‘It started as a one-night stand’: Archana Puran Singh, Parmeet Sethi’s relationship was ‘casual’; he took ex’s name when proclaiming his love

“I had just broken up with my ex and he had broken up with his ex and both of us were in a rebound phase. People say rebound relationships don’t last but we are proof that these relationships can work. Something that was supposed to be a one-night stand, a fling, a casual affair… We told each other very clearly that this won’t be serious,” she said and Parmeet reminded her that they would sometimes tell each other every day that this wasn’t a serious relationship.

Parmeet Sethi and Archana Puran Singh have been together for 38 years. (Photo: Express Archives)

Archana was out of Parmeet’s league

Archana had already done the 1987 film Jalwa by then and was quite a popular figure. Parmeet shared that she was “hot and happening then” and he believed that she was “completely out of my league. I was from a middle-class family, and you had just done Jalwa.” He added, “I didn’t know that someone like you would ever say yes to me.”

Archana recalled that during these early years of their relationship, Parmeet always bought her three red roses, and would say ‘I love you’ pointing at each rose. “I didn’t have money either so I would borrow money from her to buy her roses,” he shared with a laugh. Archana added, “When he started doing it regularly, and continued borrowing from me, I told him, ‘Let it be now… Stop buying roses’ and he wondered, ‘Do you want to stop our love?’”

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Parmeet took ex’s name while proclaiming love for Archana

Archana recalled another incident from the early months of their relationship when Parmeet accidentally named his ex-girlfriend while proclaiming his love for Archana. “You were in my kitchen and you were talking about roses, or talking about love or something and you said, ‘Parmeet and dash’s jodi will always be there’ and the dash you said was not my name, that was your ex-girlfriend’s name,” she recalled and Parmeet was genuinely shocked by her recollection as he had forgotten all about this incident.

Archana said she wasn’t offended by Parmeet’s error as they had been together for just 4 months and his previous relationship had gone on for four years. “I take everything with some sense of humour. I am a very secure person 99 percent of the time so I didn’t fight with him but I told him that you took your ex’s name. I remember this. I didn’t take it badly because I knew that you meant me but you had been with her for 4 years, and you had been with me for 4 months. Obviously you took her name by chance,” she said.

Archana and Parmeet have been married since 1992.