Did Ajith and Shalini meet by ‘accident’? A glimpse of their love story 23 years after they tied the knot

Actors Ajith Kumar and Shalini are celebrating their 23^rd wedding anniversary on Monday (April 24). The superstar's fans took to social media to wish the evergreen couple on their special day. Though the duo tied the knot on April 24, 2000, the couple had fallen in love much before that. Here's a look at how the couple met and why they are still considered to be Kollywood's most popular pair.

The ‘accident’

Actor Shalini was a successful child artist who went to become a successful leading lady in Mollywood with films like ‘Aniyathi Pravu’ and ‘Nakshathratharattu’ among others. During that period, she also worked in Tamil films. Following the success of ‘Aniyathi Pravu’, which was remade in Tamil, director Saran had approached her to work in ‘Amarkalam’, which had Ajith in the lead. She rejected the offer since she wanted to concentrate on her studies. Actor Ajith intervened and promised that the shoot would not interfere with her studies. This was the beginning of a beautiful love story. Ajith, in an old interview, had admitted that he cut Shalini’s hand accidentally with a knife while shooting a scene in ‘Amarkalam’. This left him distressed and he became very fussy about Shalini’s health. This touched Shalini who was clearly touched by his concern.

During one of her interviews, Shalini once revealed that she first met Ajith while attending the premier of ‘Kadhalukku Mariyadhai’, which was the Tamil remake of the hit film ‘Aniyathi Pravu’. According to her, Ajith was not impressed with her hair (as she had curled it). “He even came and told me that he did not like my curled hair and felt that I looked nice in ‘Kadhalukku Mariyahai’. That had annoyed me.”

Though Ajith continues to be one of the reigning actors in Kollywood, Shaliny quit films following her marriage to Ajith as she felt she couldn’t balance the two roles of an actor and a wife.