Three years ago, Prem and Rakshita bonded through a film called Jogi. Today, they are making a sequel to the film called Jogayya.
Call it a full circle if you please, but one thing is for sure, theirs is a story that the media went crazy over even before they officially tied the knot.

“Those days it was crazy. Every movement of ours was observed. Prem was frightened that people would take photographs of us together or write about us. So he would take the extra effort to meet me in my house. Sometimes, he used to bring a third person along and we used to go to a hotel. But he wouldn’t sit next to me,” recollects Rakshita.

Three years ago, Rakshita had only heard of Prem through a common friend. It was when Prem called her to perform the 100th day function of Jogi did she first speak to him.

“I blasted him when he called me,” she laughs, adding, “He had the audacity to call me to perform for a function, while for his movie, he had chosen a Bollywood heroine. It just was not right.”
Prem, on the other hand, says, “I generally don’t call any heroine but someone told me that it would be better if I call and invite her personally but I surely didn’t expect her to blast me. Somehow, I calmed her down and invited her to watch the film,” adds Prem.

So an adamant Rakshita went to watch the movie only after Prem had a special screening of Jogi for her. “That’s when eyebrows began to rise. Because I was not the kind who would do anything like this for a woman. All of a sudden, there I was having this screening,” says Prem. Rakshita adds, “And even there, he had called a third person and he didn’t even sit next to me.”

Gradually messages were exchanged and surprise visits to her shooting location followed.
That’s when people started talking. “To be frank, we were only getting to know each other better. In fact, the day I proposed to him, he didn’t even reply.The next day he went and told my mother that he wanted to marry me. I was shocked,” says Rakshita.

Soon enough, the couple announced their engagement, which took everyone by surprise.
“I am not the dating kind. I knew I wanted to marry her and I accepted her for everything that she is. A lot of people had problems because we belonged to different castes. They even started telling strange things to me about her,” says Prem. 

Rakshita adds, “I was actually told that Prem was married with two kids.” Brushing all rumours aside, the couple maintained confidence in each other.
Their dream wedding in the City was chaotic and the family picture in their living room says it all. “We had the stage falling, the place was filled with people, I had no place to sit. I couldn’t even enjoy my wedding feast properly. Today, I wish we had listened to all those people who had told us to just have a small wedding outside the City,” says Rakshita.

Married life did not change Prem. He went back deep into films while Rakshita got used to being a home-maker.

“My leaving acting after marriage was a decision we both took. I won’t lie, I did miss films but I love this life more,” she says while adding, “When a woman gets married, she gets married to the family and I am so glad that I got married to the best family ever. My mother-in-law was cool about everything, in a way more than me.They adjusted to me.”  

“When Rakshita told me that she wanted a baby, I told her I was still a baby and why she needed another. Today, our little boy has given me so much joy, I enjoy every moment with him,” says Prem.
Their son Surya, now almost a-year-old, has changed both their lives.

“It was just what we needed, I have seen both of us becoming more responsible and mature in our approach. Both of us come from different backgrounds. While Prem has seen tough times, I had things at my beck and call. We have so many dreams for our son but ultimately, we would like to bring him up as a decent child, who knows the value of money and the life we lead,” says Rakshita.