Perfect partners

Some say that success attracts success. No wonder then that several celebrities are choosing to be with a partner who’s on an equal footing with them. The biggest A-listers are now dating or are married to other big A-listers — Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma, Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, The Weeknd and Selena Gomez, Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, David and Victoria Beckham, George and Amal Clooney, Beyoncé and Jay Z, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, Ram Charan and Upasana Kamineni — the list goes on. Not only do such couples look attractive and manage to turn heads every time they are seen together, but they also complement each other really well.

Fans can’t stop gushing over actors Telugu filmstar Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s relationship. Says Samantha about her relationship with her fiancé, “I don’t know if I’d call it being equals, but we are similar on many levels, from discipline to punctuality to the lifestyle we share. We workout together and do a lot of things both of us like. Also, being in the same profession, we understand each other’s challenges.”

Actress Anushka Sharma and Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli also make for a handsome couple whenever they make joint appearances. Virat, too, recently opened up about how his girlfriend is an integral part of his life.

Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli

“Couples on an equal footing enhance and teach each other many things. However, it’s easier when each of them is successful in different fields, like Virat and Anushka. That way, their work won’t clash and create problems. They can give each other more space in the relationship. Successful couples from the same field may have insecurity issues. However, couples like Chaitanya and Sam, Saif and Kareena, are from the film industry and still very understanding,” says Harpreet Kaur Khandhari, a well-known relationship expert.

When quizzed about people calling her and Chaitanya the ‘it’ couple of Tollywood, Samantha laughs it off and says, “Frankly, no public scrutiny or titles would make a difference to us because our relationship has a sense of normalcy. We may be famous but the equation we share is obviously just like in any other relationship.”

Richa Khetawat, relationship counsellor, agrees and says, “Whether a couple is successful or not, it all boils down to commitment and making equal effort to make the relationship work. However, if both of them happen to be very successful, diversity in their fields is always good.”

Ram Charan Tej and Upasana

Talking about her husband-actor Ram Charan, CSR head at Apollo Hospitals Group, Upasana Kamineni says, “Very few men are secure enough to handle an equally successful woman. Charan does that beautifully. Our mantra is not to bring work back home and not to get too involved in each other’s work space.”

Samantha points out that having individual identities is also important. “We respect each other’s achievements and abilities. Neither Chaitanya nor his family wants me to be just the wife or the daughter-in-law. They have never suggested that I hang my boots anytime soon and have been encouraging in every sense.”

— With inputs from Swati Sharma and Pranita Jonnalagedda