) and popped the question & Sonali said yes in a heartbeat. Their life has not been easy with Sonali's cancer diagnosis but their love and togetherness made everything possible.

5. Soha Ali Khan and Kunal Kemmu

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"Soha has been an influential part of my life for the longest time. She and I have had a very different upbringing but we indulged each other in a lot of debates and discussions about marriage. The best part of our marriage is that we respect each other¡¯s space and professions. Soha is, in fact, the stability aspect in my life and she keeps me calm. I know that she will be there when I need her. Our lives changed when our daughter Inaaya came by. All of two years old and four months, she keeps us on our toes and brings out the child in us. There are teething issues, but we are learning to take care of her and working towards giving her as normal a childhood as possible. "-said Kunal Kemmu in February 2020, during an interview with Deccan Herald.

It was love at first sight for Kunal and Soha. Instead, they took their own sweet time to explore each other. From dinner dates to living-in together, they chose their own sweet time and way to let their romance unfurl.

6. R. Madhavan and Sarita Birje

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¡°I was teaching a personality development class in Kolhapur when I met Sarita. She was aspiring for a job in an airliner and attended my classes. When she finally bagged the cat, she thought it was in part, due to my classes and took me to a ¡®thank you¡¯ dinner. That¡¯s how it started.¡±-Madhavan

From playing golf together to mandatory family holidays with their son Vedaant, their relationship is balanced and endearing. They also give each other the necessary space. Do you know that Sarita also manages all his finances? Most of his investment decisions are made by Sarita. They're a true power couple who believe in equal respect, dignity, and trust.

7. Manoj Bajpayee and Neha

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"Manoj and I understand each other well. We do not mix our professional and personal lives. We have a very healthy relationship."-said Neha in 2008 during her interview with Rediff.

Away from the limelight of their profession, Manoj and Neha have always stayed low-key. They have preferred to keep their relationship low-key. In an interview, Manoj said, ¡°For us, between my wife and me, we believe conversation is the key. On a free day, we sit in the balcony or living area or wherever get our team and talk, talk and talk...The teacups come and go, and we continue our conversations. That's the thing about us.¡±

8. Paresh Rawal and Swaroop Sampat

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¡°The marriage was a beautiful ceremony. There was no mandap; instead, we got married under the shade of big, old trees.¡±¨C Swaroop Sampat, talking about her and Paresh Rawal's wedding ceremony.

Their old-school romance flourished in the 1980s and for the next ten years, they independently worked on their careers. Swaroop also went on to win the Miss India title in 1979 and was the official participant from India in the 1979 Miss Universe contest. Paresh had established himself as a versatile actor, whereas Swaroop aced her roles in television. After dating for 17 years, the couple got married in 1987 at Lakshmi Narayan Temple, Mumbai.

9. Ayushmann Khurrana and Tahira Kashyap

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"When I got to know that she has a crush on me, I couldn¡¯t believe it. There were so many good looking guys in the class! I was nowhere close to them. So, when someone told me that Tahira had a crush on me, I was on cloud nine. The girl, who every guy had a crush on, had a crush on me! It seemed impossible but I was damn happy."-Ayushmann

How often do you see school crushes culminating into a life-long bond? Well, Tahira and Ayushmann's whirlwind romance does instill hope in the hearts of many hopeless romantics! The couple was in a sort-of long-distance marriage as right after their wedding in 2011, Ayushmann made his film debut in 2012 with Vicky Donor. His profession demanded him to shift base to Mumbai. Tahira stayed back in Chandigarh in the initial first four years of their marriage but it didn't change a thing. And now, with Tahir bouncing back to life after a brave fight with cancer and Ayushmann establishing himself as Hindi Cinema's most bankable actor, who wouldn't like to call them a power couple?

10. Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar

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Shabana¡¯s father Kaifi Azmi did not approve of their relationship and did not want Shabana to marry a divorcee. However, against all odds, Shabana got approval from her father after she assured him that Javed and Honey's separation wasn't because of her. Leaving their past behind, the couple celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary last year.

This year, on Javed Akhtar's birthday, Shabana penned down a tribute and wrote,

"It¡¯s nice to be married to Javed Akhtar. Now, I¡¯ll tell you why it is also difficult to be married to him. I am a minimalist and he likes grandeur. We were building a bungalow in Khandala, and at one point, I was sure we would get divorced because of it. Then his friend, Farhan, told me to let him be. ¡°He is the man who slept on the streets and wants to have this. Don¡¯t forget that he is Sholay and you are Ankur,¡± he pointed out. The penny dropped, and I surrendered. Our house is completely his vision. Another area where we are polar opposites is in taking decisions. I am impulsive, but for Javed, everything is preceded by, ¡°theher jao, ruk jao, abhi sochte hai.¡± He berates me for being in a hurry. People think I am losing my hair because of my ¡®tender¡¯ age, but it¡¯s his patience that makes me tear it out."

Well, these love stories aren't perfect and full of twists and turns but they do tell us one thing: Love is love and when it's true, nothing else really matters!

(Creatives: Sahil Kedia/Indiatimes)