Interfaith marriages are considered taboo in our country. And it gets worse when one is Hindu and the other one is Muslim. A Hindu and Muslim marriage isn’t taken well in our society. It is mostly labeled as love jihad. However, many Bollywood actresses have gone against this taboo belief and married the love of their life without bothering about their religion. These inter-faith couples have also set an example that one can marry outside religion and live in harmony by respecting each other’s beliefs.
1. Saira Banu
Saira Banu, who was the most popular actress in the 1960s, married Dilip Kumar aka Yusuf Khan. Not only this, the duo had a big age gap as well. Saira was just 22 while Dilip Kumar was 44 when they got married.
2. Sharmila Tagore
Popular actress Sharmila Tagore married the former captain of the Indian cricket team and Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi in 1968. However, Sharmila converted to Islam and changed her name to Begum Ayesha Sultana in order to marry Mansoor.
3. Ratna Pathak Shah
Ratna Pathak Shah is one of the most accomplished actresses who has proved her versatility in films, television, OTT and theatre. She married actor Naseeruddin Shah in 1982.
4. Amrita Singh
Actress Amrita Singh married Saif Ali Khan in 1991. It is said that Amrita too converted to Islam before marrying Saif. Saif Ali Khan is 12 years younger than Amrita. The duo got divorced in 2004. They have two children together- Sara Ali Khan and Ibrahim Ali Khan.
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5. Sangeeta Bijlani
Former Miss India and actress Sangeeta Bijlani married cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin in 1996. Their marriage ended in 2010 after speculations of Azhar having an extra-marital affair.
6. Reena Roy
In 1972, Reena Roy made her debut in films at the age of 15. In 1983, she decided to quit the film industry to marry Pakistani cricketer Mohsin Khan. They got divorced in the 90s as she “found it difficult to adjust with Khan’s flamboyant lifestyle”.
7. Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor is the second wife of actor Saif Ali Khan. The duo got married in 2012. However, Kareena didn’t convert to Islam like Saif’s first wife Amrita and his mother Sharmila Tagore did. Kareena and Saif have two sons together- Taimur Ali Khan and Jehangir Ali Khan.
8. Ayesha Takia
Ayesha Takia, known for films like “Taarzan” and “Wanted” disappeared from films to focus on her family. She married her boyfriend Farhan Azmi at the age of 23. She also converted to Islam. On social media, she declared her name as Ayesha Takia Azmi.
9. Urmila Matondkar
Bollywood actress turned politician Urmila Matondkar married Kashmir-based businessman and model Mohsin Akhtar Mir in 2016.
10. Richa Chadha
Richa Chadha married her longtime boyfriend -actor Ali Fazal in 2022.
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