Mira Rajput, known for speaking her mind, recently expressed her confusion over the label “star wife” and questioned why such a tag exists only for women, not men. Mira came into the public eye after marrying Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor in 2015. Over time, however, she has built her own identity, as a content creator, entrepreneur, and mother of two.
Today, she is appreciated not just as Shahid’s wife, but for her individual accomplishments. Still, in the beginning, she was primarily seen through the lens of being a “star wife.” In a recent interview, Mira opened up about her thoughts on this label and its gendered implications.
Mira Rajput questions the impact of nepotism tags within the Bollywood industry
Mira Rajput appeared on Social Media Star With Janice Season 5, where she opened up about the labels often attached to her, particularly the term “star wife.” During the conversation, she acknowledged that such labels may initially help people recognize someone’s identity and bring them visibility. However, she pointed out that when these labels extend to celebrity children, often referred to as “star kids”, they can carry unfair and negative connotations. Because of this, Mira expressed that these terms should eventually fade away. In her words:
“Maybe it was an association that one needed to make for recall value. But even if you put that on a kid and you say star kid, people don’t like listening to star kid for all of its nepotistic connotations. Yet, that term is still in use, it needs to kind of find its way out.”
In the same conversation, Mira Rajput questioned why the term ‘star wife’ is used to describe the wife of a famous actor, while no similar label is given to the husband of a successful actress. Expressing her thoughts, she said: “I have never understood the concept of a star wife, what does that mean? You can have an actor, a celebrity, or a star who has a wife or a husband, but nobody ever says star husband. Why is there a star wife?”
Mira Rajput says it was ‘isolating’ to marry Shahid Kapoor at 20
In an earlier episode of the Moments of Silence podcast with hosts Naina Bhan and Sakshi Shivdasani, Mira Rajput opened up about how isolating it felt to marry Shahid Kapoor at the age of 20. While her friends were busy travelling and pursuing their studies, she found herself starting a new life in Mumbai as a married woman. She also shared that her friends would sometimes get upset when she couldn’t give them time due to her new responsibilities. However, with time, things gradually settled. She said:
“I think we (Mira and her friends) did evolve separately. I’d like to admit that it was quite isolating because we were just in different phases of life at that time. You get to different phases in life, and you look at your friends… I wish I could do what she’s doing. I even remember, I couldn’t speak to them as often as I used to. They were like, ‘Just because you got married doesn’t mean you forget us!’ And I was like, ‘Guys, I’m genuinely caught up!'”
Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput’s love story
Shahid Kapoor met Mira Rajput and her family through an arranged setup, as both followed the same spiritual path of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas. Their connection grew naturally, Shahid found himself able to talk to her for hours. After a few meetings, the two decided to marry and tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in 2015. They later welcomed two children together, a daughter, Misha, and a son, Zain.