Their romance seems straight out of a Bollywood potboiler, complete with its many twists and turns, but thankfully for Arindam Ganguly and Kheyali Dastidar, their story has had a happy ending. Married now for the last five years, this couple seems to have it all ? not only are they blissfully happy in their personal life, but things are going great guns on the professional front as well, where they also collaborate. The talented duo also puts their decades-old experience in the entertainment business to good use in the running of the Kheyali-Arindam Workshop, one of the first acting schools of its kind in the city.

Right now, directing Zee Bangla?s hugely popular soap Neel Simana may be taking up most of Arindam?s waking hours, but his real claim to fame is as an actor and singer. He started acting when he was barely five, and performed as a child artiste in over 15 films, till Hansharaj, where he played an endearing baul boy, made him a household name almost overnight. Mother, which came later, was again a big hit, and since then, Arindam has proved his acting prowess in a host of plays, serials like Shei Somoy and Ramkrishna, and even films, before making a successful foray into direction. His singing career has flourished alongside ? he?s lent his voice to many popular songs, and even launched several records and cassettes, with another one in the works.

Like Arindam, Kheyali?s roots lie in the world of art and culture. Her parents were renowned theatre artistes Jochhan and Chandra Dastidar and it was fated from the start that she?d chalk out a career in the same line. Tero Parbon, the serial where she made her debut, was something of a landmark in Indian television, and she has acted in several other much-appreciated plays and serials like Uronchondi, Nachni and Appo Appo Gappo in Bengali and Ascharya Deepak and Gaurav in Hindi. At present, though, apart from a couple of serials like Labonyer Sangsar and Tatka Golpe Atka Maash, Kheyali is busy focusing her energies on theatre and scriptwriting. She?s acting in a comic play, Cholo Potol Tuli, written and directed by Arindam, and is even penning the script for Neel Simana.

KHEYALI:

Arindam and I were first introduced by a common friend during my Jadavpur University days, but it wasn?t until later, when both he and I were doing professional theatre, in theatre houses opposite each other, that we got to know each other better. At that time, my father was getting ready to direct Shei Somoy, and I suggested that Arindam go meet him, for lending his voice to the serial?s songs. As it happened, my dad felt he?d be perfect for the role of the hero Nabin Kumar, and before I knew it, we were working together.

I was assisting my father during the shoot, and Arindam and I grew really close, to the point that our marriage was practically fixed. But things didn?t work out quite that way ? to tell the truth, I was the one who didn?t know my own mind ? and I ended up marrying someone else.

A decade passed, during which I hardly ever ran into Arindam, till one day, Samit Bhanja offered us the lead roles in his serial, Basantabilap. I met him then after a long, long while, and the first thing I did was to apologise to him, for the way things had turned out earlier. He was so sweet and normal about it that all my guilt was laid to rest and I finally felt reassured. My marriage was going through a rough patch then, and Arindam filled my emotional vacuum. But even then, I was always categorical about the fact that we wouldn?t get married ? I didn?t always want to be painted the villain in the piece. But I suppose that there is such a thing as destiny. Ultimately, I got divorced and Arindam and I got married.

In retrospect, Arindam has been such a loving and caring husband, that I wonder why I ever had a change of heart. After all the bad experiences in my past, I was a bit apprehensive about marriage, but he has put all my doubts to rest. Be it at home, or at work, we?re just great together, especially our working relationship, which is nothing short of amazing. I think this stems from the fact that we?re the best of friends, so be it criticism or praise, we accept it from each other equally well.

What also helps is that Arindam is a complete family person, and what?s more, he shares a great rapport with Aditya, my son from my earlier marriage. We have such good times, just hanging out together, and laughing and joking around, that there?s never a dull moment. And as for romance, I couldn?t have asked for more!

My husband is a very idealistic person, but that also comes with a healthy dose of resilience. There are a lot of times when things go wrong with a particular project, and I get depressed, but Arindam always keeps my spirits up and everything does work out in the end. What I also admire about my husband, and this, mind you comes from a person who?s his biggest critic, is the fact that he?s constantly growing and enriching himself. He has this thirst for knowledge, and he?s always experimenting, even in a medium like TV serials, where one is bound by certain parameters.

Everyone loves Arindam for he?s got a golden heart, but the one thing that bugs me no end, is his tendency to sermonise whenever someone around him is drinking. It would be okay if he just kept it to not drinking himself, but no, he has to stop everyone around him from doing it, a habit which drives me up the wall. But beyond that serious exterior he has, there?s a flippant and jovial side to Arindam, which is what I love the most about him. I tell him he?s like a drug ? once it gets into your system, you can?t get over it!

ARINDAM:

Ever since I first met her, Kheyali struck me as a completely straightforward and down-to-earth person. Given the huge craze Tero Parbon generated, she had absolutely no airs and this great ability to call a spade a spade. Even when we broke up, she was very straight about it, otherwise, to be honest, I would have been hurt a whole lot more. In that respect, we are pretty alike, I hate hypocrisy as well.

Kheyali has this innocence about her which is completely childlike. She might storm into the room one day, throw her bags around, and then complain because I?m not getting worked up as well. Yes, that?s one of her main complaints against me, why I don?t lose my temper, besides, of course, the fact that I haven?t been able to take her for a proper holiday and I hate drinking. But then, the fact that I am cool-tempered probably helps in us striking just the right mental balance.

Professionally too, Kheyali and I are completely in tune. We?re beyond all petty problems and our understanding is awesome. We?ve collaborated on many projects, and each time has been better than the other.

What I feel about Kheyali is that given her calibre as an artiste, she hasn?t had the right opportunities to showcase her talent, nor has she been given the amount of appreciation that is her due. She can give a lot of big names a run for their money, but she simply doesn?t bother to play the PR game. She keeps on complaining that I don?t socialise enough, which leads to my missing out on some good work, but she is quite the same in that respect.

I firmly believe that no matter what profession you are in, unless you have a happy environment at home, it becomes extremely difficult to get things done. Kheyali was quite an extrovert earlier, now she?s become more homebound, and she is the one person who gives me all the stability that I could ever need.