By Mahlia Lone

Long thought of as a confirmed bachelor, news of George Clooney’s impending nuptials with London-based barrister Amal Alamuddin sent shock waves through his legion of female fans. Overnight he went from being public domain to the committed partner of one. It was a move that he himself could not have foreseen; claiming he was just not marriage material and made “a lousy husband” after a short lived marriage to actress Talia Balsam in 1989 floundered in its early days. He also went against type when choosing a wife, going against the model/cocktail waitress type that he generally dated. On top of that, his chosen woman was of Middle Eastern descent and, gasp, a Druze Muslim!

Born George Timothy Clooney on May 6th 1961 in Kentucky, he is a suave, debonair and handsome Hollywood leading man of the Cary Grant variety. Additionally, Clooney is thoughtful, intelligent and a committed humanitarian with a broadcast journalist father and a mother with both beauty and brains, having served as a beauty pageant queen and city councilwoman. He has also descended on his mother’s side from the same stock as President Abraham Lincoln. We can rightly imagine then that politics and current affairs rather than show business dominated the dinner table conversation at the Clooney household of his childhood. A young George must have absorbed all that talk like a sponge and filed it away for future use. Growing up in a fervent Catholic household, George attended Catholic schools and was even an altar boy for a time. Rebelling against his childhood and with big dreams in his head, George dropped out of college. First, he tried out to play professional baseball for the Cincinnati Reds, but he did not make the team. Then, he moved to LA to pursue an acting career, like his aunt Rosemary Clooney, who was also a famous cabaret singer.

His first jobs were women’s shoe and door-to-door insurance salesman, construction worker and tobacco cutter. These minimum wage jobs supplemented his meager income from playing bit parts on TV while he was a student at the Beverly Hills Playhouse acting school for five years. Then came hit TV show ER in the early 90s, on which he played Dr. Doug Ross with Juliana Margulies (currently starring in The Good Wife on TV) as his nurse love interest, catapulting him to instant stardom. Handsome George became a household name and the object of lust for millions of women around the globe. During his five year run on ER, Clooney was lured to the silver screen. His first film was Robert Rodriguez directed From Dusk till Dawn in which sultry Mexican siren Salma Hayek famously does a sexy snake dance. Then, he did a romantic comedy, One Fine Day with established star Michelle Pfeiffer and the action thriller The Peacemaker with the then Mrs. Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman. Rising star George Clooney was next cast as a superhero in Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin (1997) with Chris O’Donnell playing Robin and Steven Soderbergh directed cops and robbers flick Out Of Sight opposite a newly famous Latina, Jennifer Lopez in 1998. Next step was mega stardom with the Ocean’s Eleven trilogy. With a stellar ensemble cast, this heist movie was box office gold, a remake of a 1960 film starring Frank Sinatra. As Danny Ocean, Clooney led a modern day Rat Pack, including Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Don Cheadle, to name just a few of the actors bringing their combined star power to this fun blockbuster series.

In 2003, in opposition of the Iraq War, he said prophetically, “You can’t beat your enemy anymore through wars; instead you create an entire generation of people seeking revenge… Our opponents are going to resort to car bombs and suicide attacks because they have no other way to win… I believe (Secretary of Defense under George W. Bush) Donald Rumsfeld thinks this is a war that can be won, but there is no such thing anymore. We can’t beat anyone anymore”

Not content to rest on his acting laurels, in 2001, Clooney co-founded Section Eight Productions with Academy Award winning director Steven Soderbergh and the following year Clooney proceeded to venture into directing with the biographical spy thriller Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, earning favourable reviews for his direction. In 2005, Clooney won his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the Middle East based political thriller Syriana that was inspired by the memoirs of former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent Robert Baer of his posting in the Middle East. In 2013, Clooney received the Academy Award for Best Picture for producing yet another political thriller Argo. As an actor, screenwriter, producer and director, Clooney is the only person so far who has been nominated for an Oscar in six different categories.

In 2006, Clooney started another production company named Smokehouse Pictures. That same year, Clooney received the American Cinematheque Award, honoring his “significant contribution to the art of motion pictures.” In the recent past, Clooney has co-starred with Sandra Bullock in the 2013 sci-fi thriller Gravity, as well as produced August: Osage County, starring the Academy Award winning actresses Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts that same year.

A serial dater, Clooney dated in succession the actress Kelly Preston, who went on to marry John Travolta, actress Ginger Lynn Allen, French reality TV personality Céline Balitran, British model and TV presenter Lisa Snowdon with whom he had an off and on five year relationship, Hollywood star Renée Zellweger, actress Krista Allen, reality personality Sarah Larson, Sophie Dahl English model, IT girl, author and granddaughter of children’s books celebrated author Roald Dahl, Italian lingerie model and TV host Elisabetta Canalis, and even a statuesque former WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) wrestler Stacy Keibler. Showing them off at award shows as arm candy, when his girlfriends, enjoying the limelight and the glamorous life on the arm of a Hollywood idol, became serious and wanted marriage he would promptly break up with them, politely reminding them that wasn’t part of the deal. Soon it became a running joke that just as one of his movies was named Good Night and Good Luck, so did that come at the end of a date with Mr. Clooney.

In September 2013, when Clooney met human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin at a charity fund raising dinner in Venice, he was discussing Middle East politics with the ease of a man who effortlessly commands an audience. She, however, was not impressed and quickly put him in his place. He was naturally intrigued, so used to women throwing themselves at him willy nilly

Clooney has admitted publicly that he greatly admires and looks up to his father Nick, so it was just a matter of time that he espoused worthy causes as a political activist and humanitarian. He supported the Democratic Party and President Obama in both his campaigns for the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. George is a staunch supporter of gay rights. In 2003, in opposition of the Iraq War, he said prophetically, “You can’t beat your enemy anymore through wars; instead you create an entire generation of people seeking revenge… Our opponents are going to resort to car bombs and suicide attacks because they have no other way to win… I believe (Secretary of Defense under George W. Bush) Donald Rumsfeld thinks this is a war that can be won, but there is no such thing anymore. We can’t beat anyone anymore.”

As a humanitarian, Clooney is involved with Not On Our Watch Project that focuses global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities, like the Armenian genocide, along with Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, etc. He has raised funds for the 2004 Tsunami, 9/11 New York attack and for the 2010 Haiti earthquake victims by organizing the Hope for Haiti Now telethon to collect donations.

His most significant contribution has been to the Darfur conflict in Chad and Sudan to date. With his father he travelled to Africa in 2006 and made the TV special A Journey to Darfur, showing the dire situation of Darfur’s refugees. Then, he was the executive producer and narrator for the documentary film Sand and Sorrow, on the Darfur crisis. Additionally, he addressed a Save Darfur rally in Washington, D.C. in the same year, and at the UN Security Council alongside Nobel Prize-winner Elie Wiesel appealed the UN to find a solution to the conflict and help the people of Darfur. Clooney appeared in Don Cheadle produced 2007 documentary Darfur Now, to appeal to people all over the world to help stop the Darfur crisis. Clooney and Don Cheadle received the Summit Peace Award from the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in Rome. In his acceptance speech, Clooney said, “Don and I … stand here before you as failures. The simple truth is that when it comes to the atrocities in Darfur … those people are not better off now than they were years ago.” The United Nations announced Clooney’s appointment as a UN Messenger of Peace in 2008.

In September 2013, when Clooney met human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin at a charity fund raising dinner in Venice, he was discussing Middle East politics with the ease of a man who effortlessly commands an audience. She, however, was not impressed and quickly put him in his place. He was naturally intrigued, so used to women throwing themselves at him willy nilly. He asked for her number, which she refused to proffer, thinking him a serial womaniser. Finally, after much cajoling, he managed to get her email address. After doing some homework on her, he sent her this flirtatious email: “I think the reported hottest man in the world should meet with the hottest human rights lawyer in the world.” In her mid thirties and single, Amal had been voted the hottest barrister in London in 2013 by the blog Your Barrister Boyfriend. George Clooney has not only has been voted People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive on more than one occasion and No. 1 on TV Guide’s 50 Sexiest Stars of All Time list in 2005, but has also been included in 2009’s list of Time (magazine) 100 “Most Influential People in the World.” Amal that had prior to this in London been crying over several glasses of wine that she may never find a husband to her best friend, who later included this in her toast at the  grand Clooneywedding, was being courted by the world’s Most Eligible Bachelor, as he was dubbed by the press.

The chase was on. Shrewdly playing hard to get, Amal was cool at first, not responding to his emails. Then, finally, she replied. She couldn’t resist the heady allure of Clooney’s charms for long. They met for a dinner date at London hotspot Berner’s Tavern where they talked about a surveillance satellite program over Syria. On Valentine’s Day, they came out as a couple at a special White House screening of Clooney’s World War II movie The Monuments Men, where the two were photographed coyly holding hands. Not content just to wine and dine her, Clooney whisked off Amal to a string of luxe holidays at exotic locales from Seychelles to Tanzania (on a safari) and Mexico. His only stipulation to her was that she quit smoking, which she promptly gave up cold turkey.

Within six months they were engaged with a 7 carat, £500,000 emerald-cut diamond set in a platinum band. Clooney proposed over a home cooked pasta meal that he himself prepared. The engagement was celebrated at celebrity haunt Nobu in Malibu, where he had invited his friends, i.e. Cindy and Rande Gerber, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, and Edward Norton, to meet his fiancée after which he took her to Bono’s (lead singer of U2) party.

The world was agog with curiosity about how a regular non-celeb had achieved the impossible and got George Clooney to propose. His former girlfriends had sweetly smiled, appeared accommodating and non-demanding to no avail. The readers clamoured for information, which the press happily provided. Paparazzi followed the barrister around town as she quickly upped her style game.

Amal was born in February 1978, in Beirut to a businessman father, who belonged to a prominent Druze famil,y and a Sunni mother, who is a foreign editor of an Arab newspaper and a PR professional. Druze is a closed sect, the members of which may or may not be considered Muslim. This offshoot of the Ismaili sect has elements of Judaism, Christianity, but primarily of Islam. The Druze community is tightly knit due to constant persecution historically and no one can convert to the religion, you have to be born to it. The family moved to London in 1980 to get away from the Lebanese civil war.

Amal graduated in 2000 from St. Hugh’s College, Oxford University with a BA degree in Jurisprudence. An extremely bright and hard working girl, she received the Exhibition and Shrigley awards there. The following year, she enrolled in the Masters program at the New York University School of Law, where she was a clerk at the International Court of Justice. There, she received the Jack J. Katz Memorial Award for Excellence in Entertainment Law. She returned to London and was called to the bar (Bar of England & Wales, Inner Temple) and started working as a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, specialising in international law and human rights. Her client roster reads like a Who’s Who of international political players, such as WikiLeak founder Julian Assange, former Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko, imprisoned Canadian-Egyptian journalist Mohamed Fahmy, the former Libyan intelligence chief Abdallah Al Senussi, the King of Bahrain, the State of Cambodia, Greece, and currently the former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed. In 2013, Amal was appointed by the UN as an adviser to Special Envoy Kofi Annan on Syria and as counsel to the 2013 Drone Inquiry by into the use of drones in counter-terrorism operations. It was just after this that she met Hollywood crusader George Clooney and corrected his facts about the Syrian geopolitical situation.

In an interview, George said of why he fell in love with Amal, “She’s an amazing human being. And she’s caring. And she also happens to be one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. And she’s got a great sense of humor.”

But it was only after she became Amal Clooney that she was chosen by Barbara Walters, American TV’s foremost interviewer, as the Most Fascinating Person of 2014.

When she made her red carpet debut at the Celebrity Fight Night charity event in Florence as Clooney’s fiance, the tall, slim and elegant brunette wowed in a black strapless silk gown with dangly gold earrings. A tuxedoed Clooney got onto the stage and declared, “I met my lovely bride-to-be here in Italy, whom I will be marrying, in a couple of weeks, in Venice, of all places… I would just like to say to my bride-to-be, Amal, that I love you very much and I can’t wait to be your husband.”

They filed for their marriage license in London and the notice was put up, as stipulated by English law, on the Chelsea Town Hall public board. In September, the wedding of the year took place. The happy couple arrived by a speed boat named Amore in Venice waving to the waiting crowds and a throng of eager photographers. Amal was clad in cream Stella McCartney wide legged trousers, short sleeve top wide brimmed hat with black ribbons in her hat and at her waist, and carrying a beige envelope clutch, while George was dapper in a grey Armani suit and black tie as they proceeded to the Venice City Hall for a civil ceremony. On the 26th, they celebrated the last night of singlehood at their respective bachelor and bachelorette parties. His was a seven course meal at Ristorante de Ivo restaurant where copious amounts of Casamigos tequila, owned jointly by Clooney and Rande Gerber (Cindy Crawford’s husband) and vintage wine, were consumed by the groom and five of his closest friends. The £3000 bill was waived by the restaurant owner for his famous frequent customer.

At the rehearsal dinner held at the Belmont Cipriani Hotel (where the entire wedding party was staying at the cost of £40,000 per night), Amal wore a fiery red waterfall cut (high-low) silk Alexander McQueen dress designed by Sarah Burton (who also designed Kate, Duchess of Cambridge’s lace wedding gown) that put her toned legs on display. She had a matching scarlet pout, left her luxuriant hair loose with a bouncy blow dry and wore black pumps and big diamond earrings. He wore an open neck white shirt and navy suit.

The next day on 27th September, the wedding ceremony took place at the 7 star Aman Canal Grande Hotel, which Clooney had volunteered to pay for but her father refused his help. However, Clooney footed the bill for the rest of the weekend long affair, including travel expenses of all the guests. Amal wore a white French lace and tulle Oscar de la Renta off-the-shoulder wedding gown embroidered with diamante and pearls with a circular train, a wide neckline and a cathedral length veil, costing £10,000. It was one of the last dresses that the late de la Renta was personally involved in designing. She wore simple natural white pearl earrings with square cut diamond accents. For the reception, she wore another de la Renta, a beaded and tiered short gold flapper dress more fit for dancing. George wore a Giorgio Armani tux. A Tuscan feast was laid out for the A-lister guests, such as American Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour and actor Bill Murray. Ravioli with Lemon and Ricotta, and a Lemon and Blue Lobster Risotto comprised the first course. The second course was a Chianina Tuscan Beef, and dessert was a Chaud-Froid (hot-cold) with Zabaglione (custard). The Chocolate Wedding Cake was equally decadent with intricate gold leaf decorations.

The next morning the bride wore a Giambattista Valli cream heavy lace short dress with colourful floral appliqués, while her new husband wore another grey suit. The weekend festivities ended with the couple departing on Monday, her in a monochromatic striped dress carrying a hat box and him in yet another grey suit with open neck shirt. Clearly, the barrister chose her wedding wardrobe as skillfully as she fights her cases. It was her moment to shine with the world’s spotlight on her and shine she did! Though Amal’s father in his wedding speech asked the newly to quickly have children, the couple have not chosen to do so as yet. They have adopted a basset hound named Millie. The Clooney’s main residences are: a 7500 square foot house in LA, a $10 million charming and historic villa on Lake Como, a holiday home in Los Cabos, Mexico, and a Grade II-listed, 17th century manor Mill House on the Thames in Oxfordshire that he bought her for £10 million pounds. The estate is a 40 minute drive from her chambers.

Having kept up her busy law practice fighting high profile cases, in a recent televised interview, Amal spoke of using her newfound celebrity for a good cause, “If there’s more attention paid – for whatever reason – to that, then I think that’s good….I think there is a certain responsibility that comes with that. And you know, I think I’m exercising it in an appropriate manner by continuing to do this kind of work.” In addition, she is a visiting Professor at Columbia Law School. She has also partnered with the global initiative 100 Lives and founded the Amal Clooney Scholarship, whereby one female student from Lebanon is sent to the United World College Dilijan each year for a two-year International Baccalaureate program.

Meanwhile, George has been busy with upcoming movies releasing in 2016, such as the Coen Brother’s Hail Caeser, in which he plays a 1950s Hollywood fixer, and Jodie Foster directed thriller Money Monster opposite Julia Roberts.

The couple juggles their hectic careers and have made a deal with each other not to spend more than a week apart. “I’m a much happier person and we have a very happy life. We enjoy many of the same things and I very much enjoy the projects that she takes on because they have real consequence,” said Clooney describing their married life in glowing terms and how he is more fulfilled now than ever before: a recipe for marital success.

By Mahlia Lone

What makes a Bollywood power couple? It takes talent, good looks, connections, lineage, box office success, awards, and an ability for self promotion and marketing to become a star. When both partners possess these ingredients then the sum is greater than the parts, as in the case of Saif+Kareena=Saifeena. Let’s take a look at these savvy stars and what they want to achieve together

“If you are in love and you are happy, then that’s all that matters. I believe in the institution of marriage. It’s like a tag to cement the relationship for your friends, family and public. And it is a celebration of the fact that Saif and I are in love and we want to spend our life together,” said Kareena Kapoor Khan speaking about her marriage to fellow actor Saif Ali Khan.

Eleven years his junior, one of the most popular and highest paid Bollywood actresses at the time of their 2012 wedding, what made Kareena Kapoor go for Saif Ali Khan, a short squeaky-voiced supporting actor and divorced father of two children, albeit a nawab? Unlike other Indian actresses who are photogenic and less attractive in real life, apparently Kareena (named by her mother Babita after Leo Toltstoy’s epic novel Anna Karenina) is tall and extremely pretty in person, just as she appears on screen. She is also Bollywood royalty, theater and film actor Prithvi Raj Kapoor’s great granddaughter and film maker/studio owner/actor Raj Kapoor’s granddaughter. Nearly all the Kapoors are or have been working actors, including in her immediate family her father Randhir Kapoor, her mother Babita, who is of Anglo-Indian descent, and even her elder sister Karisma. In fact, her parents split up because Babita wanted her daughters to become actresses, but the more conservative Randhir did not think it suitable for the women of the family. Though many of the male members of the family married actresses, they were all made to retire from their careers and become housewives, which they willingly did.

Saif Ali Khan, named Sajid at birth, comes from an entirely different stock from his father’s side. He is the tenth Nawab of Pataudi, (honorary) titular head of 52 villages, who studied at prestigious Winchester College in England and grew up in Ibrahim Palace, 26 km from Gurgaon, a New Delhi suburb. Ibrahim Palace is a vast fairytale palace that looks straight out of Disney’s Aladdin and has recently been renovated and converted to a hotel. His father Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, the ninth Nawab, also known as Tiger Pataudi, captained the Indian national cricket team, as did his paternal grandfather the eighth Nawab Iftikhar Ali Hussain who played first class cricket for both the British and Indian cricket teams. Saif’s paternal grandmother Begum Sajida Sultan was the daughter of the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal, while his mother is former B’wood actress Sharmila Tagore (renamed Begum Ayesha Sultana after converting to Islam uon her marriage), herself the granddaughter of Rabrindranath Tagore, the Nobel Prize winning Bengali poet. She currently serves as the head of the Indian censorship board. Saif’s youngest sister Soha Ali Khan and her husband Kunal Khemu are also actors, as was his first wife Amrita Singh, who hails from a Sikh landed family.

Amrita is not only 12 years older than her ex-husband, but physically taller and broader as well with a husky voice. Though the marriage lasted for some 13 years and produced two children Sara and Ibrahim, Saif cheated on her for a considerably portion of the time, finally leaving her for a Swiss model Rosa Catalano. Rosa herself contemplated moving to India and also becoming an actress at which point the by now divorced Saif broke up with her and started reinventing himself in an effort to revamp his image and career.

Saif Ali Khan is the tenth Nawab of Pataudi, (honorary) titular head of 52 villages, who studied at prestigious Winchester College in England and grew up in Ibrahim Palace, outside New Delhi, which has recently been renovated and converted to a hotel. His father Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, also known as Tiger Pataudi, captained the Indian national cricket team, as did his paternal grandfather the eighth Nawab Iftikhar Ali Hussain, who played first class cricket for both the British and Indian national cricket teams. Saif’s paternal grandmother Begum Sajida Sultan was the daughter of the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal

Kareena, as younger sister of Karisma, a mildly successful lead heroine, had a highly anticipated film entry, though unluckily she opted out of a debut film with Hritihik Roshan’s Kaho Na Pyaar Hai (2000) that went on to be a big hit. Struggling to find her niche with initial box office duds, she finally had a massive hit with Karan Johar’s Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Ghum opposite Hritihik, with whom she reportedly also had an under the radar fling. Though the movie was a multi-starrer, Kareena gained a fan following after portraying an Indian version of Alicia Silverstone’s character in the hit Hollywood teen comedy Clueless. An intuitive and spontaneous actress, Kareena continued with fluff roles till she played the role of a prostitute in the film Chameli, for which she won a Filmfare Award. She started a relationship with newcomer Shahid Kapoor, a diminutive trained dancer, which lasted for three to four years and a mobile video of them French kissing went viral during this time. It was after their hit movie together Jab We Met that she broke up with him. Though she had starred with Saif Ali Khan in two movies up to this point, including the Othello inspired Omkara, they had not had many scenes together. To get over her breakup, Kareena decided to focus on exercise, weights and yoga (she can do 50 sun salutes at a time holding eacho position for 30 seconds), and diet regimen by becoming a vegetarian to get her body in tip top shape. Her size 0, 48 kg figure was then duly reported in the press and a noticeably trimmer Kareena appeared in tiny hot pants and bikini tops in the 2007 Yash Raj movie Tashaan, opposite a buffed up and goateed Saif Ali Khan. According to Kareena, it was during an outdoor shoot for this movie that she saw Saif lying bare-chested in just his jeans, sunning himself at the hotel pool that she checked him out and thought he was hot. However, according to what Shahid Kapoor alluded to in his interviews, there was some overlapping, during which time Kareena decided to dump the young actor for his older, vastly more eligible rival.

The phenomenon of Saifeena, as they were dubbed by the Indian press, was born. They announced their relationship at the Lakme Fashion Week that year.  A source reported to the press, “Bebo (Kareena’s childhood nickname) and Saif behave like teenagers in love. They constantly send each other lovey-dovey messages and even have photos of one another on their phones.”

The couple garnered much publicity that has translated into many lucrative endorsements and modeling contracts together as a couple. Kareena, who has not been averse to plastic surgery to fine tune her looks though she has never publicly accepted this, introduced her boyfriend to botox and collagen fillers to rejuvenate his middle aged looks. Saif, henceforth, started appearing in films creaseless and with a taut forehead and an expressionless face. The publicity also helped his career and he ventured into film production making moderately successful films. Not only did Kareena help him out by starring in some of these, like his 2012 movie Agent Vinod, but she has also said she helps him market his films. “Saif just doesn’t take himself seriously enough. After his performance in Love Aaj Kal (2009 movie produced by Saif’s production company Illuminati Films that he stars in opposite Deepika Padukone and that has been directed by Imtiaz Ali), I’m convinced Saif’s best time begins now. But he doesn’t know how to market himself….This is Saif’s best performance after Omkara. I’m so proud of him. Love Aaj Kal is as much my baby as Saif’s. I’m going to be completely involved in the publicity, marketing, everything. This is our first production and we’re going to make it rock.”Not content with just taking vacations together, Saif told Babita that he was committed to her daughter and wanted her to move in with him. “Kareena is my woman and we know that we want to spend the rest of our lives together.” Babita gave them her blessing and they started living together like a modern Indian couple.

   Actresses that Saif formerly had flings with, such as Priyanka Chopra, Bipasha Basu (during the fliming of Race) and Yana Gupta, Kareena is openly hostile and bitchy to, calling Bipasha, a “kaali billi” (black cat) for her dusky complexion. She said she knows that Saif has sown his wild oats, but now he has become grounded and if he ever cheats on her she threatened, “I will slaughter him.”

But Saif proved his faithfulness to her and five years of dating later, they decided that their hectic careers allowed them a short time in which to tie the knot. “Of course, I want to be with her as much as I can,” Saif said in an interview. “My regret is we can’t be together more often. We are uncannily similar people and I’ve only now begun to understand why I need to be with her constantly. She complements me, as I hope I complement her. So of course, I try to be where she is.”

During this time, Kareena’s career went from strength to strength. She’s the only heroine who can boast of starring in four hits that have grossed over Rs.1 billion each and has starred in films with all the top Khan triumvirate: Salman, Aamir and Shah Rukh. The highest paid Indian actress in 2012 for Heroine, receiving Indian Rs. 80 million (PKR 127 m) and with 16 brand endorsements, Kareena stints herself no indulgence. In 2010, Kareena bought herself a seven-carat diamond solitaire. She said in an interview that the ring was bought based on the advice of an astrologer who said it would bring her stability and happiness in her life. She also owns a fleet of luxury cars including a Mercedes S class sedan, an SUV and a Lexus LX 470. Kareena never misses an opportunity to head to Europe to unwind with London and Swiss skiing destination Gstaad being her top favourite vacation spots. She believes that two actresses in the same league can never be best friends, so her pal is struggling actress Amrita Arora.  On October 27, 2011, Kareena’s wax statue was unveiled at Madame Tussauds in Blackpool in the UK. Quite the entrepreneur, Kareena also has a clothing brand and has co-written a few diet books.

At the age of thirty, Kareena became Mrs. Khan in a lavish wedding with five main functions spanning two cities. Unlike prior Pataudi Begums, she refused to covert from Hinduism to Islam or give up her lucrative film career. With his father already deceased, Saif did not demur and indulged his bride in all her wishes. The starry Mumbai functions, a Sangeet, a Mehndi and a Reception were hosted by Kareena’s parents. It was reported, “The Sangeet evening was marked with music, dance and masti. The terrace party was held at Kareena’s Bandra residence. Buddies Malaika Arora Khan, Amrita Arora, and Tusshar Kapoor shimmied to well-choreographed moves by Karan Johar. There was an array of dance performances to popular Bollywood numbers dedicated to the lovely couple. The terrace venue was covered to prevent media getting a snoop….Kareena in a pretty sari set the tone and note for the mehndi ceremony, where Saif looked dapper in a tuxedo. The mehndi ceremony was coupled with a private dinner for family and friends, which took place in Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. The bride chose to wear ensembles made for her by her favourite fashion designer, Manisha Malhotra and especially created diamond and gem encrusted jewellery. A simple Nikkah and signing of the marriage registry was held at Saif’s residence in Mumbai. This was a personal affair to which they donned shalwar kameezes and waved to the press from the balcony. Kareena had refreshingly minimal makeup on. It was reported, “The after-marriage bash was a vibrant affair. Around 150 selected guests attended the celebration. B-town celebs like Shah Rukh Khan with wife Gauri, Sonam Kapoor with dad Anil Kapoor, Amrita Arora with husband Shakeel Ladak, Priety Zinta, Karan Johar, Tusshar Kapoor, and many more upped the starry quotient of the evening. Family members including Randhir Kapoor, Babita, Karisma, Rishi Kapoor with wife Neetu Singh and son Ranbir, Soha Ali Khan, along with Saif’s daughter Sara and son Ibrahim were seen in a joyous mood.”

“After marriage, love becomes bigger, better. There’s greater understanding and respect. Saif admires me for being a working woman. A partner should help you fly. Saif’s perfect!…I can’t breathe without love. It gives me energy, a feeling of belonging, the need to GO out and conquer the world,” said Kareena

Then, the wedding moved to New Delhi where Sharmila hosted a grand Dawat-e-Valima in true Nawabi style at the Ibrahim Palace. All the top politicians and remaining royal families of the land attended. The Pataudi relatives from Lahore flew in as well. Kareena wore traditional gold jewellery that complemented a gharara, replicated by ace Delhi fashion designer Ritu Kumar from a vintage one worn by Begum Sajida Sultan at her wedding to the eighth Nawab Pataudi. Then, the Begum passed it to her daughter in law Sharmila, who wore it at her own wedding. Saif wore a Benarasi brocade achkan that had been copied by menswear designer Raghavendra Rathore from achkans worn by Saif’s father Mansoor Ali Khan in his lifetime. Saif carried the ceremonial family sword and wore a traditional pagri on his head. Even the paans served at the valima were special crafted according to an age old recipe. Sharmila wanted to impress the Kapoors with the Pataudi family’s pedigree, royal traditions and aristocratic connections, which she did so, sparing no expense or effort. “Celebrities from the world of cricket, Bollywood and politics graced the Mughal-themed reception. The cream and gold décor with antique props, jasmine floral arrangements and traditional brass hanging diyas added a delicate spice and romance to the wedding ambiance,” it was reported. Against the glittery, B’wood wedding, the regal Delhi wedding festivities made quite an impact. No glitzy hotel or palatial bungalow could compete with the newly renovated splendor of the Old World and regal Ibrahim Palace. Upon attendance to their new step mother at the wedding were teenage Sara and Ibrahim. Saba and Soha Ali Khan, Saif’s younger sisters, also fittingly played prominent roles at the wedding.

The couple returned to their respective film sets after the wedding and it was a little before they could take off for their honeymoon.

Kareena has maintained that she will continue to act and may not have children till the age of 39. Kareena likes to cook for her husband, while he plays the guitar for his ladylove. She has also carefully cultivated a close relationship with his daughter Sara. Kareena said in an interview. “They are the most well brought up children. I always remember Sara standing up and doing adab (greeting). Both Sara and Ibrahim are like that. I am like a friend for them…. In fact, we’re like best friends. Saif refuses to come out with us. Sara’s my bar hopping partner. I enjoy my equation with her…. At times Sara and I chat over a glass of champagne. That’s the way Saif wanted it and that’s the way I wanted it. Whenever she wants to call me she does at time when Saif isn’t around and she doesn’t want to talk to him. She talks to me.’’

In another interview, Kareena said, “’After marriage, love becomes bigger, better. There’s greater understanding and respect. Saif admires me for being a working woman. A partner should help you fly. Saif’s perfect!’ She pointed out that she’s given a lot of time to the marriage, in fact to every relationship. ‘I can’t breathe without love. It gives me energy, a feeling of belonging, the need to go out and conquer the world,’ she stressed.”
“I understand people want to put our relationship under a microscope. They want to know about our relationship,” said Saif thoughtfully in an interview. “But there’s only so much that they can know or perceive. What Kareena and I feel for each other, only the two of us know.”