COLUMN: Spouse's Turn
Meher talks about life with her
actor-husband Rahman
By Shevlin Sebastian
One day, in 1992, the actor Rahman had
gone with his friend Essa to have a bite at the New Woodlands hotel in Chennai.
Soon, he noticed a family, which included three daughters, walking in. The
moment Rahman set his eyes on Meher, he was smitten. He told Essa he wanted to
marry the girl. By coincidence, Essa knew the family. A couple of months later,
a formal proposal was given.
“There were two hindrances,” says Meher. “We are an upper
middle-class family. My father was a pilot with Indian Airlines and, later,
Saudi Airlines. We were apprehensive because Rahman was from the film industry.
Secondly, my elder sister Saira was not married.”
Nevertheless, Rahman came to meet Meher on
November 18, 1992. Meher felt an excitement at seeing the film star at close
quarters. “He was everything that I wanted in a man,” she says. But Meher
wondered whether her father would agree. But there were no fears on that
account, because Rahman made a good impact on his future father-in-law, Abdul
Sattar.
“My father was very impressed,” says Meher. “He told me Rahman is a
simple and down-to-earth person.” The family accepted the proposal, and the
marriage took place on April 2, 1993. [Incidentally, Saira got married to
double Oscar Award winner, the music composer, A.R. Rahman, on March 12, 1995].
So what are actor Rahman’s plus points?
“He is a loving person and gets attached to people very quickly,” says Meher.
“He gets worried about whether I can manage to run the household in his
absence. When he is at home, he tries to share the responsibilities. Rahman
drops our children to school every morning.” The couple has two daughters, Rushda,
16, and Alisha, 9.
Of course, the big drawback is that Rahman
is rarely at home, thanks to long shooting schedules. So when Rushda was
celebrating her 16th birthday
on January 28, Rahman was unable to be present, even though he was in nearby Kochi, shooting for the
film, ‘Bachelor Party’. This was a single schedule of 40 days, in which there
was a combination of several actors in most of the scenes. “If Rahman came to
Chennai, then one whole day would go to waste for the director, as well as the
producer,” says Meher. “So, he had to stay on in Kochi.”
Meher also misses Rahman when there are
programmes at school and during parent-teacher meetings. “I have learnt to
accept his absence,” she says. “After all, he is the bread-winner of the
family.”
It is clear that absence makes the heart
fonder. “When he comes home, he is pampered by the three of us,” says Meher.
And because Rahman does not enjoy going to a beauty salon, his wife does the
facials at home. “I told him, ‘Will anybody believe that in the 21st century,
a wife is doing this?’” she says.
One reason is that Meher is still smitten
with him, even after 19 years of marriage. “Whenever I see him, I feel a strong
sense of love,” she says. And in October, 2011, after many years, the couple
went for a holiday to USA,
without their daughters, and spent time at Disney World at Florida. “We were like kids,” says Meher,
with a smile. “He made me take part in all the rides.”
At lunch time, Rahman encouraged her to eat
a turkey’s legs. “It was huge,” she says. “At least five to six times a
chicken’s leg. Rahman is a fun person to be with.”
The actor is six feet tall and looks smart
and handsome. So, does Meher feel apprehensive that other women will get
attracted to him? “I am sure girls like him, but this happens to all stars in
the film industry,” she says. “You have to accept that. When I was younger, I
would feel insecure. But he would tell me that this is what stardom is all
about. Ultimately, whereever you go, in the end you have to come back home.”
(The New Indian Express, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram)
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