I have known Madhu Mantena for a while. And when he confessed to me that he was marrying hotshot designer Masaba Gupta (daughter of Neena Gupta and Sir Vivian Richards), I was truly happy for him. Madhu is an affable guy. On most occasions, he is straightforward, too, usually unhesitating to call a spade a spade. And, I sensed he was truly happy when he decided to get hitched to the curly-haired designer three years ago. Their age gap (he, 43, she, 29) didn’t worry him. And he seemed truly blissed out, when he called to invite me to his wedding and all the ceremonies that were held before it.
When I gathered from the grapevine that this couple, at whose wedding Shahid Kapoor danced with gay abandon (he was Madhu’s bestie at that point), was splitting after three years of what seemed like a good marriage, it was upsetting. We texted Madhu and Masaba asking them if there was any truth to the news, soon after which they tweeted about their separation.
The couple in a joint statement said:
To,
Our family, friends, acquaintances, With a lot of sadness, Madhu & I have today decided to go on a trial separation in our marriage.
Both of us have taken this decision after consulting professionals & our parents. The only thing we are ready to say for now is that “what we both want out of life individually & separately is putting unnecessary pressure on the marriage and love that we share. Hence, we would like to take some time off from each other and our marriage to figure out for ourselves what we want out of this life.”
We also want to say that this is a tough time for us and we want to really protect our privacy at this time. We still hope to find reconciliation in our individual paths and dreams and hence this privacy is important for us for now.
We are not strong enough to explain ourselves to even friends who deserve an answer from us. These friends, we realise, are equally invested in our relationship and our individual well being. All we can say to each of them is give us time and gives us love.
While we know, given the world and lives that we live in will lead to speculation, rumours and dragging us down into the dirt in this time.... We are communicating and encouraging each other to be brave and reminding ourselves that the only priority at this time, is the well-being and protection of our own selves and out families.
Madhu & Masaba
RELATIONSHIIP TIMELINE
February 2015
Madhu and Masaba were snapped at the success party of Queen, which was produced by his banner, Phantom Films.
March 11, 2015
They announced their engagement. The ceremony was attended by family members and the couple’s friends from the industry.
June 2, 2015
The couple opted for a court marriage, which was followed by a celebratory bash attended by B-Towners including Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt.
November 19, 2015
They had the traditional bridal shower, followed by mehendi and sangeet on November 20 and 21, respectively.
November 22, 2015
The celebrations concluded with a gala reception.
