The way Ayushmann has supported Tahira in her cancer struggle and Tahira supported Ayushmann in his Bollywood struggle, the couple is an inspiration for millions. Here is Tahira and Ayushmann’s beautiful relationship that has inspired many.
Any long-lasting marriage is a combination of three things – memories of togetherness, the forgiveness of mistakes, and a promise to never give up on each other. Though our generation is losing faith in the institution of marriage, people like Tahira Kashyap and Ayushmann Khurrana, are showing us what true companionship looks like.
Since the time Tahira Kashyap came forward to share how she battled breast cancer with the undying support of her husband, we couldn’t stop applauding their courage. While recalling how Ayushmann stood like a rock for her during her cancer struggle, Tahira shared:
“I really wish every husband and every wife is there for each other through thick and thin. I was really surprised and shocked when Milind (Soman) said that a lot of women, when they have cancer, especially in a rural belt, are abandoned by the men of the house. Everyone goes through struggle in their life but if you have the support of your people, family members and loved ones, the journey becomes a bit easy and joyous. I really wish that all the men support their women as much as my husband did and that’s how it should be.”
But, this isn’t the first time they have stood for each other. Their beautiful heart-warming love story has had many such moments.
Ayushmann Khurrana and Tahira Kashyap were in the same tuition class in Class 12th in Chandigarh. Recalling their love story, Tahira mentioned in an interview:
“I don’t want to sound vintage but dating back in those days in Chandigarh was a different experience or perhaps we were both just extremely slow and shy. It was a batch of around 60 students and when I first met Ayushmann I thought his name was Abhishek.”
Both Tahira and Ayushmann liked each other but neither of them came forward to express their feelings. Tahira and her friend had a crush on Ayushmann. Ayushmann shared how he couldn’t believe that Tahira had a crush on him as she was quite popular among boys:
“There were so many good looking guys in the class! I was nowhere close to them. So, when someone told me that Tahira had a crush on me, I was on cloud nine. The girl, who every guy had a crush on, had a crush on me! It seemed impossible but I was damn happy.”
The story became more interesting as Ayushmann and Tahira met through their parents unknowingly! Tahira shared,
“One day, my dad told me and my mom that we had to go to his friends place for dinner. He told us that this friend was an astrologer so I quickly called over my friend and told her all about the dinner. We planned that both of us would meet papa’s astrologer friend and ask him about how we would fare in our competitive entrance exams. When we arrived at the dinner guess who we found there? None other than Ayushmann, who happened to be my father’s friend’s son. Till date, we blame (or credit) our parents for bringing us together.”
Recently, on March 15, 2020, when Ayushmann took a journey down memory lane, he revealed how he confessed his feeling over the phone to Tahira while studying for the board exams. The actor wrote on his Instagram handle:
“It was in 2001. We were preparing for our board exams. At 1.48 AM I’d confessed my feelings over the phone. Bryan Adams was playing on my stereo. Inside Out was the song. It’s been 19 years with this goofball. Umm”,
But, the earlier married days weren’t easy for the couple. Recalling how Tahira stood for him during that tough time, Ayushmann shared,
“When I got married, I had no money. Tahira has been doing better than me professionally for the longest time. She was gutsy enough to marry a man just for love and have faith in his talent. She is a rockstar; she was a professor, had her own PR firm in Chandigarh. She was also the programming head of a radio station in Punjab. She supported me in every possible way. I was a struggling actor, which is often a gamble. But there was never any ego between us. When there’s love, there’s no scope for ego.
Most men in India aren’t secure enough to be comfortable with such an arrangement. It comes with the family. It depends on how your father treats your mother. But a man, no matter where he comes from, could always trigger a change. If it’s a patriarchal family, the dynamics are different. In my case, Tahira became the daughter in a household that had none.”
At IFORHER, we are in awe of this beautiful couple as they show us what an equal marriage looks like. We admire this couple for showing how in a successful marriage, there is no space for ego. We wish them luck for the future and hope many young men and women will seek inspiration from this couple.