HYDERABAD: It all started with a tweet and a blog post. Popular singer and dubbing artist, Chinmayi Sripada “went on and on” about how Lord Rama may not have been so righteous after all, when he listened to a random stranger and sent her away to the forest. “I understand that he was a king and had to act according to the law of the land, but sending off a lone woman to an unsafe forest is something I don’t really agree with,” says the singer.
She tweeted about this and it caught her to-be husband and actor Rahul Ravindran’s attention on social media. It was the time when she dubbed for Nayanthara for the film Sri Rama Rajyam in Tamil.
Rahul responded to this and that is when they started talking. “I didn’t want my tweets to sound too controversial so we took the chat to private mode. I don’t know how we arrived there, but he said, it must be a boy friend thing,” shares Chinmayi who laughed it off and clarified to Rahul that she had been single for a while. His immediate reaction was, “What?! How can a girl like you be single? I am taking you out. That’s it,” recalls Chinmayi in a fit of giggles.
For Rahul, meeting Chinmayi for the first time was more a fan moment. “For the longest time I’ve followed Chinmayi, much before I entered cinema. One of my favourite songs was sung by her. eventually, when I signed Andali Rakshasi and finished shooting for the film, the director came up to me and said he was thinking of getting Chinmayi to dub for Lavanya. I thought Chinmayi’s character would suit Samantha and not Lavanya’s. She had a very classy, sophisticated voice so I was unsure if she would be the right choice to dub for that character. But when I heard her voice, I was simply blown away by her talent,” recalls Rahul.
Incidentally, Rahul’s mother first met Chinmayi before the two of them were formally introduced. “Three weeks after Andaala Rakshashi released, Hanu had organised a screening in Chennai. There my mother went and spoke to Chinmayi and told her that she was a big fan of her singing. She told him she was my mother and Chimayi said she loved my acting in the film. Later, when everybody was walking out, my mum introduced Chinmayi to me. So I keep joking with my mum that she was the one who introduced me to my future wife,” gushes Rahul.
While initially they kept in touch through social media, they soon started talking to each other regularly and eventually started dating. “She was really nice, I mean she’s a singing superstar in Tamil Nadu and very well known in Andhra as well. She was sweet enough to go back and find out my twitter handle and tweet saying that she loved my performance. It was very sweet for someone that popular to seek someone out and put out a compliment. So I thanked her and we kind of kept in touch through Twitter and soon Twitter turned into WhatsApp. After WhatsApp, we went out a couple of times and really hit it off,” he shares.
They met for dinner once in Chennai and after that they didn’t meet or stay in touch for the next six months. After that they met in Hyderabad, by accident. “We were put up in the same hotel and we met for breakfast. I was there for a dub and he was shooting for a film. We were in touch for a few days and then they trailed off again,” Chinmaya says. She was at Ramoji Film City a few months later and Rahul was there too.
“I didn’t tell him I was around. He texted me saying he was a little hurt I didn’t tell him and then we went out. He was clear from the start that he was interested in me. I was also pretty clear, and I told him clearly that I had no intention of getting married and settling down. I admitted that I like his company and we can go on as friends,” shares Chinmayi.
Rahul was not one to give up. He told her that he won’t date anyone else until she is 100 per cent sure.
“At that time I felt both guilty and pressured,” she recalls. Their conversations on “burning issues” caught her mom’s attention. “We would talk for hours and it would all be about some issue. His world view is interesting. His opinions are fresh,” she says. Chinmayi’s mother also pushed her to consider this relationship. “I was also put in a spot by Rahul. So I was like, okay! Fine! I’ll be your girlfriend. He was shocked,” she laughs. Once Chinmayi’s mother came to know that they are dating, “It was like we were on a bullet train and we got married in no time. She didn’t allow us to date.” Today, two years later, she has “no complaints.” “I wouldn’t have found a better human being to be married to,” she beams.
Crossing the long distance barrier
The biggest problem for the couple is the ‘distance’. “He is based in Hyderabad and I work from Chennai and Mumbai. How are we going to make this work, was the big question for me,” says Chinmayi. But Rahul had it covered for them. “I’d rather be with you for 60 to 80 days a year than be in a bad marriage with someone 365 days a year,” she recalls. Chinmayi too felt the same.
Rahul feels that issues like long distance can be worked out as long as you find the right person. “I try to spend as many days as possible in Chennai, whenever I get a break and she does the same. That’s how it kind of worked out. The priority is to find someone you want to marry and when you actually find that person, long distance is something you can work out. We try to work around it. Yes if it was an arranged marriage, then it would’ve been difficult but when you found someone you want to marry, then you can always work around this,” he explains.
They speak to each other five to six times a day. “We married knowing what we are getting into. So that way we are secure. We are both couch rats and we prefer staying home when we are together,” she laughs.
Best qualities
“Two years of getting married to him and three years of knowing him, I have never heard him speak ill or gossip about anyone ever. Not even in passing, does he share anything. He will cut the conversation. He has done that to me also. He says why do you want to talk about someone. That is his super human quality,” shares the singer.
His pursuit to be a better human being is what Chinmayi is proud of. “He doesn’t raise a finger even if the person has treated him badly. He inspires me too to be a better person,” she adds.
The couple has the same ethical standards and that is what keeps them going. “I am happy and content. We give each other our space. A lot of people have asked me why I’m settling for someone who has just started off as an actor. But, he is by far the most secure person I have met till date. It is a dream come true for any woman,” she says.
“If all women have husbands like Rahul, it will only be happy marriages,” she says, in a serious tone. “He is lazy. He won’t fill a bottle or dry his towel, but that is not important to me,” she adds. Her list is a long one.
“He is a vegetarian, a non-smoker, a teetotaler. He doesn’t ask me how much money I am making. He doesn’t ask me where I am spending it. My parents-in-law are from heaven. That’s it,” she tells us.
Chinmayi’s expressive nature is what Rahul likes the most. “She’s very caring. She puts me ahead of her always. She’s a self-sacrificing, caring and loving person and she’s very expressive when it comes to showing her affection and I really like that, cause I’m like that too. I find it difficult to adjust with everyone who’s not very expressive, so Chinmayi was the ideal girl for me,” he smiles.
The couple celebrated their second anniversary on May 5. We wish them many more blissful years of marriage.