‘Lagaan’ Actress Suhasini Mulay Found Love At 60 On Facebook And Married Him Within 75 Days
Suhasini Mulay’s remarkable love story saw her find lifelong partner Atul Gurtu on Facebook at 60 and marry him just 75 days after their first meeting.
While conversations around Bollywood stars and their decisions to stay unmarried often make headlines, one veteran actress chose a different timeline entirely. Suhasini Mulay, widely recognised for her stellar performances in blockbuster films like ‘Lagaan’ and ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, chose to stay single for six decades. It wasn't due to a lack of proposals, but because she refused to settle for anything less than a relationship built on true equality. However, at the age of 60, love found her in the most modern way possible – on Facebook.
Even more surprising? The veteran actress ended up marrying him within just 75 days of their first meeting.
Speaking in a recent interview with Suhana Safar, Suhasini Mulay revealed that she had joined Facebook only because a co-star suggested it might help her discover new work opportunities. Instead, she stumbled upon the profile of Atul Gurtu, a renowned physicist who was working on the Large Hadron Collider.
“I saw Atul's profile and thought, 'Physicists are on Facebook too?'” Suhasini shared. “Since I have always been interested in science, I sent him a message asking, 'What is LHC?'”
This simple question sparked a lively exchange of emails. Eventually, Atul Gurtu hinted that he was looking for a life partner. Suhasini Mulay admitted she found the idea amusing at first: “He never directly proposed anything, but he hinted at it. When I realised he was looking for someone, I laughed to myself. I thought, 'When I couldn't find the right person in 60 years, how am I suddenly going to find him now?'”
Naturally cautious, Suhasini Mulay reached out to a friend who gave her practical advice. “He told me that at this age, the options only become fewer. Don't shut the door before you've even opened it. If you don't like him, you can always move on. There's no harm in trying.”
Still, she kept her guard up. “When Atul asked for my number, I told him, 'Good girls don't give their phone numbers to strangers,'” she revealed. “On the internet, it's not about who you meet; it's about what you meet. People create fake profiles all the time.” She even cross-checked his Facebook photograph with his workplace directory.
Eventually, an email from Atul stuck with her: “'If you want to bring a change in your life, you have to work towards it.'” Supported by a childhood friend who told her, “You've lived alone all your life without being scared. What's stopping you now?”, she finally decided to meet him.
Their first face-to-face meeting happened the day after Diwali, and Suhasini Mulay deliberately arrived late. “I wanted to make sure he actually looked like the person in the photographs before meeting him,” she confessed.
For Suhasini, finding a partner wasn't about compromise. “I had remained unmarried for so long because I couldn't find a man who believed in equality,” she explained, noting she wanted "coexistence without judgment." Atul checked every single box.
When asked why he wanted to marry so late in life, Atul's response sealed the deal: “He said, 'Suhasini has lived alone all her life and can continue to do so. I can continue to live alone as well. But I want to give happiness a chance. If it doesn't work out, we will simply admit we made a mistake.'”
Her mother was utterly shocked when Suhasini called her to say, “I think I've met a man.” But after meeting the scientist at one of his lectures, her mother warmly concluded, “You've found an intelligent man.”
After meeting in late November, the couple tied the knot on January 16. The whirlwind romance even featured a comical moment at the marriage registrar's office. “When we went to register our marriage, the official assumed I had come to collect an old marriage certificate,” she shared. Upon clarifying they were there to get married, the official looked at them and blurted out, “'You and uncle?' We laughed so much.”
Looking back, the actress notes the irony of society's expectations. “When you're a celebrity, people think they have the right to judge every decision you make,” she said, pointing out she was criticized both for staying single and for marrying at 60.
Today, at 75, Suhasini Mulay has been happily married to Atul Gurtu for over 15 years, proving that true love – and true equality – has absolutely no age limit.
