More than a year after making headlines for her eyes and look that many described as breathtaking, Prayagraj Mahakumbh 2025 star Mona Lisa Bhonsle is in the news again due to the controversy sparked by her marriage to a man outside her community in Kerala.
Monalisa, who says she is 18 years old, married a Muslim man – Farman Khan – earlier this month in a wedding ceremony held at the Nainar temple at Arumanoor in Poovar in the presence of Kerala Public Education Minister V Sivankotty, ruling Communist Party of India state minister M V Govindan, Rajya Sabha MP A A Rahim and other senior leaders of the Marxist party.
What is the controversy surrounding Mona Lisa’s marriage?
The controversy surrounding Monalisa’s marriage revolves around her family in her native Kargaon in Madhya Pradesh, who said she tied the knot against their wishes. Monalisa got married hours after she sought police protection, citing family pressure.
The young woman, who created an overnight sensation during the Mahakumbh mela on Thursday, said reports that she is a minor are “false and untrue”.
Monalisa, from Maheshwar town in Karjuni and part of the nomadic Bardhi community, married Farman Khan on Wednesday at the Nainar temple at Arumanoor in Poovar, according to a PTI report quoting her family members.
Her family said that Monalisa and her current husband had been in contact via Facebook for about six months.
What did Mona Lisa’s father say?
Jaising Bhonsle, Monalisa’s father, alleged that some individuals came and told the family on March 2 that they would help Monalisa get work in films and train her in acting. He said he went with her to Kerala but she married one of those people instead.
The agency quoted Jaising Bhonsle as saying, “On March 2, some people from Kerala came and told us that they would help my daughter get work in films and train her in acting. I went with her to Kerala. But there she married one of them, Farman Khan. I opposed the move and asked her to return to Maheshwar, but she refused.”
Bhonsle said he contacted the police in Kerala, but was told that Monalisa was 18 and therefore an adult, and was legally free to marry someone of her choice.
Monalisa’s uncle, Vijay Singh Bhonsle, said she turned 18 in January this year, adding that she was lured to Kerala on the pretext of acting opportunities.
“Some people lured her to Kerala on the pretext of acting opportunities. We are not well educated and do not understand how all this happened. Maybe someone influenced her. The family has no choice but to accept her decision,” he said of the marriage, an allegation that Monalisa’s husband appeared to deny on Thursday at a press conference.
“I don’t like jihad”
The couple said on Thursday that their marriage “was not a case of love jihad” as reported in the media, adding that all religions are the same for “artists.”
According to family members, Monalisa had earlier signed a film titled ‘Manipur Diaries’ directed by Sanoj Mishra, and the money she received was spent on her travel, accommodation and training.
Jay Bhonsle, Monalisa’s cousin, said she wants to open a school in her area. Her grandmother said: “If she wanted to get married, she would have told us, and we would have arranged it.”
Mahendra Lodhi from Ujjain, who was reportedly helping Monalisa with studies and acting training after her videos went viral, said he spoke to her after receiving calls from family members.
“She told me that her family wanted her to get married elsewhere when she had already chosen someone, so she decided to marry him,” Lodhi was quoted as saying. He claimed that Monalisa was staying on rent in Ujjain while receiving training from him and had also signed a Telugu film titled ‘Life’.
Jagdish Goyal, house officer of Maheshwar police station, said the family had contacted him several times regarding her whereabouts.
“I did not know that she was in Kerala earlier. We later contacted the police station concerned and got the location so that the family’s concerns could be addressed,” Goyal said.
Mona Lisa, the eldest of four children, claimed that her parents wanted her to marry her cousin, but she opposed the idea. She added that her father was upset with her.
