Entertainment

Mira Sethi reacts to becoming a national meme after engagement post

In response to the multitude of affection that came her way after the social media post announcing her betrothal to long-time beau Bilal Siddiqi, the actor and writer took to Twitter to thank the fans and return the love.

By Web Desk

Published November 22, 2018

Pakistani actor Mira Sethi became the talk of town with her heartfelt, elaborate engagement announcement on Instagram, generating a plethora of new memes, trends and admiration from fans all across.

In response to the multitude of affection that came her way after the social media post announcing her betrothal to long-time beau Bilal Siddiqi, the actor and writer took to Twitter to thank the fans and return the love.

“I’ve loved all the memes, GIFs, the laughter, the affectionate eye-rolling — big love,” she stated.

From the heartfelt Instagram post that narrated the love story of the couple, one part struck with social media users the most that recalled their bike ride across a desert quoting her fiancé asking her: ‘"Tum theek ho? Thand tou nahi lag rahi?"

"Theek houn!" I'd shout over the wind, pedalling furiously to keep up with him.

I love you, he said.

“Very happy to be here,” I said moronically, wiping snot off my frozen nose.’

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In the spring of 2017, a tall, funny, curly-haired dude walked into my life. I'd known this curly-haired dude all my life -- in the way you know your parents' friends' kids -- but we'd never sought each other out. (Weirdly enough, Bilal and I overlapped at Oxford in 2008—he was doing his PhD, I was spending my junior year abroad. But we never looked each other up, never bumped into each other in that tiny cobbled town.) ⁣ ⁣ Almost a decade later, we met in Lahore on a warm February evening. We vaguely agreed to meet for dinner sometime. ⁣ ⁣ A few days later we were at Spice Bazaar, and it was suddenly cold again. Bilal asked what I'd been upto: he nodded across the table and asked gentle, probing questions. Lots of questions. In between licking mutton kunna gravy from my fingers, I found myself answering his questions with an openness and ease I hadn't encountered in myself in a long time. Later, we sat in the garden of my house and played with Max. My brother joined us. The three of us talked. Bilal dug his hand inside Max's mouth and pulled out a sharp branch. Max was all over him.⁣ ⁣ A few days later Bilal lost his mother to pneumonia (she'd had Parkinsons for a decade), and it was a wrenching, difficult time. Bilal and I would text. Talk about light stuff. He used the heart emoji unselfconsciously, as a friend might. The conversations veered from TV shows to politics to "plan for the day?" The few times we met before he left for DC, he talked openly about his regrets and hopes and dreams. Sitting across from him in Cosa Nostra, this time not very hungry because my body was clenched with affection and interest, I listened. He was warm and funny and brilliant. That night, I curled up next to him and we watched a show on Netflix. ⁣ ⁣ The next year was a whirlwind. We travelled together to Lisbon, Brussels, Amsterdam, New York, Islamabad, Reno, San Francisco. We went to a festival in the desert and slept under the stars. We danced to really bad music. We biked across the desert at night, our cycles glowing with fairylights. Bilal biked ahead so I could follow him. *continued in comments* ⁣

A post shared by Mira Sethi (@mira.sethi) on Nov 20, 2018 at 12:50am PST

Soon after, the phrase became what netizens termed a ‘national catchphrase’.

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