Ratna Pathak opens up about Naseeruddin Shah's family for accepting inter-faith marriage
Naseeruddin Shah, a veteran actor, married Ratna Pathak Shah in 1982. After decades of marriage, Ratna has spoken up about her family’s attitude to their union and how Naseeruddin’s family was more tolerant than her own. She also discussed the secret to a successful marriage.
In an interview with Hauterrfly, Ratna was asked if her family objected to her marriage with Naseeruddin. The actor said, “My dad was not entirely happy, but unfortunately, he passed away before we got married. Maa and Naseer had a more rocky relationship but they settled also and eventually became friends.”
Ratna continued, “Naseer’s family surprisingly didn’t make a fuss at all. Not once did anybody ever even mention the ‘C’ word, convert. Nobody said anything about me. They just accepted me for what I am. I’m very, very lucky because I’ve heard of people who have trouble settling down. Afterwards, I’ve been friends with all of them, including my mother-in-law, who was a very homebound kind of person but extremely liberal in every situation.”
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The actor also discussed her connection with Naseeruddin and how gender roles are not definite in marriage. She said, “Just listen to each other, man. Actually talk to each other. I respect him and his struggles very much more than my own because I got it easy. Naseer comes from a very traditional, particular kind of background.”
Speaking about the secrets of a successful marriage, she said, “Naseer said to me very early on in our relationship that it’s a good idea never to label a relationship, husband, wife, lover, girlfriend, boyfriend. Why label if you can just keep yourself more at the level of human beings, interact. It helps, and luckily, we were able to do that with our children as well.”
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