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Indian cricket has seen many stars lean on Bollywood to find love for themselves. Be it Virat Kohli and his undying love for Anushka Sharma, or Ravi Shastri's magical tryst with Amrita Singh, which did not end forever after, these two powerful industries of India have always been intertwined with each other. And this brings us to another such couple.
Harbhajan Singh spins weave on 'Woh Ajnabee'
The name 'Harbhajan Singh' was chanted across households in the country for years. He was a part of the triumphant India sides that won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup. Having made his international debut in the early 2000s, it was not till 2006 that he met actress Geeta Basra.
For Harbhajan Singh, it was like love at first sight, having seen the British-born actress in the music video of the song, ‘Woh Ajnabee’ from the movie ‘The Train’, which was her second Bollywood movie. As soon as Harbhajan laid his eyes on her, he wanted to befriend her, probably with the intention of professing his love for her. Since he did not have any connections in Bollywood, he asked around among his friends and eventually got her number.
According to an interview with entertainment magazine BollywOOd Bubble, Geeta said, "He saw my poster, he liked me on that poster, so he tried to enquire about me. And then, my Woh Ajnabee song had released, and he was like, ‘Kaun hai yeh ladki?' Meanwhile, I never watched the sport, so I didn’t know who Harbhajan Singh was. I didn’t know any of these guys.”
A long wait that paid off
Despite getting her number, it was not till he won the 2007 T20 World Cup with India that Geeta responded to Harbhajan's text. She congratulated him for their triumphant campaign in South Africa. According to Geeta, she was not looking at a new relationship having just started her career in Bollywood.
In an interview, Geeta was quoted as saying, "At that moment in my life, I wasn't interested in getting into a relationship. I was very new to India and the industry. 'The Train' had just been released and my focus was on movies. I knew if I got into a relationship, then things will change."
Harbhajan reportedly chased Geeta for almost 10 months before the budding actress finally gave in. The two of them became friends as their relationship slowly grew. They met for the first time when Geeta texted Harbhajan for two tickets to a game in the first-ever season of the IPL. Soon after, they met for a coffee and became friends, which then transitioned into love. While the cricketer was eager to ask her out, Geeta wanted to take it slow and said that they needed to be friends first.
Their marriage
After being in a long-term low-profile relationship for over seven years, the two love birds finally tied the knot with each other in 2015. Their marriage was as low-profile as their relationship, with only close friends and family invited to the special event. The couple married in a traditional Punjabi wedding ceremony in December 2015 and a few months later in July next year, they were blessed with a baby girl Hinaya Heer.
Two children taking after their parents
Harbhajan and Geeta's first child, Hinaya Heer Plaha, was born on July 27, 2016, in her home town of Portsmouth, Hampshire in England. Soon after, the two of them were blessed with a son, Jovan Veer Singh Plaha, born on July 10, 2021.
Recently, Harbhajan shared a video of his daughter playing golf in the UAE. Although really early, it might yet be an indication that young Hinaya is looking at a career in sports, much like her father.
So who is Geeta?
Geeta was first seen in Emraan Hashmi's Dil Diya Hai in 2006, in which she played a girl who is sold into prostitution by her lover. Her second release, The Train (2007), was also opposite Hashmi. She played Roma, a working woman who gets caught up in an extramarital affair. Basra was also seen in the music video for the Sukshinder Shinda and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan song 'Ghum Sum Ghum Sum', playing the love interest of the male protagonist played by Rahul Bhatt.
Having taken a break from acting to take care of his kids, Geeta is now set to return to the big screen in the movie Notary, opposite Bengali actor Parambrata Chattopadhyay.
