Mini Mathur, who recently won the Prime Video reality show Alliance, has been in the public eye since the mid 1990s. Mini started her career as a TV host but gained massive popularity after she became a VJ on MTV. But before she joined MTV, she married director Kabir Khan, who, at the time, was making documentaries. In a recent interview, Mini shared that their interfaith wedding did not face any problems from either of the families, even though her father was a “conservative” man. She also shared that she has never declared any religion for her children on any of the official documents.
In a chat with Hauterrfly, she said that she had gotten married to Kabir before she joined MTV and it was “another issue.” She explained, “I was told by certain people saying ‘We didn’t know you were married’. Because I had won the VJ hunt. I never wanted my husband’s name in my passport. I didn’t change my name. My kids shouldn’t have either of the parents’ names. I said if they are writing Khan, then they should write Mathur as well.”
Mini shared that she never faced any problems with the local authorities in Mumbai. “BMC never gave me a problem registering their names. The passport office never gave me a problem registering their names. Now, I don’t know what’s happening but I never faced any opposition.”
Talking about sticking to her faith, she shared that even though she is not a religious person, she believes that it is a cultural connection that she shares with her parents. “I decided that I will do Karva Chauth and ‘havan’ because that’s how I have grown up. And I have a cultural bond with my parents. I am not a religious person myself, but these are the things I have grown up with. So I talk to my mother on video calls and dress up in a red and green saree like Mathurs do, and I do it for her,” she said.
Mini then shared how her family accepted Kabir without much discussion. “When I met Kabir… And I am a Mathur girl, conservative Mathur. We were told that marriages happen within the same caste. And I was this good girl because I was ‘allowed’ to work in TV by my very conservative and very loving father, so I was even more careful of my image and what I was doing. So when I met Kabir, I knew that I had to get married to him,” she said.
However, just three days later, her father had a change of heart and told her, “So what if he is Khan? There’s just a difference of ‘na’ in Khan and Khanna. NA is not applicable. Let it be. Let me speak to his mother.”
Recalling her wedding with Kabir, Mini shared that they got married with a lot of “joy and excitement. People from both cultures coming together. We had the best time.” She then spoke about their faiths and said, “Kabir and I both don’t like the religious aspects but we like the cultural aspects.”
Kabir and Mini share two children – daughter Sairah and son Vivaan, and when speaking about how they chose their children’s religions, Mini shared, “I have filled all of their forms as either no religion or humanism. And I would say, ‘Why are you asking me?’ And it was accepted’. Our temple has all the gods.” Mini and Kabir have been married for over 20 years.
Kabir is best known for making films like New York, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Chandu Champion, among others.
