Everyone has secrets, especially married folks. Take Gurinder Sidhu and his wife Rana Boparai for example. They're a nice Indian-Canadian couple living in the City of Toronto, Ontario. The couple's adult son Sandeep lives in the City of Ottawa with his wife Jasmine MacLeod, a young Irishwoman he met while attending the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. Gurinder and Rana seem to have the world on a string, as they own a lovely townhouse in the affluent Forest Hill North area, and Boparai House, their restaurant franchise has recently opened a third location. After more than twenty five years of marriage, things have gotten dicey between the two of them. How could that be?
In this life, nothing stays the same. If it did, then people wouldn't learn and grow. When Gurinder Sidhu and his wife Rana Boparai arrived in the City of Toronto, Ontario, decades ago, they were just a young couple with a dream. They worked hard, trusted each other and kept no secrets. Sadly, as time went by, the couple began to diverge. They've always had different interests, which is understandable since they're only human, but at least they always stuck together. Lately, the Sidhu-Boparai household has experienced trouble and the marriage is on the rocks. Something's got to be done...
Rana Boparai is a six-foot-tall, curvy, dark-haired and bronze-skinned, bodacious and sturdy woman who doesn't suffer fools. Upon meeting Rana Boparai, many have described her as assertive and smart. Such descriptions are, well, kind. Rana is bossy and must have her way and that's all there is to it. This lady is the driving force behind Boparai House, the successful Indian-Canadian restaurant franchise. As much as Rana loves her husband Gurinder, she has begun to feel neglected. Lately, Rana wonders if Gurinder is having an affair behind her back. He shows very little interest in her, and their sex life isn't what it used to be. For this and a few other reasons, Rana has dragged Gurinder to couples therapy.
The couple's therapist, Dr. Robinson Rutherford is a newcomer to the City of Toronto, Ontario, by way of Atlanta, Georgia. Lots of Americans have been moving to Toronto lately and it's a beautiful thing. Educated at Morehouse College and Georgia State University, the tall, dark and handsome African American psychiatrist turned out to be just what the couple needed. Rana chose Dr. Rutherford over several others because she didn't want someone from an Indian background to know her family secrets, and she also felt that a white person couldn't relate to her. The black male doctor with the charming southern accent would simply have to do...
"I firmly believe that at the end of the day, whether black, brown or white, we are all human and need love," Dr. Rutherford said to Rana and Gurinder during their first meeting. Gurinder looked uncomfortable in the doctor's office, which is understandable since his wife Rana dragged him there. If Gurinder doesn't participate in the therapy sessions and at least tries to mend the marriage, Rana will divorce him and take everything he's got. What's a bedraggled Indian Canadian husband to do? Acquiesce with the wife's wishes, of course.
"I am really hoping we can make a breakthrough and save our marriage," Rana said to Dr. Rutherford after looking sternly at her husband Gurinder. Dr. Rutherford was all smiles as he bantered with the couple while taking notes. Rana Boparai is definitely a bossy woman and Gurinder would appear to be the prototypical henpecked husband. Dr. Rutherford believes in looking under the surface and trusts his instincts when it comes to who and what a person truly is, and what makes them tick. It's what makes the gentleman from Georgia such an effective psychiatrist.
"I am here because my wife demands it," Gurinder said with a sigh, which caused Dr. Rutherford to smile while Rana rolled her brown eyes. Dr. Rutherford took note of the fact that the couple's restaurant franchise bore the wife's last name and not that of the husband. Rana Boparai is definitely one of those domineering wives who makes any husband feel like he's suffocating. What about Gurinder Sidhu, though? What sort of secrets might the tall, lean, bearded and mustachioed Indian gentleman be hiding? Dr. Rutherford intends to get to the bottom of these mysteries.
