Zayed Khan opens up about interfaith marriage with Malaika Parekh, admits he didn’t understand Hindu rituals at the wedding: ‘I told her to lead the way’

Actor Zayed Khan recalled the unusual circumstances around his marriage to Malaika Parekh; the actor said that they actually tied the knot secretly before a grand wedding function with thousands of guests. He said that they were looking for a level of privacy, and Malaika put together the most beautiful secret wedding for their closest friends and family a few days before the scheduled date. In an interview, Zayed also confessed that he wasn’t familiar with Hindu rituals, and kept looking to Malaika for guidance.

He appeared alongside her on the Couple of Things YouTube channel, where they were interviewed by his Main Hoon Naa co-star Amrita Rao and her husband, RJ Anmol. Asked about returning signing amounts for seven films when he decided to tie the knot, Zayed said, “I’ve never mentioned this before. Our wedding guest list had 2,000 names. In our minds, we’re wondering if this is a wedding or a circus. So, we called up 30 of our friends and told them that we are going to Taj Village in Goa, and there’s a surprise for everybody there.”

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He continued, “Very sweetly, she had organised a pandit and pheras. And in Goa, at Taj Village, we actually got married before we got married. We did our seven pheras, and it was such a beautiful destination wedding. We really wanted to remember our wedding day and have fun.” Asked if is this means that they were already married by the time they had their official wedding before the world, they laughed and said yes.

Zayed said that even though their family celebrates every festival and respects all religions, he found himself in a bit of tough spot at his wedding. “We’re from a family where we celebrate all religions, we celebrate everybody’s Gods, we don’t question. So, it was the sweetest thing for us. I still remember, I didn’t know the culture (of Hindu weddings), so I told her to lead the way and I’d follow her.”

Zayed and Malaika tied the knot on her birthday in 2005. They have two sons, Zidaan and Ariz. Zayed is the son of actor-filmmaker Sanjay Khan, and the brother of Sussanne Khan.