The celebrity wives club has presented great entertainment to millions of curious, envious Indians in the last two years.
Take the case of Kiran Rao, who, according to her statements, was a ‘reclusive but ambitious film buff’ and was looking for opportunities to get into directing a Bollywood film. The fact that Aamir Khan fell in love with her during the location shoots of Lagaan in 2002 – where the production was controlled by his first wife Reena Dutta and where Kiran was assisting director Ashutosh Gowarikar – turned over her life completely.
Already an admirer of Aamir – she had seen Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak 10 times – Kiran married him and became a celebrity wife overnight. “It doesn’t annoy me if I am referred to as Aamir’s wife,” she says, “I am proud to be that. But I don’t want to lose my own identity, and Aamir was very supportive when I wrote and directed Dhobi Ghat.” This was indeed obvious in the way Aamir promoted her directorial venture. In every statement, he praised and encouraged her, clearly showing how smitten he is with her energy and creativity.
Kiran is not the only celebrity wife who hit the headlines in 2010. The past two years have been an eventful time for all celebrity wives as the tribe seems to flourish with each passing year. Twinkle Khanna-Kumar, who married super star Akshay Kumar, hit the headlines when she endorsed the Micromax Q55 Bling cell phone with a ‘twinkle’ in it! She looked “phenomenal” according to leading ad gurus. The stylish, compact phone suited her personality – see the video on youtube.com – and Akshay Kumar’s voiceover with that amused laugh made it a treat for fans. Twinkle also became the cynosure of viewers’ eyes when she hit the media headlines as she unzipped Akshay Kumar’s branded ‘'Unbuttoned' jeans during the Lakme Fashion Week last year. Twinkle owns an interior design business called ‘White Window’ and is a high-end, award-winning entrepreneur in her own right.
Gauri Khan, the super stylish wife of Shah Rukh Khan, finally drew the curtain of privacy away from her life. She has produced many films for the actor’s Red Chillies Entertainment Company in which she is a partner and supported his career by managing the home and children. She also builds his art wealth by choosing contemporary paintings for their collection. During the past two years, probably for the first time ever, she appeared in a series of ‘cozy couple’ ads. She also got huge media coverage for her appearances on the ramp, modelling sizzling outfits for Karan Johar’s fashion shows. Family pictures of the Khans appeared everywhere, especially when they were seen at the IPL season, where they own the Kolkata Knight Riders team.
Having got a taste of ‘celebrity couple’ ads and TV shows, the year ahead may see more celebrity wives marching into the limelight.
‘Not without my man’
Suzanne Roshan, the beautiful wife of actor Hrithik Roshan, was in the news for appearing for the first time with her husband on the ‘Koffee With Karan’ show, in which she described her husband as “very hot and even hotter without clothes”.
Suzanne has not given in to the temptations of modelling for products though many offers have poured in for the couple to jointly campaign for prestigious brands. She has a successful interior design business and has decorated the homes of actresses like Rani Mukherjee.
This celebrity couple also celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary in Goa a few months ago and chartered planes for their guests. This event ended on a high note for Suzanne, who was the star of this celebration with her kids.
Some celebrity wives have been mentioned in the media but preferred to remain in the wings as far as publicity was concerned.
Radhika, wife of singer Shaan, was shown on TV channels all through the reality music shows in which the singer was a judge. There was a time when Radhika had said, “Constant spotlight on your husband gives one stress and insecurity. I felt lost in the beginning when I married Shaan. But it is 10 years now and I have handled the situation by being on top of things.”
India’s charismatic cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni married Sakshi Singh Rawat in an impromptu wedding in Dehradun last year. How he met her and how their romance flowered is yet not fully known. But Sakshi, in her early 20s, was catapulted into the dazzling world of publicity overnight with tabloid photographers and gossip writers chasing her every day of her life – because the cricketing season in India goes on all through the year!
Sakshi, hassled by lensmen, once complained to her famous husband who is reported to have told her to take responsibility for herself. “Walk up to the cameraperson,” he said, “And demand to erase the footage if you are not comfortable with it. It’s your choice to answer questions (from the media). You don’t need permission from me.”
Sakshi is still basking in the luminous glow of marriage and has not really occupied media space in spite of the curiosity about her among millions of admirers of her husband. “Give her time,” say publicists, “And she will be a wonderful ad wife for Dhoni!”
One celebrity wife who has chosen to remain in the shadows is Saira, wife of the music maestro A R Rahman. She was glimpsed at the Oscar Awards last year with her mother-in-law, watching her husband perform his award-winning song Jai Ho on stage. But other than that, she is hardly likely to come into the limelight on her own.
“Celebrity spotting is a highly-skilled game in the media today,” says Swati Gehani, an ad agency executive who handles celebrity careers. “Celebrity couples are wary of cameras that can intrude into their private space. Every phone has a camera. Some even have recording facilities. You never know when someone is recording what you say or do. It is unnerving to lose one’s privacy to this extent.” In such situations, the family of a star/ celeb is at risk. The children are photographed constantly and that can be stressful for all.
When roles are reversed
Wives, who are supportive and anonymous in a manner of speaking, are more suited to the life of a celebrity/ famous man. But the role reversal is a complicated affair. When a woman is the celebrity and the man is seen as her satellite, it is usually a painful situation for the man. He cannot tolerate playing second fiddle though he often does not mind the perks that go with his wife’s position. Often, such men choose to remain out of the picture altogether rather than be seen on camera. A man can rarely live in the shadow of his celebrity wife. Think about it.