Scandal Flashback: Prabhu Deva and Nayanthara's Love Story

Prabhu Deva burst onto the film scene way back in the early 90s with his incredible dancing skills which made him a sensation. In 1995, he married classical dancer Ramlath. Ramlath was born in a Muslim family but converted to Hinduism and changed her name to Latha before marrying Prabhu. They were happy with each other and had three sons. In 2008, when Prabhu was shooting for a Tamil movie Villu, he lost his son Vishal to cancer. It was a tragic moment but that was also the time when rumours about his closeness to actress Nayanthara emerged. Apparently, the two had started dating when they were shooting for Villu. When Prabhu’s son died, the entire cast and crew including Nayanthara visited him and paid condolences but no one knew about the relationship he shared with the actress. Of course, when people started talking about Prabhu and Nayanthara, the person who was most devastated was Latha. The death of her 13-year-old son and then the stress of her husband turning to another woman was too much for her to handle.

In June 2009, there were rumours of Prabhu and Nayanthara secretly tying the knot. Prabhu did not admit anything while his lady love merely laughed off the stories neither confirming nor denying them.

IT WAS IN SEPTEMBER 2010 that Prabhu Deva finally confessed his love for Nayantara. He said, “She is special. I am in love with her and we will be getting married soon. It’s a personal decision and I don’t like to talk about it.” By this time they had been dating for two years and Nayanthara had tattooed Prabhu’s name on her wrist. She was, in fact, even ready to give up her career. Explaining that he wasn’t keen on her pursuing a career, he said, “Contrary to the glam image you see on screen, Nayan is a home bird. Any man in love would like to spend more time with his woman. There is no meaning in both of us being busy and having no time for each other. She has had a beautiful innings and is a top actress. She has stood by me during tough times and her support was like an oasis in the desert.”

However, Prabhu was still married to Latha at this time though he started professing his love for Nayanthara openly.

THE THORN in the lovebirds’ path proved to be Latha who did not agree for a divorce. She filed a petition in the Family Court alleging that the actor-director had a relationship with another actress, was neglecting his family and did not provide any financial assistance to family members. She also wanted the court to ban Prabhu and Nayanthara from attending programmes together. In a second petition in 2010, she asked the court to restrain Prabhu and Nayanthara from giving joint interviews and getting married. She even threatened to go on a hunger strike if they got married. Nayanthara stayed out of the picture but reportedly pushed Prabhu to seek divorce from his wife at the earliest.

Prabhu then entered into a divorce settlement with Latha in which he gave her his three residential properties, two cars and lots of cash in alimony. In return, Latha agreed to relinquish all her rights and claims over the actor and his other properties. She also agreed to withdraw the cases she filed against him. Prabhu agreed to give her the custody of their children but ensured visiting rights for himself. He was responsible for their education and medical expenses and also gave his beach property at Injambakkam to his children.

A FEW MONTHS AFTER the divorce, Prabhu-Nayan’s marriage plans made headlines. Sri Rama Rajyam was believed to be her last film as she was planning to quit movies and settle for marital bliss. However, Prabhu was apparently reluctant to announce the date of marriage which made Nayanthara irritable. And this situation brought out some uncomfortable truths.

Apparently, Prabhu wasn’t keen on announcing the date because of Nayanthara’s financial distress. A source told a Tamil magazine, “She defaulted on payment of EMIs for four cars she owned. Since the last few months, she is dependent on Prabhu financially. In fact, he bailed her out by shelling out INR 10 lakhs (approx. Dhs55,000) to clear her loans. Despite Prabhu’s repeated requests, Nayan isn’t ready to curb her lavish lifestyle.”

As the dates got regularly postponed, rumours were rife that Nayan wouldn’t allow him to enter her house in Cochin, Kerala unless he had a final date for the wedding and a promise to clear all her debts.

Though Nayanthara did not announce her retirement formally, she had stopped signing new projects as a result of which her career suffered. Another reason that drove a wedge between them was Prabhu’s love for his two kids. It’s said that he met them regularly without her knowledge. A source disclosed to a newspaper, “He’d tell Nayanthara that he was going out for shoots and then he’d meet his children in Chennai. Prabhu was once caught in a difficult situation when she insisted on joining him on his overseas location shoot as her work had wound up a few days early. Since he was allegedly holidaying with his two kids, he asked her to stay back in Mumbai. He hurriedly returned to Chennai with his kids, got his friends to drop them to his house and jumped on the next available flight to Mumbai. However, Nayanthara had already got a hint and knew of his secret meetings with his children.” Apparently, the actress was annoyed with his renewed interest for his first family and warned him that if the marriage date was deferred again, she’d have to rethink about their relationship.

Unfortunately, the dates got postponed again and the dusky actress decided enough was enough. She had risked her career and had refused six to seven film offers, including an offer to do a sequel to the massive Malayalam hit Bodyguard but she wasn’t getting a commitment from Prabhu.

So upset was she, that sources say she didn’t allow Prabhu to step into her flat in Cochin on Onam day, after he had driven all the way to Cochin from Chennai. He was stranded outside the house for a couple of hours before he pacified her to let him in. She even thought of doing a photo-shoot for a Malayalam magazine to announce her comeback plans but he thwarted her plans!

All of a sudden came the news that the couple had split. The actress admitted, “There might be misunderstandings and problems on a day-to-day basis but when it goes beyond saturation point, it becomes very difficult to handle.” Nayanthara, it’s said also suspected Prabhu of infidelity as she felt he was getting close to 19-year-old Hansika Motwani. However, Prabhu spoke up and revealed, “My children’s future is important. I will lose anything for them.”

Nayanthara took her time to move on but she did make a grand comeback. She chose Rana Daggubatti as the first co-star to work with. They did Kishnam Vande Jagatgurum which went on to become a blockbuster.