Sara Tendulkar says the relationship she watched at home has influenced what she would want from marriage, with friendship, humour and an equal partnership mattering more than a fixed wedding timeline. Her own idea of a dream wedding has changed too, from a large pastel celebration to something smaller, possibly with a red bridal look.

For Sara Tendulkar, the blueprint for a future relationship does not appear to begin with a grand romantic gesture. It starts with something more everyday: two people who genuinely enjoy each other’s company.

Speaking about love, marriage and the qualities she values in a future partner, Sara pointed to the relationship between her parents, Sachin Tendulkar and Anjali Tendulkar. What has stayed with her is not simply the longevity of their marriage, but the friendship she sees between them at home.

“My parents are very good friends before anything else,” she said, adding that their “really fun banter” is something she would want in her own future partner.

That observation gives her marriage wishlist a noticeably practical centre. Friendship matters. Humour matters. And so does equality.

Sara Tendulkar says equality in a relationship matters

Sara also drew attention to another part of her parents’ equation that she admires: the absence of a contest over who holds more authority.

“There’s never any power dynamic playing out between them, which is amazing,” she said while discussing Sachin and Anjali’s relationship.

It is a small detail, but perhaps the most revealing one in her comments. Rather than describing an ideal partner through a checklist of superficial qualities, Sara’s remarks centre on how two people behave with each other over time.

Her parents’ experience of spending long periods apart also shaped that understanding.

During Sachin Tendulkar’s cricket career, travel formed a significant part of his professional life, while Anjali, a paediatrician, remained closely involved in the family’s daily routine. Sara recalled that when she was younger, she assumed this was simply how relationships worked.

Age gave her a different perspective. She came to appreciate how difficult maintaining that connection would have been when communication across distances was far less convenient than it is today.

“We didn’t have FaceTime or WhatsApp 20 years ago, and even international calls were expensive,” she recalled.

That 20-year comparison offers a more personal explanation for why companionship appears so prominently in Sara’s idea of marriage. She grew up watching a relationship that had to function around demanding schedules and physical distance, without the constant digital access couples now take for granted.

When the familiar phrase “Pyaar dosti hai?” was put to her, Sara’s answer was uncomplicated: “Exactly.”

Why Sara Tendulkar believes walking away can be the right decision

Sara’s comments were not limited to what makes a relationship work. She also spoke about knowing when one should not continue.

Discussing how Gen Z approaches relationships and marriage, she said younger people appear more willing to step away when something feels wrong.

“I’ve seen people get engaged and, during the run-up to the wedding, realise, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ Walking away before you’re married is a great step,” she said.

She contrasted that confidence with what she sees as the greater hesitation of previous generations to take a stand for themselves when relationships were going badly. In her view, younger people feel more empowered to make difficult decisions rather than proceed simply because a wedding is already approaching.

It adds another layer to her thoughts on marriage. The emphasis is not on reaching the altar at any cost, but on being certain about the relationship before getting there.

Her dream wedding has already changed

Interestingly, Sara’s thinking about the wedding itself appears far less settled than her views about the relationship behind it.

She said her brother’s wedding effectively became a “trial round”, giving her a chance to understand which parts of a wedding celebration appealed to her and which did not.

“I feel like that was a great trial round for me,” she said. “Now I know what I want and what I don’t want.”

Her preferences have also changed with time.

When she was younger, Sara pictured herself having a large wedding and expected to be a pastel bride. She now leans towards a smaller celebration and is considering red for her bridal look. Even that decision is not final. She joked about being an indecisive Libra and said green could still enter the picture.

The contrast is striking. The size of the wedding and colour of the outfit remain open questions, but the qualities she wants within a marriage sound considerably more defined.

Friendship before the wedding

Taken together, Sara’s comments present a view of marriage shaped less by spectacle than by what happens after the celebrations are over.

She admires the friendship and banter she sees between her parents. She values a relationship without an obvious power struggle. She has seen how companionship can endure demanding careers and long periods apart. And she believes walking away before marriage can be healthier than continuing with something that no longer feels right.

Her wedding preferences may still move between pastel, red and perhaps even green. On the larger question of what she wants from the person standing beside her, however, her answer appears much simpler: friendship first.

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