E-Paper
Ankur Rathee travelled 4500 kms across US to propose to Anuja Joshi: ‘The pandemic definitely threw a wrench in my plans’
Actor Ankur Rathee, who was seen in Thappad, is engaged to his girlfriend of seven years, actor Anuja Joshi.
Actors Anuja Joshi and Ankur Rathee got engaged following Ankur’s dramatic proposal involving a 4,500 km drive from California to Maryland in US. The actors have been in a relationship for seven years and now decided to take the big leap.
When asked about the surprise proposal, Ankur said, “I always knew that I was going to pop the question in 2020. The pandemic definitely threw a wrench in my plans, but where there’s a will there’s a way. Flying was too risky so I had the absurd idea of driving across the USA to surprise Anuja and my wildly supportive family enthusiastically agreed to join me. However, with any activity these days there’s a risk of exposing oneself to the virus. After creating an itinerary of small towns with very low number of cases per capita, researching hotels that followed all CDC guidelines, and speaking with Anuja’s father about their family’s comfort and risk tolerance, the four of us embarked on the almost 4500km drive from San Diego, California to Potomac, Maryland. It was the road trip of a lifetime and the ultimate family bonding experience. 4 days later we arrived and executed a plan that Anuja’s twin, Aneesha Joshi, and I had been hatching weeks prior. We lured Anuja to a hidden little gem in the woods at sunset and gave her one hell of a surprise. I kept it exactly how I knew she’d want: intimate, quiet, and with our loved ones. After she said yes, one by one our family members and a few dear friends also made their way into the woods with candles in their hands. We were surrounded by love and light.”
Anuja spoke about how she met Ankur, “We met as co-stars on a short film in New York City. It was a tribute to 100 years of Hindi Cinema and was directed by Siddhi Sundar (NYU) and Raashi Desai (SVA). We spent the majority of the shoot schedule together, and loved every minute of getting to know each other, doing what we both are so passionate about. At the time we were young college students who had aspirations of working in the entertainment industry as full-time professional actors. One baby step in front of the other, followed by some gigantic leaps and hurdles, and here we are.”
Anuja said she doesn’t believe getting married would affect her career. “Ankur and I have never led our career or life decisions from a place of fear. Too often we hear advice on how people should portray themselves online or how they should conceal their personal life in order to gain traction in the industry. Ankur and I have had to fight our way to every opportunity we have been given thus far, and due to that perseverance, we have come to discover that no set of rules are universal. We are passionate about fighting for what we want in love, life and career as long as we maintain our core values and beliefs. We came into this business because we are so in love with being artists. Marriage doesn’t change that fact,” she said.
Ankur talked about competing with Anuja as an actor, saying, “We’re both very ambitious and there were times, early in our careers, that insecurities occasionally crept in. We never saw each other as competition per se, but when you see your partner achieving your dreams, it’s natural to feel you’re not doing enough to succeed. Usually, we were able to transform those moments of weakness into opportunities for growth, pushing each other to do better. However, over the years, we’ve realized that even those feelings of insecurity are rooted in ego and separateness. Today we operate as one unit. When she succeeds, I succeed. When she fails, we fail. When you start to see things from that perspective, competition really has no place in the relationship. We do everything in our power to lift each other up.”
Talking about her wedding plans, Anuja said, “The state of affairs in the world at large is bleak to say the least. So, we are spending the down time focusing on ways we can advocate for social change and responsibility from our followers and fans. As far as the wedding goes, when there is a safe and responsible way to begin planning amid our busy shoot schedules, we will be happy to take the even bigger leap.”
Follow @htshowbiz for more
