Juhi Chawla has never made her marriage a public spectacle, which is exactly why this detail still surprises fans. At a 2024 event hosted by the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry, she said she had originally planned a wedding with roughly 2,000 guests to industrialist Jay Mehta, then cancelled it.
The couple were reportedly introduced by filmmaker Rakesh Roshan and tied the knot in 1995. The wedding that actually happened, though, looked nothing like the one on the guest list.
A big plan collided with a year of grief
Juhi has said the timing was emotionally impossible. Her mother had died a year before the wedding, and as the date came closer, the loss caught up with her. She was also shooting some of her biggest films and feared that marriage would mean the end of her career.
She recalled thinking that the person she loved most was gone, and that her work might go away too. “I didn’t know how to be happy about it,” she said, explaining why she eventually broke down and told her mother-in-law.
The mother-in-law who said no to 2,000 guests
By then, invitations had already gone out around the world. Juhi said her mother-in-law responded simply, “Abhi nahi horahi hai,” and persuaded the family to step back from the grand ceremony.
“Imagine your mother-in-law cancelling those invitations which had gone out all over the world.”
Instead of the big-fat wedding, Juhi and Jay married at home with family and close friends. By her estimate, the gathering was around 80 to 100 people.
A quick look at the turnaround:
- Introduced by: Rakesh Roshan
- Married: 1995
- Original guest list: around 2,000
- Actual ceremony: at home, around 80–100 people
- Children: Jhanvi and Arjun
Why the quiet choice still matters
Bollywood weddings are usually built for cameras and crowds. A top star of the 1990s quietly trading a 2,000-person celebration for an at-home ceremony is rare, and it is a big part of why fans stay curious about Juhi’s relationship with Jay, who chairs the Mehta Group. The group has been reported to be valued at over ₹17,500 crore.
Juhi has also shared the softer side of their courtship. Jay wrote letters to her every day before they married, and once sent a truck full of red roses for her birthday. She has said it took her a year to say yes to him.
For readers, the story is about more than nostalgia. It is a reminder that even public figures sometimes need permission to choose a smaller, more private moment over the version everyone else expects.
Source: Hindustan Times