AR Rahman: How and when did AR Rahman meet wife Saira Banu for the first time? What was the singer’s first reaction?

Mumbai. AR Rahman’s wife Saira Banu has announced her separation from the famous musician after 29 years of marriage. This news was confirmed in a statement issued on Tuesday night, in which it was told that after a long period of emotional tension, both of them have decided to separate. Saira’s statement mentioned their enduring love, but also acknowledged that the challenges in their relationship were so great that separation was the only right option.

Amidst the announcement of their separation, A.R. An old interview of Rahman has again gone viral online, in which he talked about his wife. In this interview, Rehman recalled how his mother and sister had made him meet Saira at a Sufi dargah in Chennai.

Talking about his wife Saira Banu in an interview and about meeting her for the first time, Rahman told Rahmaniac dot com, “In 1994, when I was about twenty-seven years old, I thought it was time to get married. Has gone. For some reason, I started to feel like I was getting old. [मुस्कुराते हुए] I was always very shy and didn’t talk to girls much. When we worked together, I met many young female singers in my studio. I respected her a lot, but I never looked at any girl with the thought that she could one day become my wife. I didn’t have time to think about girls. I used to work 24 hours a day.”

When Rehman was asked his first opinion about Saira, he said, “She was very beautiful and gentle. We met for the first time on January 6, 1995, on my 28th birthday. It was a short meeting. After that we mostly talked on the phone. Saira speaks Kutchi and English and I asked her in English if she would like to marry me. Saira was very calm in those days. Even now she remains calm.”

AR Rahman and Saira Banu married on 12 March 1995 in Chennai, marking the beginning of a partnership of nearly three decades. Recalling her wedding day, she said, “Saira and I got married on March 12, 1995 in Chennai, in the same building where I opened AM Studios in 2006. On my wedding day I had a never-ending smile on my face and at the end of those three hours, I remember every muscle in my face was hurting.”

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