British film director Joe Wright is being held responsible for the breakup of his seven-year marriage to Ravi Shankar’s sitar playing daughter, Anoushka Shankar.
In Indian circles in the UK, where Anoushka is well known and widely respected, the news has caused dismay and sadness as theirs was thought to be one of the most stable of celebrity marriages.
Professionally, it has been a very successful year for both husband and wife. Anoushka, 36, grew out from the shadow of her late father by composing the music to the 1928 film Shiraz, which took her on tour to India.
Wright has a major hit on his hands with Darkest Hour, his movie starring Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill.
Wright’s representative announced: “I can confirm that Joe Wright and Anoushka Shankar recently ended their marriage. All parties are committed to the welfare and happiness of their two beautiful children and ask that their privacy be respected. No further comments will be made on this matter.”
On Thursday, the Daily Mail claimed: “Darkest Hour director Joe Wright seems to have found love again.”
It pointed out: “Anoushka was notably absent from the film’s premieres in London and Los Angeles last month.”
“The 45-year-old Englishman is reported to be dating Hollywood bombshell Haley Bennett, 30, star of thriller The Girl On The Train,” it went on. “The pair were spotted at the Critics’ Choice Awards in LA last week after appearing together at a Palm Springs film gala on January 2. And at a pre-Golden Globes party Wright was seen carrying around Bennett’s pet terrier, River, under his arm and introducing it to friends.”
“Let’s hope that he doesn’t make a habit of breaking hearts,” the paper said. “In 2007 he got engaged to (former Bond girl) Rosamund Pike — who played Jane Bennet in his 2005 adaption of Pride & Prejudice — but called off their wedding just two weeks before the big day.”
