Exclusive: Shahid and Mira Kapoor on when they first met, marriage and movies

The first time Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput met, they spoke for seven hours.

“The only thought going through my mind was, ‘Here we are, sitting in this room on these two big sofas with nobody else around.. Are we even going to last 15 minutes?’” Four years and some months later, Shahid Kapoor is on yet another couch, this time sitting right next to his wife Mira, as I meet them in his Juhu office. All signs of nerves and jitters from their first conversation have been left behind in 2014. There’s a natural flow of energy between them. She knows when to step back and he knows when to give her the spotlight. Mira, who knowingly stepped into the role of a star wife, never counted herself as a “fan girl.” “I’ve never been into movies, which I think was a good thing because following that first chat, when we actually got to know each other, it was for who we are…not for who others think we are,” she explains, revealing one other small niggling matter: “He was just off Kaminay and very scruffy!”

It’s not a classic meet-cute shared by many in the Indian film industry. Most have met their counterparts on sets and found comfort in each other’s multiple transatlantic flight paths and 3am shoot schedules. But Shahid and Mira’s rendezvous is one that singles among India’s 1.3 billion population can relate to, no matter their pincode, social status, religion or caste. It is said that 90 per cent of Indians marry a partner their parents have picked and only 10 per cent go down the idyllic path of choosing their own romantic partner. So, as I sit across from these two strangers, who then became lovers, partners and now parents to their two children Misha (3) and Zain (1), we relive what could be called a traditional Indian romance.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES

Although 1,000km apart, there’s a cultural chasm between Mumbai and Delhi that can’t be bridged merely by shared citizenship. Delhi is sharp, elite and laced with affectations that come from housing the prime minister and president of the country. Mumbai is relaxed and easy-going—plans are made and changed as easily as the sea breeze wafting through its bay. So, when Shahid and Mira met, age was a matter of consternation, of course (she was 21, he was 35), but so were their distinct backgrounds (she was fresh out of college, finding her footing in the world, he had just wrapped up his sixth hit, Kaminay, and was bachelor-pad-hunting in Mumbai) and their cities could well be continents unto themselves. “I really didn’t think about it as so many challenges to overcome. The change from Delhi to Mumbai was actually a very pleasant one. I love South Bombay! In fact, we celebrated our anniversary with a meal at The Table in Colaba,” Mira answers as she settles further into the couch, feet up and folded in her cobalt-blue joggers. “I’ve also picked up on the way of life and way of dressing here… The first time I wore a pair of ripped jeans was after I got married! His fluidity towards life is another quality I love. It’s helped me ease up a lot. He’s lived longer, so if anything, I can benefit from his experience, and he can benefit from my fresh perspective.” 
The next stop was meeting the friends. It’s all wonderful when you’re spending time together at Sufi concerts in the security of each other’s families (both sides follow the Radha Soami spiritual path, are strict vegetarians and follow a no-alcohol policy), but another when you become a joint entity to the world. Invitations came and off they went, now two as one. Like any new couple, Shahid kept one eye out for Mira as she stepped into his surroundings. “We’ve gone to parties where I’ve known many more people than she has,” he says, thinking back to the initial days of parading a new partnership, “But I’ve always found her having more intense conversations with people she’s met less than half an hour ago!”

MOVIES AND MAGIC

Hot off the success of his latest release, Kabir Singh, that met with an overwhelming 370-crore (and counting) response at the box office, Shahid is ecstatic. As a creative, it’s never easy putting your work out on display for the world to scrutinise and dissect and Shahid’s always turned to Mira for her even-keeled response. Early on into their relationship, he thought it would be a good idea for her to watch Udta Punjab (2016), a gritty portrayal of the drug epidemic in Punjab. “We sat together on a sofa and somewhere around the interval she had moved five feet away to the other edge. She looked at me and said, ‘You’re not this guy, right? Is this guy anywhere inside you? Tell me now while I can still walk away!’” he teases her. Mira always keeps it real. Her reaction to Shandaar (2015), he tells me, was, “The earlier you move on, the better.” So, when her response to Kabir Singh is that she’s now officially starstruck, he can’t help but give her a big, honest grin.

Needless to say, the kids won’t be seeing their dad play a drug addict or a lovestruck destructive anti-hero on screen any time soon. “For now it’s just Peppa Pig. We’re happy being ‘Mummy Pig’ and ‘Daddy Pig’,” he says. Bringing up Misha and Zain brought the pair together. Where otherwise they’re chalk and cheese—he’s into German techno, she likes Indie pop (‘Udd Gaye’ by Ritviz is currently on loop)—when it comes to the kids, they are a team. Roles are perfectly cut out and strategy takes centre stage—Mira the disciplinarian, Shahid the softy. “Our kids are the first two projects we actually did together. One year into an arranged marriage, when you haven’t spent enough time together [earlier], you really evolve around each other,” explains Shahid.

THE WEDDING

“He’s promised me we’re going to do it again!” Mira’s talking about renewing their vows. Back in July 2015, they had two events at Mira’s Delhi home and two receptions across Delhi and Mumbai, away from the glare of social media. “My wedding outfit arrived five days before the wedding!” she tells me, hyperventilating at the incredulous thought four years later. It was a pastel pink Anamika Khanna (Shahid suggested the designer), a colour she locked down a few days before the wedding over a poorly lit Whatsapp photo, when the location changed from a destination outside India to a dawn wedding in Delhi. But all the manic lists, last-minute changes and near-tear moments were all worth it when Shahid and Mira sat together around a sacred fire and ‘Shira’ caught on as the couple abbreviation of the year.

“The Anand Karaj ceremony was my favourite moment from the wedding. It was just a room full of our people, celebrating us, perfect strangers who were going to take this insane journey together…” reminisces Shahid. “Even though it’s just been four years, a large part of who I am has been formed since the day we got married.” Does it all feel anticlimactic once the big wedding planning is over and life kickstarts, I ask. “We were relieved! The formalities were over, and we could now start sharing our lives,” they answer.

Speaking of sharing, the first step when they moved into their new home was to divide up closet space—the bane of every cohabitating couple’s existence. “I obviously took the one with the drawers!” says Mira. “And now our house is constantly under renovation for more storage space…” pitches in Shahid. And just like that, theirs is a love story like every other.

Read the complete interview in Vogue Wedding Book 2019 issue that hits stands on September 7, 2019 along with the main issue. Subscribe here

Photographed by Errikos Andreou. Styled by Priyanka Kapadia

On Shahid: Embroidered kurta, bandi; both Shantanu & Nikhil. On Mira: Embroidered blouse, lehenga; both Shantanu & Nikhil. Diamonds and polki set in 18K gold ring, diamonds and polki set in 22K gold bangles, polki and emeralds set in 22K gold bangles, polki diamonds with peacock motif set in 22K gold bangles; all Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas Jaipur. Monogram trunk, Louis Vuitton

Hair: Leo/Hakim Aalim (Shahid); Florian Hureal/ Artist Factory (Mira). Makeup: James Gladwin (Shahid); Marianna Mukuchyan/Toabh (Mira). Floral design and decor: Jehangir Readymoney/Afreen Wedding Services. Prop stylist: Manisha Mulani. Props: The Great Eastern Home. Location courtesy: The Great Eastern Home. Production: Imran Khatri Productions; Divya Jagwani. Assistant stylist: Naheed Driver. Production assistant: Jay Modi. Photographer’s agency: DEU Creative Management