Hindustan Times (Jalandhar)

Aamir guest at Geeta Phogat’s wedding

Bollywood actor appreciate­s Haryana’s dominance in sports

- Hardik Anand ■ hardik.anand@hindustant­imes.com

BHIWANI: Actor Aamir Khan on Sunday attended the wedding of wrestler Geeta Phogat in her village near Bhiwani and termed his upcoming film “Dangal”, his wedding gift to her.

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, who plays the reel father of wrestler Geeta Phogat in his upcoming release Dangal, reached Balali village in Bhiwani to attend her wedding celebratio­ns along with the entire movie cast on Sunday afternoon.

Geeta, who won India’s first gold medal in women wrestling at the Commonweal­th Games in 2010, will marry fellow wrestler Pawan Kumar on Sunday night in Dadri.

Aamir Khan will portray the role of Arjuna Awardee wrestler Mahavir Phogat, who trained six girls from his family into wrestling, setting a precedent for Haryana.

Dressed in a desi attire sporting beard and pagdi, Aamir arrived in Phogats’ native village amid high security as thousands of fans waited for his one glimpse. When asked what gift he will give to the bride, Aamir said he wanted to gift Geeta the wedding lehenga but the family said they had a tradition of getting the wedding dress from maternal uncle’s side. “My film Dangal is the wedding gift to Geeta and her family,” he added.

Appreciati­ng Haryana, Aamir said Bollywood movies such as Sultan and Dangal were made on a Haryanvi subject owing to the state’s dominance in sports. However, he added that they didn’t shoot the movie in Haryana because they found a suitable set in Punjab. “But we portrayed their village as truthfully as possible,” he added.

The actor maintained that the government’s demonetisa­tion move had no effect on him. “All my money is in the bank and I’m making payments through cheques,” he said. However, when asked about demonetisa­tion affecting weddings, Aamir refused to comment, saying his comments were often taken in wrong directions.

The actor grew closer to the Phogat family with regular meetings during the film’s production. Besides Aamir, Sakshi Tanwar, playing his wife in the movie, and other actors also attended the celebratio­ns.

GEETA MARRIED FELLOW WRESTLER PAWAN KUMAR ON SUNDAY NIGHT IN DADRI

 ?? KESHAV SINGH/HT ?? (From left) Sisters Sangeeta and Geeta Phogat, bollywood actor Aamir Khan and Mahavir Phogat with the Dangal film cast, during Geeta’s wedding at Balali village in Bhiwani on Sunday.
KESHAV SINGH/HT (From left) Sisters Sangeeta and Geeta Phogat, bollywood actor Aamir Khan and Mahavir Phogat with the Dangal film cast, during Geeta’s wedding at Balali village in Bhiwani on Sunday.

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