Kerala’s favourite star couple Shaji Kailas and Annie celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary on Friday, and their fans and colleagues were busy showering them with wishes on the social media.
Meanwhile Shaji posted a picture of him and his wife Annie on his Facebook page and wrote, “22 years…still in love… I thank everyone who supported and prayed for us.”
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Filmmaker Shaji and actress Annie got married in 1996. The lovely couple has three sons, Jagannathan, Sharon and Roshan.
Shaji opened up about his courtship days with Annie in an interview to a leading magazine.
“Once I was looking for a heroine for Paachikka’s (Faasil) movie, and my search ended up where the dubbing of the film ‘Ammayane Sathyam’ was taking place. I met Chithra (Annie) for the first time at the Arunachalam Studios (in Chennai). At that moment I felt the face that I have seen on the covers of many magazines has suddenly found a special place in my mind. It was after I had offered her the role in my movie 'Rudraksham'. I am usually very strict at my sets, while Annie is a fun-loving person who loves to chat with everyone. But I was secretly enjoying her jovial personality. I noticed she was often gloomy as she was scared of my demeanour. I used to notice her expressions when I was around and could recognise the twinkle in her eyes whenever she spotted me. The filming got over soon amidst many dramatic events,” revealed the filmmaker.
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Shaji appreciated the talent of Annie. Her performance in the movie 'Mazhayethum Munpe' was lauded by all. He even called the actress on her homeline to personally congratulate her. He said, “Once when I was talking with Renji Panicker, we discussed about Chithra as well. I still haven’t forgotten how he laughed when I told him that I wished to marry Chithra. Panicker spoke to Chitra about this and she gave a positive reply. But we never talked over the phone or send letters to each other like most couples do. Our names never came up in the gossip columns.”
Once when Shaji, who has directed blockbuster movies like 'Aaram Thampuran', met the actress at Cochin airport while arriving there to catch a Chennai flight. Coincidentally, her seat number was the one right beside Shaji’s seat. The director admitted that he had imagined Chithra as his own from the moment he saw her for the first time.
“Since the moment I confessed my love for Chithra, I always carried a ring with me to give her. The flight took off and after a while I asked Chithra to show me her finger. As she looked at me in surprise, I put the ring on her finger. Then I said, ‘We just got engaged, now we will meet for the wedding',” said Shaji.
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Meanwhile at Shaji’s house, his mother Janaki was adamant that she would soon arrange a marriage for her son. One Sunday afternoon, as he climbed down the stairs, he noticed his mother looking at a few photographs of prospective brides in various poses. He immediate took up a magazine that was lying on the teapoy and asked his mother whether she liked the picture of the girl on page 18. Shaji said his mother had liked Annie’s picture very much.
“After few days I left home with a bag saying that I had to reach Bombay for a movie. But my car stopped at the backyard of Annie’s house. Meanwhile, she was already waiting for me there on the pretense of checking whether the jackfruits have ripened. From there we straightaway went to actor Suresh Gopi’s house. He was taken aback when he saw us together there. We told him everything and it was only then he realised we were in love. It was at his place that we registered our marriage. Renji held a press meet to inform the public about our wedding. Venu Nagavalli, Maniyan Pillai Raju and Jagadeesh spoke to our respective parents. My father was really upset about it. He didn’t speak for a few minutes and then said with tears in his eyes, ‘He could have told me if he had something like this in his mind. It is the father’s responsibility to conduct a son’s wedding. He didn’t let me do my duty’,” said the director.
Shaji said his parents welcomed the newlywed couple to their home with much love. He added that they had a traditional Hindu wedding the next day at the nearby Devi temple on Annie's insistance. It didn’t take too long for Annie’s family too to give the happy couple their blessings.
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