Priyadarshan & Akshay Kumar enter a marital alliance

By Subhash K. Jha
Mumbai, Aug 28 (IANS) For a long time, filmmaker Priyadarshan and his favourite actor Akshay Kumar have shared a productive professional partnership going from "Hera Pheri" to "Khatta Meetha" even before we could say "De Dana Dan". Recently, the alliance just got strengthened.

Priyadarshan's long-standing assistant Abhilash Nair Wednesday tied the knot with Akshay Kumar's cousin Saneepa, whom Akshay treats like his own sister.

Saneepa is Akshay's maternal uncle's daughter.

"Akshay's Maama (maternal uncle) and Maami (maternal aunt) are very close to him. Some time ago, he invited them over to Mumbai to give his mom company. Since then, he has looked after Saneepa as his own sister," said a source close to the actor.

The marital alliance between Priyan's associate and Saneepa was Akshay's idea.

"Though Abhilash and Saneepa knew one another from before but it's an arranged marriage. Akshay has known Abhilash since he started working with Priyan. This is not only a good match for his cousin but also a way of strengthening his professional and personal bonds with Priyan," he adds.

While Akshay remained unavailable for comment, Priyadarshan reluctantly spoke about the marriage.

"Abhilash is like my own brother. He's marrying Akshay's cousin. So me and Akshay are related now. Saneepa is a very nice girl," he said.