How Umar Khalid played cupid in Swara Bhasker and Fahad Ahmad's love story

Fahad Ahmad said Umar Khalid gave him Swara Bhasker's number and urged him to call her. The call, made during the anti-CAA protests, led to a friendship that later became marriage.

In Short

• Swara and Fahad first connected while participating in anti-CAA protests
• Fahad joked Swara still answers his calls only after several attempts
• Swara said she took unknown calls then because the movement mattered

Swara Bhasker and Fahad Ahmad's relationship began with a protest, grew into a friendship and eventually turned into marriage. Now, Fahad has revealed how activist Umar Khalid played an unexpected role in bringing the two together.

Speaking about their love story on The Midnight Hour podcast, Fahad said Khalid, who was a close friend, gave him Swara's number and encouraged him to call her.

He said, "Umar Khalid, he's a very good friend of mine. So he told me, 'I'm sending you Swara's number, you just call her'."

Swara also credited Khalid for connecting her with Fahad. "Omar Khalid was our cupid. He was the person who connected us," she added.

How Swara and Fahad first spoke

Fahad recalled that he simply followed his friend's advice and called Swara. He also joked about how difficult it still is to get the actor to answer his calls, even after three years of marriage, but she answered his call in a few rings.

Swara then explained why she answered Fahad's call despite usually avoiding calls from unknown numbers. At the time, she was actively participating in the movement against the Citizenship Amendment Act and was responding to people involved in the protests.

"I do not answer calls from unlisted numbers normally, but at that time, because it's a movement and for solidarity, so I did answer it or maybe texted, and I replied whatever, and we spoke, and he invited me to this for the 19th wala protest."

Their paths had crossed during anti-CAA protests, where both were actively involved. Their first selfie together was also taken at one such rally.

In February 2023, Swara revealed that the mystery man she had earlier referred to in a social media post was Fahad. She shared their story, writing that they had initially found friendship before finding each other.

The couple had submitted their marriage documents in January 2023 and registered their marriage under the Special Marriage Act on February 16, 2023, surrounded by family and close friends.

From protests to marriage

Fahad was a student leader at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) before entering politics. In 2018, he was at the forefront of a students' protest over the withdrawal of financial aid for students eligible for the Union government's post-matriculation scholarship. He was the general secretary of the TISS students' union at the time.

He later entered politics and became the Maharashtra state president of the Samajwadi Yuvjan Sabha, the youth wing of the Samajwadi Party.

For Swara and Fahad, however, their story began much before their marriage. What started with a phone call arranged by a mutual friend eventually became a relationship that led to them building a life together.

The couple got married in January, 2023 and welcomed a baby girl, Raabiyaa, in September 2023.

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