Sobhita Dhulipala won countless hearts—and broke a few—when she married actor Naga Chaitanya at a hyper traditional Telugu Brahmin ceremony, where every ritual was scrupulously followed. Sobhita bagged the title of ‘Bride of the Year’ with ease, as fans were treated to a series of truly stunning images, featuring exquisite Kanjeevaram saris and eye-popping temple jewellery.
Staying faithful to her roots in south India, the bride exuded grace and good taste with every oufit change. Fashion eagles applauded her decision to ditch Bollywood-style, over-embellished, ostentatious, sparkly lehengas for one-of-a-kind, handwoven masterpieces that complemented the timeless handcrafted, legacy jewellery.
Sobhita arrived in Mumbai from Visakhapatnam at age 16 to pursue her education in corporate law. She won a couple of beauty pageant titles, competed in the Philippines, and came back to sign her debut film opposite Vicky Kaushal. What did it for Sobhita was her role as Tara in the hit OTT series, Made in Heaven, in which she played a wedding planner dealing with her own marital issues. For a self-described “uncool geek”, the sultry Sobhita was noticed by the fashion community and soon became the muse for top designers like Sabyasachi Mukherjee.
Despite her growing celebrity status, Sobhita chose to keep away from the daily Bollywood circus, and one hardly saw her flaunting airport looks or appearing on the red carpet at society weddings. This was a refreshing break for someone who didn’t have a godfather in the film industry and was not a part of any clique.
The first time we met was at Mukherjee’s exuberant flagship store opening in Mumbai. She was dressed in deep red and looked stunning, as she quietly interacted with invitees, without trying to attract any attention to herself. Level-headed, I concluded!
We found ourselves near the elevator and I complimented her lavishly—not just about her beauty, but her varied performances, which ranged from the mysterious mistress of a ruthless underworld don in The Night Manager to her brief appearance as a bejewelled princess in the Tamil epic Ponniyin Selvan. She was restrained and reserved in her response, which was such a relief. I wished her well and left.
Now that she has married into the Nagarjuna family, what sort of a professional and personal future can fans expect? Today’s showbiz environment encourages married female actors to go ahead full steam with their careers, have babies, travel on their own, pursue their interests. There is no lid placed on ambition because of a wedding band.
At 32, Sobhita has a long, productive life ahead of her. The closest Bollywood counterpart I can think of is Rani Mukerji, who married Aditya Chopra, chairperson of the Yash Raj Films.
Sobhita’s father-in-law is Nagarjuna Akkineni, co-owner of the production company Annapurna Studios. Rani took her time to settle into her new responsibilities, especially after she had her baby. Today, she picks her film projects with care, making sure to maintain the all-important work-life balance as she smoothly juggles her commitments. Sobhita is likely to do the same. Her own parents have provided the groundwork—her mother was a primary school teacher and her father, a merchant navy engineer. Sobhita’s sister Samanta is a doctor who specialises in foetal medicine and radiology, and is married to a neurologist.
Sobhita and Naga have set the bar high for showbiz power couples by demonstrating how one can get it so right when stars align. Here’s wishing the ‘made in heaven’ jodi a gorgeous life of togetherness—and more films, please!
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