Her voice is warm and infectious. Wardha Nadiadwalla, producer Sajid Nadiadwalla’s wife is the wind beneath his wings. She was recently in the spotlight when she hosted a movie screening of Two States for all her pals as Sajid was travelling. “I don’t do that often though,” she adds. Wardha anchors him like no other woman can. She downplays her role in Sajid’s professional life but her successful husband, (who has recently turned director with Salman Khan’s Kick) values her inputs immensely. “He discusses scripts with me and is constantly bouncing off ideas. If he has edited a film and is excited about the product, he wants me to see it. Right now, I don’t really have a major role to play in his professional life. I’m more of a sounding board. But, I have done a course in film production and maybe when my kids are older, I would like to direct a film someday,” says the chirpy 37-year-old.
Wardha met Sajid for a random interview about his first wife Divya on the eve of her death anniversary. “I was only 17 years old and writing for a newspaper. I remember walking into his room and I could not see the walls as they were covered with Divya’s pictures. Even after all these years, I don’t think I have been able to fulfil that vacuum she has left behind and I don’t try to either. Every year on April 4, her death anniversary, I give him the space he needs,” says the wise and affectionate wife, who is disarmingly unperturbed about her husband working with Bollywood’s glam dolls.
But to rewind to their love story, Wardha fell in love with Sajid at the first meeting itself. “I think it was his honesty that appealed to me. It was straight out of a Yash Chopra flick, the kind of emotion I felt. But Sajid was 27 and didn’t take me seriously. I would call him up every day or land up at his office. A couple of months later, I even told him that we will get married. He stopped communicating with me after that. So I befriended his mum and sister, who grew very fond of me. And when he broke up with Tabu, they were very keen that we get married, so it happened. It took me eight years to marry Sajid,” she states candidly.
The couple will celebrate their 14th wedding anniversary this year and Wardha is a content wife. “Before I married Sajid, I was a gawky woman, who didn’t know how to apply lipstick. I moulded myself gradually according to his expectations. He is a fitness freak so I started working out. He loves watching cricket and though I’m not fond of the game, I hang out with him as it helps us bond. Movies are a passion with both of us. I’m totally in love with my husband,” she confesses cutely.
She says that her hubby is not an overconfident producer despite having a successful track record. “He always hopes for the best before a movie’s release, but you can never predict how a movie will be accepted. He never gets worked up ever. In fact, sometimes I have to coax him to express his anxiety and he says he is fine. I remember when there were visa issues for Salman and the Kick schedule to London got postponed, he was unflappable and said that something better will happen. And it did. The Poland schedule of Kick went off super smooth and we got special permissions everywhere. The authorities there were so nice that it was a fabulous experience.”
Wardha believes in giving her successful hubby enough space and is not the suspicious wife who keeps tabs every time he travels on work. “I believe that he comes home to me because I take care of all his needs. And with our sons Subhaan, 11, and Sufiyaan, six, we are a happy family. I don’t feel threatened by any of his heroines as I am not an insecure person. I believe if you give the man his space and don’t question him needlessly, he will not feel the need to stray. In fact, I get along very well with Priyanka, Asin and Jackie. Priyanka and I used to be very close during Mujhse Shaadi Karoogi but we are both busy with our lives. She still is my SMS buddy. Asin comes over often. I love Jacky too as we hang out a lot together,” she adds.
Wardha calls Salman Khan her “brother-in-law” and says she is very close to him. “He is family. When we go and stay at his Panvel farmhouse, he will ask us what we want to eat for lunch or dinner. Once, I remember I had not carried my shoes with me and wanted to walk around with flip flops. He removed his walking shoes instantly and gave them to me and got himself another pair. He is a very kind and considerate human being, a side that is not often portrayed,” she adds.
As a parting shot, Wardha confesses, that she is, “Living my dream life by marrying Sajid. I couldn’t ask for more!”
