A recent advertisement by a jewellery brand, Tanishq received a lot of hate on social media for promoting inter-faith marriage and religious tolerance. And ever since, the term ‘Love Jihad’ has been thrown around by political leaders and social media trolls. So we made a list of our favourite Bollywood celebrities who tied the knot because they fell in love with one another and nothing else mattered. 

1. Mini Mathur & Kabir Khan

The couple fell in love when Mini was still hosting shows and Kabir Khan was a documentary filmmaker. Mini said that their religious differences meant nothing to her, and Kabir did everything he could to impress her father. The couple now have two adorable kids. 

NDTV / Instagram

2. Kareena Kapoor & Saif Ali Khan

While Kareena is a Punjabi who comes from a long line of actors, Saif is the Nawab of Pataudi. The two fell in love on the sets of Tashan and tied the knot in 2012. They have a baby boy together, Taimur and are expecting their second child soon. 

TOI

3. Riteish Deshmukh & Genelia D’Souza

After dating for almost a decade, Riteish, a Hindu and Genelia, a Christian tied the knot in 2012. They had both a traditional Hindu Marathi wedding and a beautiful Christian ceremony in the church. They actors have two sons and are quite adorable on social media. 

The Bridal Box

4. Soha Ali Khan & Kunal Khemu

The actors tied the knot in 2015 in a private ceremony that was only attended by close family members and friends. The couple have a three-year-old daughter, Inaaya. 

Hindustan Times

5. Hussain Kuwajerwala & Tina Darira

These college sweethearts were the most adorable couple on Nach Baliye. Hussain, a Muslim tied the knot with his girlfriend, Tina, a Hindu, after 9 years of dating, in a ceremony with both sides of the family present in 2005. 

Bollywood Shaadis

6. Aamir Khan & Kiran Rao

After his divorce, Aamir tied the knot with Kiran in 2005. Aamir, is a Muslim actor and Kiran belongs to the Royal family of J Rameshwar Rao who was the Raja of Wanaparthy, Mahbubnagar district, Telangana. They have a nine-year-old son together, Azad Rao Khan.

The Bridal Box

7. Shah Rukh Khan & Gauri Chibber

The most popular love story in Bollywood, Shah Rukh, a Muslim boy fell in love with an 18-year-old Gauri, who came from a Hindu Brahmin family. After convincing her parents, the two tied the knot in 1991. 

TOI

8. Preity Zinta & Gene Goodenough

The actor and her American husband tied the knot in a Hindu ceremony in 2016. The two met in Los Angeles and dated for five years before they decided to get married. They held a reception in Mumbai post the wedding, to celebrate their special day with Bollywood biggies. 

TOI

9. Irrfan Khan & Sutapa Sikdar

The late Muslim actor tied the knot with his Assamese Hindu wife in 1995. The two were classmates at the National School of Drama and fell in love. They have two sons together, Babil Khan and Ayaan Khan. 

Bollywood Hungama

10. Ratna Pathak Shah & Naseeruddin Shah 

After his divorce, Naseer and Ratna Pathak met each other in 1975, when they were both a part of Satyadev Dubey’s play, Sambhog Se Sanyas Tak. Since Naseer wasn’t yet divorced from his first wife and just separated, the two decided to begin living together, post which they registered their marriage in 1982. They have two sons together, Imaad and Vivaan. 

Amarujala

11. Arshad Warsi & Maria Goretti

In 1991, Arshad was invited to St. Xavier’s college to judge their dance talent show and that’s where he met Maria, one of the participants. Three months later, they met again through a common friend, she joined his dance troupe and they began dating soon. After dating for 8 years, they tied the knot in both a Christian ceremony and a nikaah in 1999 on Valentine’s day. The couple have one son and one daughter. 

Bollywood Life

12. Sunil Dutt & Nargis

A true fairy-tale romance, their love story has been retold a thousand times. When the set of Mother India caught fire, and Nargis was trapped, Sunil barged in armed with nothing but a blanket to rescue her. What followed was a beautiful romance and the two tied the knot in a secret ceremony in 1958, not making it public for almost a year. 

13. Shirish Kunder & Farah Khan

Shirish, a Hindu and Farah Khan, a Muslim tied the knot in 2004, in both a South Indian Hindi wedding ceremony and a nikah. They met during the making of Main Hoon Na and now have three beautiful kids together. 

TOI

14. Manoj Bajpai & Shabana Raza

This couple has always kept their relationship very private. The Hindu actor from Bihar, Manoj, once divorced, met Shabana Raza aka Neha at the premier of Satya and they began dating soon. The couple tied the knot in 2006 and now have a daughter together. 

The Bridal Box

15. Atul Agnihotri & Alvira Khan

Actor, producer and director, Atul is a Brahmin from Punjab who tied the knot with Alvira, a fashion designer, producer and Salman Khan’s sister. The two got married in 1995 and now have a son, Ayaan and a daughter, Alizeh together. 

Amarujala

16. Mana Qadri & Suniel Shetty

Sine Monisha hailed from a part-Punjabi and part-Muslim family and Suniel came from a Tulu-speaking Bunt community of Karnataka, it took the couple 9 years to convince their families. They finally tied the knot in 1991, when Suniel career was just taking off. 

The Bridal Box

17. Urmila Matondkar & Mir Mohsin Akhtar

The veteran actor tied the knot with Kashmiri businessman and model, Mohsin Akhtar Mir in 2016. The two met through designer Manish Malhotra at his niece’s wedding in 2014 and immediately hit it off. 

Deccan Herald

18. Zayed Khan & Malaika Parekh

They fell in love as teenagers in school and got married in 2005, after Zayed received his first Filmfare award. The couple did not have any problems in convincing the families and now have two sons together. 

The Bridal Box

19. Amrita Arora & Shakeel Ladak 

Amrita, who is a Punjabi born to a Catholic mother, tied the knot with Shakeel, a Muslim businessman in 2009. The couple had a Christian, Muslim, and Punjabi wedding ceremony to honour their diverse cultures. 

TOI

20. Priyanka Chopra & Nick Jonas

Their whirlwind romance took the world by a storm. The two met at the Vanity Fair Oscars party, after texting for months and Nick immediately went down on one knee and asked her where she’d been all his life. Then they attended the 2017 Met Gala together and a year and a half later, Nick proposed. The two tied the knot in 2018, months after going public with their relationship. They had a Hindu as well as a Christian wedding ceremony. 

News18

21. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub & Rasika Agashe

In 2007, Zeeshan, a Muslim and Rasika, a Hindu tied the knot and now have a daughter together. Rasika even shared pictures of her godbharai, which took place 6 years ago. 

Pune Mirror

22. Kumud Mishra & Ayesha Raza

Kumud, a Hindu Brahmin and Ayesha, a Muslim, got married in 2007 and have a son together, Kabir. In an interview, Ayesha revealed that they fought for their family’s blessings in order to get married. 

India Times