For singer Neha Bhasin and music composer Sameer Uddin, it was anything but love at first sight. Neha says she wasn’t even impressed with Sam — as she calls him lovingly — when they met for the first time.
The couple’s paths first crossed in the early 2000s when she was looking for someone to produce her music. And she was introduced to Sam by a mutual friend. “He (Sam) charged me ₹5,000 for that! I still get angry when I think about it,” she laughs.
After their first meet, they went their own separate ways. And it wasn’t until years later that they reconnected. “We met again through the same mutual friend. This time, we discussed music and my dream of becoming a pop star,” she recalls, adding, “Everyone then was switching to film music, but I wanted to carry on in the non-film and independent space. And he was the only one who supported me. I guess that is why I fell in love with him.”
{{/usCountry}}After their first meet, they went their own separate ways. And it wasn’t until years later that they reconnected. “We met again through the same mutual friend. This time, we discussed music and my dream of becoming a pop star,” she recalls, adding, “Everyone then was switching to film music, but I wanted to carry on in the non-film and independent space. And he was the only one who supported me. I guess that is why I fell in love with him.”
{{/usCountry}}As time passed and the two got to know each other better, Neha soon realised that Sameer was the one. “Though I’ve had boyfriends who wanted to marry me, I never saw myself settling down with them,” the 42-year-old shares, musing, “Sam is the only person I ever felt like being with for the rest of my life.”
Discussing the supportive side of her husband, she explains, “There have been times I went to award shows alone. He might have not been there at award functions with me, but he was there when I needed him the most. And that’s what matters to me.”
Their relationship blossomed over shared dreams and melodies, culminating in a memorable proposal. “We were in Japan when he proposed. I was not initially convinced about going to Japan; I wanted him to propose in Paris or somewhere. But the way he proposed was just magical, and I wouldn’t want to change any of it,” Neha reflects.
In 2016, Neha and Sameer tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in Tuscany, Italy.
Reflecting on their wedding, which was a private affair, Neha says, “Everybody talks about what looks good, how dreamy it was, but ours was very simple. In my mind, it was perfect. We were surrounded only by the people who really knew us and our families. It didn’t have to be a big affair,” she signs off.