With the legal formalities for their civil marriage completed and the scene moving to the upscale Bastian restaurant on Linking Road in Mumbai, newly-wed Sonakshi Sinha, looking resplendent in a custom red, 'chand boota' brocade Raw Mango sari, and sporting a prominent sindoor, posed for the paparazzi with her husband, Zaheer Iqbal.
Zaheer, in all white, looked a picture of happiness, and the couple oozed natural warmth as they posed for pictures outside the rooftop restaurant that is famous for its Asian-inspired modernist cuisine. After the formal photo shoot, the newly-weds joined the paparazzi for a group picture, much to the delight of the shutterbugs who had been trailing them through the day.
The steady flow of celebrities continued as the evening progressed into the night. Among the early arrivals at the restaurant were Aditi Rao Hydari ('Bibbojaan'), Sonakshi's 'Heeramandi' co-star, and her fiance (and South Indian star) Siddharth. Zaheer's 'Ruslaan' cast mate, Aayush Sharma, the brother-in-law of Salman Khan, who played Cupid to the newly-weds, was among the early arrivals as well.
Manisha Koirala, the 'Heeramandi' diva, sent flowers to convey her best wishes because she could not attend the wedding as a result of prior commitments. Others seen making a beeline to the reception venue included yesteryear's superstar, Saira Banu, who came after Huma Qureishi arrived along with her brother Saqib Saleem, followed by Anil Kapoor, Chunky Panday and Kajol, whose hand-painted Shivan-Narresh silk sari has been drawing uncharitable comments on social media. After the formal photo shoot, the newly-weds joined the paparazzi for a group picture, much to the delight of the shutterbugs who had been trailing them through the day. The theme is black and red. A team of decorators was hard at work at Bastian earlier in the day, arranging an array of red flowers and rolling out the red carpet. DJ Ganesh, who's known for his eclectic choice of music, is performing live at the reception.
Sonakshi and Zaheer, the man she lovingly describes as her 'personal psycho', have been dating for the past seven years. Salman, who gave Sonakshi her Bollywood break in the action-comedy 'Dabbang' (2010), played Cupid. Zaheer, too, made his debut in a Salman Khan-produced film -- 'Notebook' -- where he was cast opposite another newbie, Pranutan Bahl, daughter of actor Mohnish Bahl, and granddaughter of Nutan. It is said that Salman introduced Sonakshi to Zaheer on the sets of 'Notebook' in 2017.
