With veteran actor Dharmendra turning 90, fans are revisiting a charming Deol family story that’s recently gone viral — how Bobby Deol’s wife, Tania Deol, first met her father-in-law. The story unfolds like a film itself, beginning with chance encounters, an unexpected midnight call, and a nervous first meeting with the legendary star.
It all started at Trattoria
In a throwback interview that’s currently gaining traction, Tania revealed that Bobby first noticed her at Trattoria, a popular restaurant in Mumbai, where she was dining with her brother and friends. “Bobby knew one of them. And then we bumped into each other a couple of times at night. I didn’t say hello to him when I saw him because I didn’t know him. I didn’t bother. It didn’t matter,” Tania recalled.
But while Tania didn’t think much of it, Bobby clearly did. Their next meeting came soon after, at Chunky Panday’s Diwali party, where sparks began to fly — though not quite in the traditional sense. “Bobby came and he sat and played cards at the same table. He kept losing to me but he wouldn’t pay me. He said, ‘I will take you out for a meal.’ I said, ‘What’s wrong with this guy?’” Tania laughed.
The call that changed everything
After that night, Bobby decided to take a chance. Tania recalled, “It was some absurd hour at night and I was fast asleep. I picked up the call without knowing who it was and I said, ‘I will call you tomorrow.’”
The next day, she asked her friends if they had called, and none of them had. “He thought I was this snooty girl,” Tania admitted. A week later, Bobby tried again, at a reasonable hour, and the two spoke for seven to eight hours straight. “It was like a fairytale. We didn’t even go on a date, we kept attending parties. This one night, he insisted to drop me home and at my door, he asked me to marry him,” Tania said.
Meeting Dharmendra and the Deol family
When it came time to meet Bobby’s parents — Dharmendra and Prakash Kaur — Tania was understandably nervous. “I was all of 19 — really quite nervous. I was dressed in a salwar-kameez. His parents were really warm and made me feel very comfortable, and at ease. They welcomed me with open arms.” Six months later, the two tied the knot in a grand wedding attended by over 10,000 guests. “Initially, it was Bobby and me, and eventually the family took over and we were just sidelined,” she joked.
Today, nearly three decades later, Bobby and Tania Deol continue to embody warmth and grace, raising their two sons — Aryaman and Dharam — while balancing family, work, and the limelight.
