Sonu
When the public relations and advertising course at Bhavan's neared completion, we were engulfed by a sense of loss. How could we manage without meeting each other every day? We were soulmates; if we parted ways, there would be a void in our lives.
Shoba
We contrived a way out of the predicament. We enrolled for another one-year course at Bhavan's — Marketing and Sales Management. Yet another course — this time, Business and Industrial Relations at the London Chamber of Commerce — kept us together.
Sonu
We did not use education as a smokescreen for conducting a heady romance. We invariably met in the company of a common friend. The first time we went out together to the beach was on our first wedding anniversary. It was not the running-around-the-trees romance.
Shoba
In fact, our bond was stronger than romance.
Sonu
Our personalities matched perfectly, and we belonged to each other.
Shoba
When we opened the subject of marriage, our parents had doubts. They did not see any common ground. Sonu's father K.S. Sethumadhavan is a popular film director, and mine, Chandrasekhar, is an HR whiz.
Sonu
Her parents had misgivings. Uppermost was one thought — ‘Will this boy have dreadful habits?' When our friends suggested getting married secretly, we said a firm 'no'.
Shoba
After a wait of seven years, we tied the knot in the presence of our families. Our families discovered they held similar principles. It was truly a ‘happily ever after' situation.
Sonu
Our partnership extends to our work in advertising and corporate film-making. While I take care of photography and cinematography, she is the visualiser, lyricist and script writer. As, she is a Bharatanatyam dancer, she handles choreography as well. Our eight-and-a-half-year-old daughter Bharathi has modelled in a few ad films, and plays a major role in an upcoming project — promoting values among children through children.
Shoba
When we sit in our office at Mylapore, close to the Bhavan's building, we can't help thinking of ourselves as characters in a fairy tale.
