As Iulia Vantur walked confidently into a city hotel, where she spoke to Lucknow Times, she looked every bit comfortable as any Indian would be. The Romanian TV host-singer, who was in town on Sunday , flaunted a peach dress and kept greeting everyone warmly. Her presence attracted some curious glances as many wanted to catch a glimpse of Salman Khan’s alleged girlfriend. But unperturbed, a relaxed Iulia, in an exclusive chat with us, spoke about her love for India and why she doesn’t want people to label her or her relationships.
How’s your first visit to Lucknow been?
Very beautiful. I have a very dear friend Vishal Mishra, a music composer and excellent singer, who’s from Lucknow and we have done like two-three songs together. He’s told me quite a few things about Lucknow. Actually, I was travelling in a flight and I met his dad and brother. I’m happy to be here.
What about India? How do you like the country, now that you’ve made it your second home?
It’s beautiful. It’s a challenging experience for me because I have to learn so many things. But I enjoy all this learning process and I love Indian culture and the warmth of its people. There are so many good things. And I think it’s a life-changing experience for me. Living in a different country with a different mentality is not easy. Of course, there are quite a few similarities, in the way we girls grew up, for instance. The fact that the bonding of the family is so strong. You know, the kids are not just living somewhere away from their parents and they still keep that bonding. And I think that’s very important because that gives you that stability in life, that base because there’s nothing more important than having your dear ones near you, right? When you feel weak, when you have your downs, if you have your family next to you, if you have a brother-sister, I think it’s amazing. I’m the only child so I understand even more and I appreciate it even more what it means to have close bonds and relationships.
On your first visit to India, you visited Rishikesh. Tell us more about that visit.
I had heard about the place from several people that it’s a beautiful and a very serene place. I’m very passionately curious about, first of all about my personal development. I want to grow as a person because I know that’s the most important thing in your life to be a better person every passing day of your life. No matter what your job is, no matter how much money you have in your account or even if you don’t, to become a better person, that one can do, without money, without power without any other advantages. I think that was my first goal, to become a better person in life. So, I searched for places that help you to go on that path, so Rishikesh was one of them. I had heard about it too, from friends and from people who had been there. And honestly, I wanted to see what was it like living in an ashram. I wanted to see it for myself because I had heard so much about it. And I loved it.
It was so beautiful I felt like I was floating on the streets, it was so-so beautiful. That place has such an amazing energy and of course, I was meditating, I was just walking around on the street and I was meeting people there. And I felt a lot of peace there.
So do you visit the ashram often?
No, I don’t go back very often. But I would love to go back there. Actually, now that you’ve reminded me, I will. I think it’s a very good idea, thank you for reminding me. (laughs)
You must have had some idea of India before you came here. Is, what you’ve seen and experienced here so far, better than what you had imagined it to be?
Yes, but what I have discovered here is so much more than I had thought of ever. You can’t just express in words because with India, I feel, either you fall in love with the place or you just don’t feel comfortable. But with India, if you love it, you just love it for life. It’s like that. First, when I reached here, I remember I loved it so much but I had to go back to Romania, I was crying. Literally, I was crying because I thought I don’t want to leave this place! The energy, the bonding, the vibe that I had with this land was so strong that I was like ‘okay I actually should come back here’. So, I knew that I will come back here, yet I was crying while going back. So I came back, I came back many times in fact!
How has having friends like Salman Khan helped you feel more comfortable here in India?
It means a lot to have good friends and good people around you. India is more about bonds because I have met such amazing people, such beautiful people. That was my luck to find good friends. That made me fall in love with India even more. Because of the people I’ve met. I discovered so many beautiful things because of these people. It feels good to have someone who can teach you things about the culture, who can show you another world, right? Salman’s family for instance, it’s such a beautiful family, it;s perfect. They are an example for everyone to follow. And the amount of good work they do, every single day. Not just feeding people, they help people in whatever way they can. Medical camps, and so many ways that they all help anyone they feel needs it. No one knows how many people are helped by them every single day.