Exclusive! Manit Joura on his wedding: Aisa laga pehle kyun nahi kar liya

Actor Manit Joura tied the knot with his Greek partner Andria Panagiotopoulou, a dance teacher by profession on July 9 in a hush-hush ceremony. The Naagin 6 actor has been tight-lipped about the union since then. In an exclusive conversation, Manit talks at length for the first time about D-day and being a husband.
Father’s health led to a preponed wedding
“I was alone managing anything, including the health of my father, which was the prime reason for me to prepone everything,” he says.Manit states it “was a quick call to decide the wedding”. After his father’s PETScan reports arrived, the doctors told the actor, ‘It looks bad. It has spread all over.’ The wedding, which was initially supposed to take place in late December, was preponed. “Everyone told me it is the right time,” he recalls. He reveals that everything was planned within two months.
No phones, please
Interestingly, in the world of overpowering social media, no pictures were leaked from Manit’s ‘close-knit’ wedding ceremony. “I very politely in the invite told everyone to not post anything on social media, because it's also about my wife. She is not habitual in being posted about. She gets very uncomfortable,” Manit shares.
‘It looked like heaven’
The wedding took place at a heritage resort in Udaipur, as Manit mentions, “I was very clear that I wanted to tie the knot here.” On the day of the wedding, “it was raining cats and dogs”, however, Manit is grateful that the ceremony took place without any downpour. “It was a simple affair with floral décor. I was planning to be at the mandap at 5 and till 5.30 I was arranging things. I finally switched off my phone and left the room,” Manit recalls. Contrary to the usual groom and bride’s solo entries, Manit and Andria walked the aisle together. “When I saw her, wo bohot sundar lag rahi thi. Both of us got emotional. The moment I held her hands and entered the venue it looked like heaven as if God lit up the entire thing,” Manit shares.
Challenging traditions
At the wedding, Manit carried a 108-year-old sword that belonged to his forefathers. Manit reveals that before him, the sword only had the names of the male members of the family printed on it. “I questioned my father why does it have the names of male members only? It’s wrong. I changed the tradition and requested my father. Because a woman’s role is as important in a family as a man’s. I wrote my name and my wife’s name on it,” Manit shares.
‘Andria danced and I sang’
At the wedding, Manit reveals that his wife took him by surprise when she did a Bollywood dance number. “She danced on Ore Piya (Aaja Nachle) and did a mix of Kathak and freestyle,” Manit mentions. Ask him what he did for his wife and pat comes the reply, “I sang Kyunki tum hi ho. I played the guitar and sang.”
Proposal at the airport
While Manit and Andria met 10 years ago in the capacity of a student and a teacher, he clarifies that they were only friends. In 2019, during a conversation, the two opened up about their feelings. “We were very good friends. She knew me through and through. There was mutual admiration,” Manit states. However, given that Andria belonged to Greece, Manit had his apprehensions about the relationship. “She comes from a different country, different culture, and a different walk of life. I told her about the challenges that we would have. To this, she told me, ‘I would rather live four months in a year with you than not live without you at all in this life’. That line kinda changed and moved me,” the Kundali Bhagya actor elaborates.
Earlier in January, Manit proposed Andria in a rather filmy way. “I proposed to her at the Mumbai airport, because somewhere that is the gates to our union,” the 37-year-old divulges.
‘Eventually, she will shift her base in Mumbai’
Andria, who has been to the country before, is currently trying to adapt. She hasn’t shifted her base here yet completely. “Eventually she will shift her base. For now, she will shuttle due to her work,” Manit discloses. Talking about her adjustments, Manit shares, “Of course thode bohot reservations hai, as it is also raining. She is not able to walk (due to the rain) or drive (due to the traffic). But she is adjusting. She wears Indian suits and loves it.”
A Greek wedding and European honeymoon on cards
Manit, who is now a husband, calls the feeling “amazing”. “Aisa laga pehle kyun nahi kar liya (shaadi)” he exclaims, adding, “Now I am more responsible, knowing someone is waiting for you at home. After shoot, I feel what should I take for her, to make her feel special.”
After the wedding, the newlyweds took a small trip to Goa, Manit reveals, however, he clarifies, that the honeymoon will happen somewhere in Europe. Moreover, a Greek wedding, owing to Andria’s heritage is also on the cards. “We are waiting for the clarity for a Greek wedding. It will mostly happen in November or December this year,” Manit ends.