Monalisa Bhosle, a woman who went viral during the 2025 Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj, married her partner Farman Khan at a temple in Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, March 11.
Monalisa, a native of Indore, had gained widespread attention online after a video of her selling rudraksha beads at the Mahakumbh went viral.
Farman, however, told reporters that the couple had come to Kerala on a vacation and decided to get married in the state. “We met six months ago. We started working together, and she proposed to me. We came here, liked this temple, and decided to get married here,” he said. Some reports, however, say that Monalisa was in Kerala for a film shoot in Poovar.
The couple approached the Thampanoor police station seeking protection, reportedly fearing opposition and possible threats from Monalisa’s family over their interfaith relationship.
“My family did not accept our relationship,” Monalisa told the media after the wedding, adding that they were pressuring her to marry another person.
The wedding also drew political attention, with leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] attending the ceremony and extending their support to the couple. Speaking to reporters at the event, Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty said the state’s secular values make such unions possible. “All the people from Kerala can proudly stand before the world, because our land is known for its secular values and love for humanity,” he said.
CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan, who also attended the event, called this “the real Kerala story,” referring to the controversial film series that had sparked widespread debate for portraying the state as a hub of religious radicalisation.
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP AA Rahim said the marriage reflected Kerala’s social ethos. “Inter-religious or inter-caste marriages are something that people in many other parts of India cannot even think about. But the strength of Kerala is that such marriages can be carried out quite naturally here,” he said.
Monalisa had become an internet sensation in 2025 after videos of her selling rudraksha beads at the Mahakumbh Mela circulated widely on social media.
The couple’s decision to travel to Kerala comes amid similar instances of interfaith couples seeking refuge in the state. In February 2025, an interfaith couple from Jharkhand, Mohammad Galib (30) and Asha Verma (27), fled their home state after receiving death threats and facing allegations of “love jihad”. The couple later arrived in Kerala seeking safety.
Speaking to the media at the time, Galib said he chose Kerala based on advice from a friend and his own positive impressions of the state’s communal harmony from a previous visit.
