Celebs who became famous because of their partners

Farah Khan and Shirish Kunder: Having choreographed some of the most popular dance steps in the Hindi film industry, Farah Khan has made international celebs like Shakira dance to her tunes! She is also a renowned director and has a reputation of doling out blockbusters. After establishing a niche for herself in the industry, Farah apparently fell in love with film editor, Shirish Kunder. The two had reportedly met on the sets of Farah's debut film, Main Hoon Na. In an interview with iDiva, Farah was quoted as saying that, "He is a very talented man and that is what I respect most about him. He is principled at the cost of being self destructive. He is very stubborn, and insists on doing things his way. His bluntness is mistaken for arrogance. I never knew I would be marrying the most misunderstood man in the industry. He has a great sense of humour. While everybody is scared of me, he is the only one who tells me things on my face and also lets me be myself. He was the one who encouraged me to take up the lead actor's role in Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi. I am a diplomatic goddess in front of him. I fight a lot with him but I will never give him up. We don’t need to hold hands in public and display our love to tell people how comfortable we are with each other." While he is a successful film editor, Shirish's claim to fame is the fact that he is Farah's husband.

Sanjay Dutt-Manyata Dutt: Sanjay Dutt's wife, Manyata, was formerly known as Dilnawaz Shaikh. Her only claim to fame before marriage was the item song in the film, Gangaajal. She was apparently named Manyata by filmmaker, Prakash Jha. But Manyata's Bollywood dreams apparently ended when her father passed away and she had to look after his business. But her life changed when she met Sanjay Dutt. The two apparently met through producer Nitin Manmohan. At the time, Sanju was reportedly dating Nadia Durrani but Manyata would secretly visit him when Nadia was away. It is alleged that Manyata would cook all of Sanjay's favourite dishes during her visits. The two tied the knot in Goa in 2008. Sanjay was earlier married to Richa Sharma and Rhea Pillai.

Aamir Kiran-Kiran Rao: Kiran Rao had filmmaking dreams and was assisting Ashutosh Gowariker as the third AD on Aamir Khan's film, Lagaan. Interestingly, it was director Reema Kagti of Talaash fame, who told Kiran about the opportunity. That's when Kiran met Aamir. But love did not blossom overnight. In an interview with The Times of India, the director spoke at length about her relationship, "I first met Aamir when we were going on a recce on a bus to Bhuj and he came and met us and introduced himself. I just felt that he was quite normal. During Lagaan, I was a bit nervous as he was a big star and kept my distance. Also, I was seeing someone while Lagaan was on. I again met him and his family briefly during Dil Chahta Hai. They seemed so elegant and warm. Now that I have got to know them, my first impression was right and I absolutely adore his sisters and mother. By 2003, he and Reena had divorced. He started seeing someone else and we again connected on the sets of an ad commercial that he was doing with Ashutosh Gowariker. We hung out a lot together and became 2 am friends. We started seeing each other in 2004. Initially, I wasn't sure that I could be friends with a superstar. But in so many ways he is such a grounded person that in four minutes of speaking to him, you forget that he is a star. We like each other's company and our friendship is still the basis of our relationship. I moved in with him and neither of us was hung up on marriage. After a year of living together, we decided to get married for two reasons. One, I wanted my parents to feel comfortable and also being the celebrity he is, it was easier to just be legally conjoined as it takes the grey-ness out of the picture. Also, as a girlfriend, people did not know how to treat me. For instance if you go to an event as a wife you are treated a certain way but as a partner, they don't know what to do with you." Today, Kiran Rao is known as Aamir's wife and an aspiring filmmaker.

Twinkle Khanna-Akshay Kumar: Being the daughter of a superstar and a famous actress does not guarantee fame, as was the case with Twinkle Khanna. Daughter of Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia, Twinkle made her Bollywood debut with Barsaat opposite Bobby Deol in 1995. While Twinkle had worked with all the top stars from the industry, she apparently couldn't establish herself as the No.1 actress in the industry. But life changed when Twinkle met Bollywood's khiladi, Akshay Kumar. Apparently, the two first met for a photoshoot and fell in love with each other. On a talk show, Akshay revealed the details of their love story. According to his version of the story, it so happened that Twinkle was so confident of her film, Mela's box-office success that she had told Akshay that if it didn't do well, she would marry him. And destiny worked in Akki's favour. The couple is blessed with two kids -Aarav and Nitara. Twinkle quit the industry after marrying Akshay and is a famous interior designer. She is also renowned for her cheeky columns.

Bipasha Basu and Harman Baweja- Bipasha Basu was in a long relationship with John Abraham before the two decided to split, leaving their fans shell shocked. The models turned actors were both good looking, successful and made for a perfect pair. While John is married to banker Priya Runchal, Bipasha is dating actor Harman Baweja who at one point was allegedly dating Priyanka Chopra. Although Harman has the looks and dancing skills and has often been compared to Hrithik Roshan, he has not been able to make his mark in Bollywood. His debut film flopped, followed by another disaster at the Box Office: What's Your Raashee? When he tried to reinvent himself with Dishkiyaaoon produced by Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra, this film too tanked and did nothing for Harman's career. When he began dating Bipashsha, the actor started coming into the limelight and was often clicked with Bips. He finally admitted to being in a relationship with her and today is known as Bipasha's boyfriend. He remains in the spotlight courtesy Bips and today she is the bigger star.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan- The former beauty queen literally reigned Bollywood with her beauty and brains when she made her entry into the Hindi film industry in 1998. Touted as one of the most beautiful women in the world, Aishwarya aka Ash had the world at her feet. She was also romantically linked to Salman Khan when the two met on the sets of SLB's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Ash had done a film, 'Dhai Akshar Prem Ke' with Abhishek Bachchan, but at that time, they were only friends. AB Jr. was dating Karisma Kapoor and the two also got engaged on Big B's 60th birthday. However, due to unknown reasons, they called it quits. It was on the sets of Umrao Jaan that Abhishek and Aishwarya bonded more and rumours about their link up started. The two finally got married in 2007 and their wedding was one of the most awaited and anticipated one. Aishwarya is the face of many global brands, a regular at Cannes and also made her presence felt in Hollywood. On the other hand, barring a few hits, Abhishek has unfortunately always been compared to his father Amitabh Bachchan and is known as his son. Post marriage, Aishwarya is still in the limelight and though Abhishek has his own identity, he is known as Ash's husband more so now. Thanks to her, he also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and walked the red carpet along with Ash at the Cannes Film Festival. Because of Ash, Abhishek has got more recognition.