If you ask actor Akansha Ranjan Kapoor how she met her now-husband, filmmaker Sharan Sharma, she’ll light up with glee. “It’s my absolute favourite story to tell! Besides, Sharan keeps trying to make himself sound cooler than he was.” The two were introduced through a mutual friend who decided to play matchmaker. “He showed me Sharan’s Instagram profile and said, ‘He thinks you’re really cute. He really likes you,’” she recalls. “I was like, ‘That director dude? I’ve heard of him.’ Then I followed him back.” Soon after, they found themselves at the same birthday party where, thanks to some enthusiastic friends, Ranjan Kapoor walked into what everyone jokingly declared was her swayamvar. “Apparently the boys had asked him to just name any girl he liked, and he said my name,” she laughs. Over the next three months, the pair became fast friends—at least that’s how Ranjan Kapoor saw it. “There’s a misconception there,” interrupts Sharma. “I thought we were well beyond friends.” Soon, they began dating. Exactly four years later, to the day, they got married.
The proposal took place during what Ranjan Kapoor believed was a birthday getaway in Alibaug. “I wanted it to be a big bash, but Sharan was not being very nice about me inviting my friends. He wanted to keep it very small.” Sharma simply had other plans. The night before the party, Ranjan Kapoor was battling an allergy attack. “I’m under the blanket sneezing and telling him, ‘Switch off the light, switch off the light,’” she says. Instead, he put on Angel by Jack Johnson (the same song that would later play on her wedding day) and sat beside her with a ring. “I looked up and said, ‘Trust you to do this when I’m having an allergy attack.’” For Sharma, this was exactly how he had imagined it. “You hear all these grand proposal stories with musicians and big productions, and I just can’t relate to them. I wanted it to be straight from the heart. Just the two of us in our safe space, in night suits and pyjamas.”
The wedding festivities began with a party at 38 Manhattan, the intimate library-style venue atop St. Regis Mumbai. “It’s all wood, chandeliers and open windows. It only fits about 120 people,” Ranjan Kapoor says. She wore a dusty pink Manish Malhotra ensemble—a strappy tube top and a floor-length fishtail skirt that shimmered, paired with a skinny sheer dupatta. “I wanted to be romantic and feminine. I didn’t want anything too loud.” Sharma complemented her in a burgundy Manish Malhotra ensemble with black trousers—one of three Manish Malhotra looks gifted to him by Karan Johar for the celebrations. And once the dancing was done, guests were treated to what the couple insists was one of the most important parts of the evening: a 3 am supper menu of Maggi and French fries.
The next day, the couple held an intimate ceremony in the garden of their apartment building. It featured handwritten vows, a signing ceremony, speeches by loved ones, a champagne toast, acoustic music, dinner and cake. “It was very us,” says Ranjan Kapoor. She wore a custom red sari by Arpita Mehta. It was vintage-inspired, with dull gold detailing, a printed blouse and a Banarasi stole, while Sharma chose an ivory kurta with a bundi jacket. Sat with his guitar under a large tree, Musician Bors Bey sang throughout the evening. “I first heard him at Masaba Gupta’s bridal shower and thought, ‘Is Ed Sheeran singing?’” Ranjan Kapoor laughs. “I took his number and told him, ‘One day when I get married, I’m calling you.’”
For all the conversations around stressful wedding planning, the process only strengthened their partnership. “People always say couples fight the most while planning a wedding,” says Ranjan Kapoor. “But I feel like we became a dream team.” Sharma agrees. “We were like co-founders of a startup.” Between vendor meetings, family opinions and endless logistics, they developed a system of sneaky strategy sessions, dividing responsibilities and congratulating each other after every small victory. “We’d high-five and say, ‘We really handled that well,’” she laughs. “Now, I think we can handle just about anything.”
