Suniel Shetty Birthday Special: Tracing actor's love story with wife Mana Shetty

Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty will turn 61 on Thursday (August 11). He is one of the popular actors of 1990s and he worked in several superhit films like, 'Mohra', 'Waqt Hamara Hai,' 'Hera Pheri', 'Balwaan' and others.

The actor is known for his filmography and great performances on screen, however, even his love story with his wife Mana Shetty has been one to get inspired from. They have set an example of successful inter-religion marriage since many years.

Suniel belongs to a Kannada family whereas Mana is the daughter of a Punjabi mother Monisha Kadri and Gujarati Muslim father.

Suniel and Mana first met at the age of 21 and 17 years old, respectively. They were introduced to each other through common friends. Interestingly, after seeing Mana for the first time, Suniel got attracted to her and fell in love with her. While remembering an introduction, Suniel said in an old interview, “There was something about her that was different.”

Later, Suniel asked one of his friends to organise a get-together and requested to invite Mana as well. After the party, Suniel and Mala went on a motorcycle ride together at night where they realised that they have fallen for each other.

At that time, Mana and Suniel’s fathers were not in mood to approve their relationship as they belonged to different religion and culture. They tried to convince their family for nine years.

Finally, after nine years, Suniel and Mana got an approval from their parents and they got hitched in 1991.

In another interview, Suniel shared that their marriage was a 10-day long event.

In 1992, Mana gave birth to their daughter Athiya Shetty, who is now an actress in Bollywood. In 1996, the couple had their second child, son Ahan Shetty, who recently made his Bollywood debut.