When R Madhavan spoke of ‘beautiful women’ at work, how he took his wife Sarita Birje to shoots

On Sunday, actor R Madhavan and his wife Sarita Birje’s celebrated their wedding anniversary. He took to his Instagram Stories and shared a picture of the couple and wished her on the occasion. “It’s been 22 years and you still bring out the child in me. Happy anniversary honey. Love you loads,” the captioned read.

Sarita shared a then-and-now post, featuring a picture from the couple’s wedding and wished the actor. “It’s been 22 years & you still bring out the child in me happy Anniversary honey love you loads @actormaddy,” she said. However, did you know that Madhavan and Sarita’s love story began with a dinner.

The couple first met in 1991, when Madhavan was Sarita’s teacher. Speaking with a leading daily, Madhavan had revealed that he was teaching a subject in Sarita’s class. “I was teaching a personality development class in Kolhapur when I met Sarita,” Madhavan revealed. “She was aspiring for a job in an airliner and attended my classes. When she finally bagged the cat, she thought it was in part, due to my classes and took me to a ‘thank you’ dinner. That’s how it started,” he added.

Madhavan tied the knot a year before he made his big-screen debut with Alaipayuthey. Soon after, he made his Bollywood debut with Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, alongside Dia Mirza and Saif Ali Khan. Madhavan became an instant hit among women.

In the same interview with the daily, Madhavan said that he received helpful marital advice from director Mani Ratnam. “He said many couples test their relationships fatally when there is no need to,” Madhavan said. “I realised that there were many temptations — being in outdoor shoots in the company of beautiful women. I took Sarita everywhere I went. This way, she was around when I got introduced to actresses. I was never lonely during my outstation schedules. When Sarita sees me in a romantic scene, she knows the sentiments behind it are not real,” he added.

Also read: Step inside R Madhavan’s Mumbai home, a blend of traditional and modern style. See pics

As for his work, Madhavan was last seen in Maara, the Tamil remake of the Malayalam movie Charlie. The movie released earlier this year on Amazon Prime Video. The actor will soon appear in Rocketry: The Nambi Effect. He not only plays the lead but also turned director for the project.