Farhan Akhtar and Shibani Dandekar to tie the knot on February 21

Previously rumoured to tie the knot in March, Bollywood actor and director Farhan Akhtar is set to marry his girlfriend of nearly four years, Shibani Dandekar on February 21. The news was confirmed by his father, Indian poet and screenwriter Javed Akhtar. According to him, the couple’s wedding will be a ‘fairly simple affair’ and will take place at Javed’s family home in Khandala.

Keeping in mind the on-going Covid-19 outbreak, Javed revealed that only a select few will attend the wedding. The invitations for the intimate affair are yet to be sent out. In an interview with Bombay Times, Javed shared affirmatively that, “Yes, the wedding is taking place. The wedding preparations are being taken care of by the wedding planners.”

The Akhtar family has decided to be mindful of the government imposed restrictions for the ongoing pandemic. “Taking the situation into consideration, it is obvious that we cannot host anything on a large scale. So, we are only calling a few people. It will be a fairly simple affair. We are yet to send out the invitations.” During the conversation, he also asserted that the family adores Shibani calling her a “very nice girl” with a smile.

Farhan and Shibani began dating in 2018 and within a few months, the duo made their relationship Instagram official. Ever since then, they’ve been updating fans and friends with their relationship milestones online. The couple has also been living together for a while now in Mumbai.

Last year, when the rumours of their wedding made headlines, Shibani released an official statement to put them to rest. However, she shared that living together during the lockdown made them closer “much quicker” than they would have otherwise. "We already do so much together, in terms of, we work out together, we watch content together, we would play with our dogs together, and then he would go off and work, and I would go off and work. So we had a great balance, that way. And we have a lot of interests that are similar. We both like our time apart as well. We had a great set-up going on, actually,” she continued.

Earlier this year, an Indian publication revealed that the couple do not wish to delay their wedding anymore since they live together anyway. The publication quoted a source as saying, “Farhan and Shibani were planning a lavish wedding in Mumbai in March 2022.”

However, now they will keep it low-key as the Covid cases have been rising once again and there are many Bollywood celebs, too, who have been tested Covid positive. And so, the couple has decided to get married among friends and family. Farhan and Shibani are living together and they don't want to delay their wedding amid the pandemic, and so, they thought to keep it an intimate affair.” Kudos to them for being responsible.

Being the queen of public displays of affection, Shibani’s love language seems to be expressive gestures. Shibani wished her beau with a bunch of pictures of them twinning in black formal outfits last month. Calling him “Foo,” she captioned her Instagram post, “My Foo, to what will be your best year yet. Love you FOREVER Happy birthday x.” With them taking their relationship to the next level, it definitely seems like a year of growing love for them. Talk about going all out, on her own birthday last year, she got Farhan’s name tattooed on her neck.

Farhan was previously married to hairstylist Adhuna Bhabani. The former couple, who got divorced in 2017, have two daughters – Shakya and Akira – together.