Marathi actress Sonalee Kulkarni proved that love in the time of a pandemic is equally strong as she got married in a low-profile ceremony in Dubai at a Hindu temple.
Foregoing the usual pomp and excess attached to big fat Indian weddings, Kulkarni led by example as she embraced an intimate ceremony and married her beau Kunal on May 7 and decided to donate the money saved from the wedding towards COVID-19 relief in India.
On her birthday on May 18, the actress took to her Instagram to reveal the big news.
Pictures reveal a loved-up Kulkarni wearing a royal blue sari with minimal traditional jewellery. The beaming faces of the groom and bride were their biggest accessory.
“Considering all the uncertainties due to COVID-19 and the overall pandemic situation around the world, it was important to stay safe and understand that a marriage was more important than the ceremony itself,” wrote Kulkarni on Instagram.
The couple were planning a lavish wedding in London in the summer, but decided to opt for a no-frills affair in Dubai due to the grim situation around the globe owing to the second wave ravaging several countries including India.
“Considering the devastation due to COVID in India, celebrating the marriage was out of the question. We thought we will save that money and use our wedding funds to help those suffering in India. After getting consent from both our parents, we decided to go to a small mandir [temple] in Dubai. Everything was planned in two days ... We had a 15-minute wedding with just four close friends as witnesses,” said Kulkarni.
She also gave a big shout out to her Dubai-based friends Deepali and Rahul Tulpule who helped with getting the formalities and paperwork sorted. They also doubled up as their witnesses. She also mentioned her foster parents Sachin and Shriya Joshi for supporting her with her decisions.
During her birthday last year, Kulkarni took to her social media to announce her engagement with Kunal.
Kulkarni is one of Marathi cinema’s leading stars and her credits include stirring films such as period saga ‘Hirkani’, comedy ‘Poster Girl’, drama ‘Mitwaa’, ‘Classmates’ and ‘Kshanbar Vishranti’. She’s currently judging ‘Yuva Dancing Queen’ and is fondly called Apsara (angel) — a nickname that she picked up because of her brilliant dancing skills.
