How A Rs 27,000 Phone Call Sealed Harbhajan Singh-Geeta Basra's Love Story
There was a time when even incoming calls on mobile phones were charged. People in love, however, thought less about bills and more about time spent together on the line. Minutes often stretched into hours, and hotel balconies during foreign tours turned into makeshift drawing rooms where secrets were shared and hearts connected.
Amidst this changing world of cricket and cinema, one such story quietly bloomed between one of India's greatest match-winning bowlers, Harbhajan Singh, and Bollywood actress Geeta Basra. What began with a phone call eventually turned into one of the most talked-about cricket-Bollywood marriages of the decade.
Harbhajan Singh's first encounter with Geeta Basra came during India's 2007 tour of England, when both met at a common friend's party. They exchanged numbers, and what started as casual conversations soon deepened into long chats across time zones.
The seriousness of this bond became clear a year later. In 2008, when the Indian team toured Sri Lanka, Harbhajan was riding high on success as India scripted a historic series victory. While his teammates celebrated, Bhajji's focus was elsewhere; on lengthy calls to England. Reports suggest that a single call once pushed his bill to nearly Rs 27,000. But for him, love mattered more than numbers.
Despite the growing closeness, Harbhajan and Geeta chose to keep their relationship under wraps for almost eight years. For Geeta, her acting career came first, and she wanted her name to be tied to her work rather than her personal life. Harbhajan, meanwhile, was at the peak of his cricketing journey.
Rumours frequently surfaced in the media, but Geeta would always brush them aside, insisting the two were just 'good friends". The truth was far deeper. After years of balancing love and careers, the couple finally decided to take the next step.
On October 29, 2015, Harbhajan Singh and Geeta Basra tied the knot in Jalandhar, following traditional Punjabi rituals. The celebrations did not end there. A grand reception in Mumbai saw a glittering mix of cricketers and Bollywood celebrities gather to bless the couple.
Today, Geeta has largely stepped away from films to focus on family life, while Harbhajan has transitioned from the cricket field to commentary boxes and politics after announcing his retirement.
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