Ruslaan Mumtaz could feel the pressure of the unearthly working hours of the Indian television industry when he had to rush from an overnight shoot of TV show "Kehta Hai Dil Jee Le Zara" to his own wedding Feb 14.
Ruslaan had to shoot for his daily soap all night Feb 13 until 10 a.m. the next day. Then he had to rush to a court with his long-standing girlfriend Nirali Mehta to make it just in time for their 11 a.m. wedding.
"It's true I was shooting all night for my serial. I then rushed from Film City to the court in Fort in my shooting costume! That was the only way I could make it in time for my court wedding," he said.
Ruslaan didn't have a day off and he seemed okay with it.
"I had a choice. My producers offered me the day off. But since I just went through a quick court marriage on Friday (Feb 14) with just Nirali's parents and my parents as eyewitnesses, I really didn't see the need to disrupt the shooting schedule. As we all know, the schedules for daily soaps are very tight," he said.
But why this rushed court marriage?
"Nirali was spending a lot of time in our home. Over the last four years, she has become a part of our household. My parents take Nirali's presence in our home as much for granted as mine. We didn't want raised eyebrows or make Nirali's parents feel uncomfortable with their daughter's lifestyle."
"So we quickly decided to make our relationship formal on Valentine's Day," said the young actor, who tried his luck in films before making his TV debut.
Ruslaan would be taking some days off now for a proper wedding and a honeymoon.
"Nirali and I are going through proper pheras (Hindu wedding custom) on March 2. Then on March 3, we'll leave for a brief honeymoon to the Maldives before I resume shooting for my serial."
"Given the time constraints, the Maldives is the only place I can take my wife to and come back in time. But not to worry, we've all time in the world for many honeymoons in the coming years," he quipped.
