Sanoj Mishra alleges ‘love jihad’ in Monalisa Bhonsle marriage, to approach MP CM

Film director Sanoj Mishra has alleged that the recent marriage of Monalisa Bhonsle , the young woman who gained prominence during last year’s Prayagraj Kumbh Mela , to a Muslim man is a case of “love jihad”.

After meeting Bhonsle’s family in Maheshwar on Sunday, Mishra said he would take up the matter with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and was seeking an appointment to present the family’s concerns and the sequence of events surrounding the marriage.

The term “love jihad” is used by some right-wing groups to allege a conspiracy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into relationships and marriage with the aim of converting them to Islam.

Bhonsle, who belongs to the nomadic Pardhi community from Maheshwar town in Madhya Pradesh, had come into the public spotlight after videos of her selling garlands and rudraksha beads during the 2025 Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj went viral on social media.

According to her family, she married Farman Khan on March 11 at the Nainar Temple in Arumanoor, Kerala . Bhonsle is currently in the southern state for the shooting of her Malayalam debut film ‘Nagamma’ , which is being filmed near Thiruvananthapuram .

Speaking to reporters after meeting her parents, Mishra claimed the family now believed the relationship was “a well-planned attempt to trap the girl”. He alleged that certain organisations fund unemployed youths to target Hindu women in order to “defame Sanatan Dharma”, and said Bhonsle’s marriage was an example of such a conspiracy.

Mishra said Bhonsle had been selected for the lead role in his upcoming film ‘The Diary of Manipur’ , which deals with the issue of religious conversion. He claimed that he and his “Sanatani ideology” had been targeted because of the film and alleged that Bhonsle had been brainwashed. According to him, the entire episode appeared to have been “written and executed like a script”.

The filmmaker also questioned why the wedding took place in Kerala and said the relationship was being portrayed as an example of communal harmony. “Had the boy been Hindu and the girl Muslim, would the relationship have been promoted in the same way?” he asked.

Bhonsle’s relatives, including her grandmother and aunt, said the family was facing social humiliation after the marriage. Her uncle Vijay Bhonsle alleged she was born in 2009 and that her age was altered in passport documents to make the marriage appear legal. Bhonsle, however, dismissed the claim, saying in Kerala after the wedding that she is 18 and that reports of her being underage are “fake and incorrect”. A family member also alleged that Farman Khan had earlier introduced her as his sister. Local BJP leader Vikram Patel claimed she had fallen victim to a conspiracy in Kerala and said legal experts were being consulted before approaching the chief minister, while Mishra said he would continue to pursue the matter until “justice” was served.