I still jokingly call him my boyfriend because I still think we’re in the dating stage,” begins Varalakshmi Sarathkumar as her husband Nikolai Sachdev Sitting next to her with a smile on his face. In a chat with us, the couple, who got married earlier this year, opened up about meeting 15 years ago, their rekindled romance last year, life after marriage, and more.
Meeting 15 years ago…
Varalakmi: I have never been against marriage. I had no interest in getting married until the right partner came along. I fell completely in love with Nikolai when I met him 15 years ago. When we first met, we were completing each other’s sentences. He has been a part of my life for the past 15 years. He knows all my friends and family.
Nicholas: Married life has been peaceful. Nothing has changed because I live with my best friend. When I met her, I knew this was the woman I would eventually marry. She still wears the ring I gave her 15 years ago and still wears her engagement ring. I was a boy then and I needed to become a man to marry her, which took a while.
On rekindling their romance…
Nicholas: Fifteen years ago, when we separated and her car drove away, I ran to the edge of the cliff and shed tears. In fact, we both cried. When we met again 15 years later, it felt like time had not passed.
Varalakmi: We haven’t seen each other for many years, but we keep in touch. We tell each other who we are dating! Our timing was never right because every time he was single, I was with someone else and vice versa. Last year, we were both in Mumbai and I told him, “Are you finally ready to meet me?” and he said, “Yes, it’s me this time.”
About Nicholas adopting the name Varalakshmi after marriage…
Varalakmi: He has taken my name. His business card now has my name on it. From an outsider’s perspective, people would say, “Oh my God, he did it!” But to him, it was the most natural thing. People might think he does it for publicity, but that’s who he is. He always puts me first.
Nicholas: My friend joked that with such a long name, my bank check would be five pages long. After a woman gets married, she has to move to her husband’s house and must make all the sacrifices. She said she would use my name, but I said, ‘Why are you using my name? As a woman, you have done enough. So, let me do something for you now.
About Nikolai meeting Salas…
Varalakmi: I was very nervous when he first met my dad because I had never introduced anyone I wanted to marry to my dad. I was expecting a drama, but they immediately started talking about fitness.
Nicholas: The first conversation was about what we should have for breakfast. Then, I asked him how much he benched in the gym and later I told him I wanted to marry his daughter!
About exchanging vows…
Varalakmi: We all cried during the oaths, and other people started crying too. Their reaction was, ‘You didn’t tell us it was going to be a cry fest! I always wanted a beach wedding and say my vows in a white dress. So, we had our South Indian wedding in the morning and our vows in the evening. I walked down the aisle with my dad in my white dress.
“I joke with my staff that I have police uniforms from different states at home.”
Varalaxmi shared, “The industry always stereotypes you. For a long time, I have been telling people to give me some comedy or innocent roles. I joke with my crew that I have people from different states in my family. Police uniform because I kept getting offers from the police. Even my father fell into the same stereotypes but I was privileged to go against all the stalwarts of the industry. But now, I am slowly changing direction. , enters the realm of comedy.
