Monalisa Bhonsle, the young woman from Indore who shot to fame after reels of her selling rudraksh garlands during the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj last year in Uttar Pradesh were widely shared on social media, has married a Muslim man and wants to live in Kerala.
She married the man of her choice on Wednesday at the Nainar Temple at Arumanoor in Poovar in the presence of Kerala general education minister V. Sivankutty, the ruling CPM’s state secretary M.V. Govindan, Rajya Sabha MP A.A. Rahim and other prominent leaders of the left party.
Monalisa had said that her family did not like her relationship with her fiance and had pressured her to marry another person. On Wednesday, the couple had reached the Thampanoor police station alleging that her father was trying to forcibly take her back to her hometown.
The couple had arrived in nearby Poovar recently in connection with a film shoot.
"I am 18-years-old," Monalisa, who was photographed and reported on extensively as she sold bangles at the Kumbh Mela, told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday in response to queries that she is underage.
Her husband said that they registered their marriage, which would not be possible if she was underage. "All the news regarding her being underage are fake and incorrect. Please do not believe that," he said.
Monalisa also said such news items were "fake and incorrect."
When reporters asked the couple whether the two intended to continue staying in Kerala, the man said that it depends on his wife's wishes. Monalisa said that she likes Kerala and wants to stay in the state.
She also said that the shooting of one of her movies was over and the other was ongoing.
Her husband said that they had met and fell in love six months ago when they were cast for a movie. "Shooting of that movie has not started yet," he added.
