Veteran actress Suhasini Mulay spent decades building one of the most respected careers in Indian parallel cinema. She worked constantly. She travelled. And, she stayed single. Then, at 60, she got married. Not because she had to. But because she finally found someone who fit.
Suhasini has been clear about this. She did meet people during her years in the film and documentary world. That was never the problem. The problem was that none of them could match her pace or her independence.
She had a specific condition. If she was going to share her life with someone, that person had to walk alongside her as an equal. Not ahead. Not behind. Alongside.
For a long time, that person did not show up.
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What made Atul different?
When Atul Gurtu did come into the picture, Suhasini paid attention to one thing above everything else. He believed in equality. Not as a talking point. As a way of life.
That was the reason she said yes.
She had turned 60. She knew what she was choosing. And she chose deliberately.
Before committing, Suhasini asked herself a direct question. Did she really want to change the direction of her life at this stage?
She thought it through.
Her answer was practical. If the marriage did not work, they would part ways. No resentment. No bitterness. She would go her way. He would go his. That was the worst outcome she could imagine, and she decided she could live with it.
So she moved forward.
Her mother had a running joke
Suhasini’s mother had long accepted that her daughter was not someone you could control. She had let go of that idea years earlier, because Suhasini had become fully independent well before marriage was ever on the table.
Her mother’s standing joke was simple. God knows who will be able to put up with you.
When Atul arrived, her mother directed that same energy at him. She kept asking him the same two questions. Are you happy? Are you okay?
Why she chose not to have children
This was another deliberate decision, and Suhasini does not apologise for it.
Her work in documentary films meant she was travelling for roughly fifteen days every month. That schedule was not compatible with raising children, at least not the way she wanted to raise them.
She was also honest about what parenthood actually does to priorities. Once you have children, she said, your focus shifts from your career to them. That is not wrong. She simply knew it was not what she wanted for herself.
There was one exception she had considered. If she were to have children, she would need a husband who was truly alongside her. Not one who handed her the full responsibility while he carried on with his own life. But the travel schedule made that a moot point anyway.
They met on Facebook and decided within a week
Suhasini was not on social media by choice. A friend pushed her to create a Facebook account, arguing it would help her find work.
She joined. She came across Atul’s profile while browsing. And, she sent him a friend request.
What drew her in initially was science. They had overlapping interests in that area, and she reached out. They started talking. Then came emails. They kept the conversation going.
Seven days after meeting each other in person for the first time, they decided to get married.
That was it. No long courtship. No extended period of deliberation. They had already talked enough to know.