From 'Black' to 'Brahmastra': How destiny and Bollywood brought Alia, Ranbir together

The celebrity couple is all set to tie the knot next week!

Matches are made in heaven – at least, when stars like Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are involved. We’re certain the popular Bollywood duo has its own story to tell. But before Alia or Ranbir spill the beans on how they came together and eventually decided to tie knot, the internet has its own record of moments and events they were captured in – compiled into a timeline by India TV – for those of you who are still wondering what led these two individualists to this inseparable place in time.

Childhood crush

While their love story is known to have started when filmmaker Ayan Mukerji played cupid for the two, Alia had her eyes set on Ranbir from the time she was 11. That’s right! Not many know this, but Alia had reportedly said that she first developed a crush on Ranbir while auditioning for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black. The then starlet worked as an assistant director on the film and she fell head over heels for the Saawariya actor.

Confessing love

Years later, after Alia made her Bollywood debut in 2014, she expressed her desire to marry Ranbir during one of the episodes of Karan Johar's Koffee with Karan. Ranbir, too, showed up that year to promote Alia's Highway. Following this, both Alia and Ranbir were linked to several Bollywood celebrities over the years, albeit, rumours about the two dating each other remained rife.

Enter Ayan Mukerji

In 2017, Ayan Mukerji roped in the duo for Brahmastra and rumours about them falling deeper in love gained momentum, until finally, in 2018, the two made head turns by marking their first appearance as a couple at the wedding reception of Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja.
Soon after, Ranbir confirmed their relationship to a magazine, maintaining that they had just started dating so he could not say much about where they’re headed. The couple then made several more appearances on numerous occasions, including family weddings, cosy lunch and dinner parties.

Through thick and thin

In September 2018, when Ranbir's father, the late Rishi Kapoor, got admitted to a medical facility in New York, the couple was snapped visiting him together. Alia also rang in the 2019 New Year celebrations with Ranbir's family and pictures of their gathering went viral on social media. The entire gang seemed like one big happy family. The same year, while making an appearance at an awards ceremony, Ranbir and Alia openly proclaimed their love for one another. The actors had won Filmfare awards for best acting in their respective roles.

Love in times of Covid

Rumours of them gearing up to tie the knot started erupting in 2020, but by then, so had Covid cases around the world. Alia's 2021 Instagram posts proved that the duo was still very much in love. The couple had even flown to Rajasthan to celebrate Ranbir's 39th birthday.

Alia shared a picture from the calm, natural setting as she wished Ranbir a happy birthday. She then shared a loved-up photo with Ranbir on Diwali, leaving Ralia fans in awe.

Brahmastra's poster launch

In December 2021, during the motion poster launch event of Brahmastra, the adorable couple was seen at their candid best. They answered several fan questions while subtly engaging in some adorable PDA. When asked, "When will you marry Alia or someone else?" Ranbir wittily replied, "Haven't we seen a lot of people getting married in the last year? I think we should be happy with that." However, turning towards Alia, he cheekily added, "Humari kab hogi?" to which a visibly blushing Alia replied, "Why are you asking me?"

Well now that the jig is up, we can’t wait for next week!