'Masaan' actress Shweta Tripathi on marrying a younger guy: Everybody forgets I’m older

The Bollywood industry can now officially label this year as the year of high-profile celebrity weddings with many popular stars tying the knot, some in secrecy while some with much pomp and vigour. Walking down the aisle next is Shweta Tripathi of the fame Masaan and Haraamkhor, both films that did well at the box office and earned the actress critical reviews from the pioneers of the industry.

Shweta Tripathi is scheduled to get married to her longtime boyfriend actor-rapper Chaitanya Sharma aka SlowCheeta on June 29 in Goa with close friends and family in attendance. With a shared love for theatre, diving and football-- the couple hosted a pre-wedding function last night in Mumbai as they strengthen their 5-year-old relationship into a matrimonial bond. With last-minute errands and trials, Shweta spoke to WION about her wedding, romantic proposal that swept her off her feet, films and more.

Shweta and SlowCheeta (Cheeta as she refers to him in the interview) met because of theatre. It all started when they worked on the same theatrical play called The Interview directed by Akarsh Khurana -- who has written screenplays for Bollywood films like Krrish, Kites and the most recent being Irrfan Khan starrer Karwaan. Shweta narrates that it happened as they “stepped in for two actors who were not free.” Akarsh, meanwhile, told SlowCheeta about her and said “you guys should totally hook up” as “she’s damn cute and single”.

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Shweta had no idea that their director played cupid in their relationship for a long time. Shweta said, “I owe a lot to him. The first invite for my wedding went out to Akarsh.”

SlowCheeta proposed her with a self-written poem that he recited on stage in the presence of a lot of people. She said, “I had no clue about it. He told me he was doing a play and I always go for every play that he does, so I went with a friend for the first-day-first-show and realised that it was more than just a performance.”

A fan of his writing, she said, “One of my favourite things about him is that he is able to capture the emotions so well. His one-liners in conversations are so good that when we do an interview together I just let him talk as I just want to listen to him.”

Not many know that Shweta is older than her fiance. When asked if the age difference was ever an issue, she replied, “He is the younger one but I always feel that I am the younger one. Once when his dad’s friend was watching TV, one of my ads played when his father said ‘Do you know this is Cheeta’s girlfriend?’ And that friend went like ‘Isn’t she too young for him?’ Everybody forgets I’m older. They never bothered.” She added, “You don’t fall in love with things like height or age. He is 6 ft tall and I am 5 ft.”

Commenting on another hot couple, Priyanka Chopra and her rumoured boyfriend Nick Jonas, Shweta laughed and said, “Even if it's good or bad, let her enjoy that phase. I think it’s great and if she’s happy then we should be happy.”

What made Shweta and SlowCheeta choose Goa for their wedding? Shweta replies with “it’s one of our favourite cities in the country.” Beach lovers, certified divers and shared love for the ocean made the couple pick Goa. Shweta will be seen wearing Papa Don’t Preach lehenga in bright colours of mint and hot pink for her wedding. She will then change into a floor-length gown by Rebecca Dewan for the pool party that follows the wedding rituals.

The two then plan on going on a honeymoon much later in August to Amsterdam as SlowCheeta wants to visit the place with her -- even though they just went to the city for their respective Bachelors and Bachelorette party. “We will then head to Italy andLondon where we plan on watching a football match together as he is a football fanatic,” she added.

Shweta postponed her honeymoon plans as she will be busy shooting for TV series The Trip season 2 with Mallika Dua, Sapna Pabbi and Amyra Dastur in July. She will also be making her Tamil debut soon with Mehandi Circus in which she plays a north Indian girl named Mehandi, born and brought up in a circus family. She is also a part of Gone Kesh, in which she plays a 15-year-old girl who aspires to become a dancer even though she suffers from alopecia -- a rare disorder in which you lose all your hair. The film is said to follow the character’s life journey from the age of 15 to 24. Shweta calls it her “favourite character” when asked which character of hers would she label that. She answers that after adding, “It’s always my last film.”

On how she chooses her films, Shweta replied, “I always get attracted to stories and characters. If it doesn't excite me I won't do it just because it’s commercial or paying me more. For me, quality is more important than quantity. I want to experiment as much as possible, as an artist I don’t limit myself.”

As we wrapped the interview, for she had to rush to attend to other wedding engagements, she revealed who she likes among the Bollywood actors and the answer was none other than “Ranbir Kapoor”. Among the actresses, she picked “Alia Bhatt” and commended her on the “choice of films."