In a heartwarming and humorous anecdote, actor Vijay Varma shared the story of how he and his friends inadvertently missed Jaideep Ahlawat‘s wedding in 2009. The incident occurred when Jaideep, who was part of Vijay’s batch at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), announced his wedding plans. “We came to Mumbai in 2008. His wife, Jyoti (Hooda), was our junior at FTII. He had told us in advance that they were in a relationship, so we knew ‘bhabhi‘ was arriving soon,” Vijay recalled in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India.

When Jaideep shared his wedding date, Vijay and his friends were ecstatic, despite being financially strained. “We were very broke but very excited. We knew we had to attend the wedding, no matter what. We booked our train tickets and bought clothes in advance.”

However, fate had other plans. Jaideep landed his first film, courtesy of renowned director Priyadarshan, which coincided with his wedding date. Priyadarshan advised Jaideep to postpone the wedding, saying, “Shaadi aage kar lo.” Jaideep, understanding the importance of this career opportunity, decided to push the wedding by seven days. Jaideep had featured in Priyadarshan’s Khatta Meetha (2010), starring Akshay Kumar and Trisha Krishnan.

Vijay explained, “You understand the importance of work.” Jaideep chimed in, “Of course! Kaam bohot important hai.”

Unfortunately, this change of plans left Vijay and his friends in a predicament. “We didn’t know what to do with our tickets. We were like, ‘dobara toh nahi kharid paayenge‘ (we won’t be able to buy them again).” The group was unable to attend the rescheduled wedding, leaving Jaideep feeling disappointed and isolated. For six to eight months, the friends didn’t discuss the incident, acknowledging their collective guilt. “We knew we had wronged him, and he felt he had wronged us by postponing the wedding.”

The ice was finally broken during a get together months later, where Jaideep confronted his friends about their absence. Vijay described the emotional reunion. He shared, “He was sulking. We had some ‘juice’, and after a few drinks, he started howling, complaining that none of his friends attended his wedding. Looking at him, all of us started crying with him, juice ke nashe mein.”

Vijay and Jaideep have worked together in the film Baaghi 3, and in Jaane Jaan.

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