Athiya Shetty and KL Rahul got married at Suniel Shetty's bungalow in Khandala on January 23. It was an intimate affair with less than 100 people in attendance. Now, a week after wrapping the festivities, the bride's father, Suniel, penned down an emotional note talking about the wedding. Showering love and praise on his daughter, the actor opened up about the 'most important day of her life'.
Suniel wrote in his note, "Like most men, I always wanted a daughter. God blessed us with Athiya - who’s grown up to be an independent & affectionate girl. A lot like Mana’s mother. She’s been a source of strength for our family, apart from being our chief entertainer. And like any father, her wedding was a day I looked forward to. As parents, we knew this was going to be the most important day of her life & the start of a new journey, the most significant one."
He further said, "For the kind of people they both are, we weren’t surprised that they wanted to keep things traditional & simple. Mana & I were overjoyed when, together they decided that they’d like to get married in our Khandala home. Mana & I had literally built this home for our kids. Through the busiest & most challenging periods of our lives, that home has been my family’s happy place, in the lap of nature. A lot of our happiest memories are from those little breaks we’d take in that home when the kids were growing up. In the end, the festivities turned out just as we’d hoped. There were less than 100 guests & at no point did things seem like a strain. Everyone dressed traditionally, laughed & danced. Pure joy. Hopefully, Ahan, Mana & I did a good job hosting everyone."
Calling Rahul 'humble', Suniel shared, "Despite having the adulation of the nation, Rahul remains humble. He’s well-mannered, intelligent, & extremely composed. Mana & Rahul are a riot together! Most importantly, like all athletes, he’s seen ups & downs - which is something that will help him long after he’s done with cricket. Athiya is blessed to have found such a loving family, because his parents are really just the nicest people."
Speaking about signing the new role of being a father-in-law, Suniel said, "People ask me how it feels to be a father in law now, & I’m not sure how I’m expected to behave! What I do know is that I’ve always treated Rahul like my own son, and that’s how it’ll always be. That he happens to be pretty good at my favourite sport, is a bonus! Being public figures, people assume that Athiya & Rahul enjoy the attention. Deep down however, they’re simple, private people. They chose to remain private on the most important day of their lives. The media was supportive of our request for privacy, and they let us be, and for that we’re grateful. Both kids have been brought up with similar values, know the strength of family bonds & have a great appreciation for how real partnerships can define outcomes."
After Athiya and Rahul's wedding, Suniel shared pictures on Instagram. He wrote, "A hand to hold and a reason to believe because sometimes the right place is a person and the ingredients love and trust … congratulations and God bless my bachchas "
(Source: Linkedin)
