Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh on Their Bollywood Meet-Cute: 'We Waited 10 Years to Get Married'

Edited excerpt from the conversation.

RITEISH DESHMUKH: Genelia, tell me one favourite memory of ours that feels like it happened yesterday.

GENELIA DESHMUKH: I remember when we were shooting our first film together, we went to a nightclub. Riteish’s friend was there as well. And he said, ask him, ‘Hum aapke hai koun? (Who am I to you?)’ I asked him, and Riteish didn’t know where to look. I didn’t know where to look. It was a moment which I think started the whole, ‘Okay, there could be something here’.

GENELIA: What’s our favourite silly tradition that you have become fond of over time?

RITEISH: I don’t think it’s a silly thing, but I think it’s a wonderful tradition. The first time I went to a church with Genelia for mass, there’s this thing called ‘peace be with you.’ I was absolutely fascinated by this because suddenly you’re talking to each other, wishing each other, ‘Peace be with you’ and you do it to everyone. The first time I was doing it. I started doing it to everyone and —

GENELIA: He walked through the church doing it to everyone. I was like, ‘No, you just have to do it left, right and behind’. But he was so fascinated and he wasn’t even saying, ‘Peace be with you’. After a while it was just ‘Namaste, namaste’.

RITEISH: No, but I think it’s a wonderful tradition. So, every time I go to mass, that’s one part I wait for because that’s one thing I know how to do right. Peace be with you.

GRAND GESTURES

RITEISH: One memory that still gives you butterflies no matter how much time passes?

GENELIA: A very cute thing that Riteish used to do is, every 12th of February, he would send me a truck full of flowers, literally a truck of flowers. My mom used to ask, ‘But isn’t Valentine’s Day on 14th Feb?’ But that was the day that Riteish and I started dating. So, every year, without fail, he would send me that. Now you’ve stopped sending. There’s only butterflies in my stomach. Where is it?

RITEISH: You need to go away so I can send you love.

THE LONG GAME

GENELIA: If our kids hear our love story, which part do you think they will not believe?

RITEISH: That we waited 10 years to get married.

GENELIA: Yeah. My God. Imagine.

WORDS WORTH KEEPING

RITEISH: What’s a piece of advice for newlyweds on what they should hold on to from their dating phase?

GENELIA: Well, I’m a believer in patience, and I’m a believer in never giving up. So, I think not just the dating phase, but there’s a lot of investment that one puts into every relationship. You have to learn to let things go. There’s always going to be some issue, a difference of opinions, difference of personalities, growing every year with a different person. Riteish and I aren’t the same people we were 10 to 15 years ago. But that’s the beauty of it. Once you stop giving yourself options, you start enjoying the investment that you actually put into the relationship.

FINISH THAT THOUGHT

RITEISH: Complete the sentence: Always make time for —

GENELIA: Me! Only me. I love being a priority.

GENELIA: Complete the sentence: The real glow up in a marriage —

RITEISH: What’s glow up?

GENELIA: A glow up in the marriage is keeping your friendship intact. Being able to go through 24 hours a day with one person and wanting to go through the next 24 hours again.

RITEISH: Wow.

GENELIA: I think only I can go for 24 hours. And no matter how busy life gets, don’t forget to say I love you to each other.

RITEISH: Yeah, that’s important.