Ali Abbas Zafar on his wedding: Pursued Alicia for almost two years

Ali Abbas Zafar introduced Alicia to his fans by sharing the picture on Instagram

His films may have a larger-than-life quality to them, but when it comes to his personal life, Ali Abbas Zafar prefers to keep it low-key. Away from the media glare, in the quiet of his hometown Dehradun, the filmmaker tied the knot with partner Alicia in a hush-hush ceremony earlier this week. "She is from France, so the visas were initially posing a problem. As soon as she got the visa, we went to Dehradun and got married at home. It was always planned this way," says the groom, who introduced his wife to his fans on Tuesday by sharing love-soaked pictures of them from the wedding ceremony.

For someone who has woven romantic dramas on screen, Zafar is endearingly shy about sharing his real-life love story. Probe him on the love of his life, and he reveals that he met her during a work trip to France. "She is a first-generation Iranian from France. I had gone there for work, and immediately fell in love with her. I pursued her for almost two years, convincing her that I am the man who will keep her happy. It has been a difficult task, but I am glad she finally agreed," he laughs.

An exotic honeymoon will have to wait as the director has a chock-a-block date diary. "I plan to start shooting in Mumbai soon, and have back-to-back shoots lined up all year. It is one of the reasons we got married now. Also, since Europe went into a second lockdown, we had no idea whether we would get another clear window soon. So, we decided to make the most of this period."