Indian actor Randeep Hooda has openly explained the reasons for his late marriage at the age of 48, revealing cultural obstacles and personal decisions that kept him unmarried for so long. In an interview with Indian media, Hooda explained how family customs and his own attitude towards marriage were among the main factors in his decision to remain unmarried for so long.

Randeep, who got married to Manipur actress and model Lin Laishram in 2023, stated that one of the reasons for the delay was that his bride belonged to a different ethnic group from his own, which is Jat. He cited the fact that inter-community marriages are not very common in his family and that this created resistance.

He jokingly added, Honestly, I never actually planned on getting married in the first place, but when something is written in your destiny, it just happens. Looking back at his younger days, Randeep gave a more emotional take, stating, In school, I was really unhappy, and I didn’t want to bring a child into this world to experience the same schooling system.

The turning point in his thinking came after he met Lin Laishram. After meeting Lin, I began reconsidering my decision to never marry, he said. But persuading his parents was a long battle. My family has always practiced marrying in our own community. No one in my family had married someone from outside the Jat community before, so my parents were naturally apprehensive.

Randeep said it took a few years to convince his parents to accept the idea, and it was when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country that the marriage proposal finally came his way. “I thought the pandemic was an unusual window of opportunity to act upon this decision. I felt it was the right moment,” he said.

Nowadays, he claims, things have been improved. Fortunately, people know how to understand one another now, and my wife became a part of the family everyone loves and accepted, he asserted with satisfaction.

Randeep Hooda’s wife, Lin Laishram, is from India’s northeastern state of Manipur and is a member of the ancient Meitei tribe. She is a well-known actress and model in her state. Their marriage, besides being a personal achievement, also shows the evolving scenario of traditions in India, where inter-community marriages are slowly gaining acceptance, particularly within the film industry.

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