Bollywood couples who will welcome babies this year / Instagram

February this year brought good news for two couples. Anushka Sharma and her cricketer husband Virat Kohli welcomed their son Akaay, on the 15th, three years after daughter Vamika. Meanwhile, Vikrant Massey and his wife Sheetal Thakur announced the arrival of their son Vardaan on Feb 7, asserting that he was nothing short of a blessing.

The nine months life-altering journey continues for…

RICHA CHADHA & ALI FAZAL

On February 9, the twosome made hearts melt with a collaborative post that read, “A tiny heartbeat is the loudest sound in the world.” Gazing into each other’s eyes, their new math, 1+1=3, was easy to figure out.

Their journey together dates back to 2012 and the shoot of Fukrey. The actress jokes that since Manjot Singh Dhillon (Laali Halwai) was juvenile, Varun Grover (Choocha) lost in work and Pulkit Samrat (Hunny) only spoke about fitness, there was only Ali to chat with. The conversations continued even after the film ended and by 2016, buzz was that the friendship had gotten serious.

After staying apart for weeks following the lockdown, the duo moved in together and later revealed they had secretly married in September under the Special Marriage Act. Ali and Richa have an impressive line-up of productions ready to be showcased, but clearly their most prized and ambitious project is the one growing in the womb.

DEEPIKA PADUKONE & RANVEER SINGH

Their love story also began in 2012 on the sets of Goliyon Ka Leela Ram-Leela their first film together. However, through the dinner dates, PDAs and heart emojis, the actress remained tight-lipped on the subject. The shaadi happened in Lake Como, Italy, on November 14 and 15, 2018, in a mix of Sidhi and South Indian rituals, followed by receptions in Bengaluru and Mumbai. 

Deepika later revealed that they had been engaged for four years. In the six years since, they have lived through a pandemic, played husband-wife (Kapil Dev and Romi) in Kabir Khan’s ’83 in 2020, and applauded each other’s phenomenal growth. This year, she made an appearance at the BAFTA awards as a presenter draped in a midriff- concealing sari, which lead to reports in The Week, a source had confirmed that Deepika is pregnant and in her second trimester. The couple confirmed the news shortly after the rumours went rampant. 

NATASHA DALAL & VARUN DHAWAN

 

Just a couple of months short of his 37th birthday on April 24, Varun Dhawan announced that wife Natasha Dalal and he are pregnant with their first child. He even appended a picture of him going down on his knees to kiss her baby bump. 

The actor and the fashion designer have known each other since they were in school, but Cupid’s arrow struck at a music concert years later. Despite the rumour mills churning overtime, Varun remained loyal to and fiercely protective of Natasha. After months of playing hide-and-seek with the paps, they were clicked while holidaying in London in August, 2018.

On Diwali, they wished the world together, then rang in the New Year with a pic from a ski-trip, but the much-anticipated shaadi only happened quietly during the pandemic, on January 24, 2021 at a beach resort in Alibaug, owing to lockdown restrictions.

YAMI GAUTAM & ADITYA DHAR
 

They found each other during Aditya’s debut directorial, Uri: The Surgical Strike. And like Varun and Natasha, had a small, intimate wedding in her home in Himachal on June 4, 2021. Yami admitted that like her, the groom hated the wastage of food, flowers and other décor items at large weddings.

They announced their union simply, with an eloquent line from Rumi, “In your light, I learn to love.” Romance is in the air whenever they are together, but being very private people, love is always conveyed through soft smiles, knowing glances and sweet gestures. Like Aditya getting a cushion for Yami so she would not be uncomfortable sitting through a recent press conference. 

The Vicky Donor actress is five-and-a-half-months pregnant, but true to type, the couple waited to share this news too, till the trailer release of Aditya’s first production starring her, Article 370. The next announcement, about the baby, too will be just as simple and quiet, because where emotions run deep, words are superfluous.