TV actors Debina Bonnerjee, Gurmeet Chaudhary to marry

Gurmeet Chaudhary and Debina Bonnerjee, who played Ram and Sita in the mythological serial "Ramayan", may tie the knot at the end of the year.

"We are very happy and excited about this (wedding). We are trying that it happens this year only," Debina told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

"My parents were out of India. They returned just three days back. Now they want to meet Gurmeet and since my mom believes a lot in matching kundlis (horoscope), we will have to wait for all that before we fix up a date. Gurmeet also has to formally ask my parents for my hand," she added.

The couple ran into each other five years back during a Mr & Mrs Bollywood event. They have been in a relationship since four and a half years, played Ram and Sita for "Ramayan" for two years, but decided to enter wedlock after doing NDTV Imagine's ongoing reality show "Pati Patni Aur Woh".

The show features five celebrity couples taking care of kids of various age groups at different stages.

According to Gurmeet, looking at Debina handling house chores as well as managing a child with ease, encouraged him to take their relationship to the next level.

"We have been seeing each for more than four years. After being on the show for a month, we know how our future would be. We got more time with each other, learnt that managing a house and raising children have to be a two-way effort. And looking at Debina doing it so well, I felt even more for her," said Gurmeet.

Within the second week of the show itself, Gurmeet popped the question to Debina in true Bollywood style. He bent down on his knees, presented her a ring and asked her to marry him.

Debina, who was left "shocked", however, gracefully accepted his proposal.

"I had never seen anyone going down on his knees and proposing to a girl - it was always confined to TV and films. But when Guru (Gurmeet) did this, I stood still for a few minutes.

"Whenever we used to visit a good restaurant, I used to tell him that this is how you must propose to me and everyone should look at us, etc. But I always thought he doesn't take my suggestions seriously. When he actually went down on his knees on a national platform, I understood that he had been taking it seriously and that was the element of surprise for me," said Debina.

Now the two actors are set to engage themselves in various activities in the run-up to their marriage. And till then, they are only screening the work that is coming their way.

"We are getting a lot of work together but right now we need a break. We were shooting nonstop for two years for 'Ramayan' and then immediately after that went into 'Pati Patni Aur Woh'. So we need a break from cameras for a while," said Debina.

Indo-Asian News Service