Who is Farman Khan? UP man who married viral Mahakumbh girl Monalisa in Kerala says their love story is not ‘love jihad’

Monalisa, who gained fame during the Mahakumbh, married Farman Khan in Kerala despite parental opposition. Know all about her husband.

In 2025, a young woman selling a rudraksha mala at the Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Monalisa Bhonsle, gained fame overnight for her appearance. Film and endorsement offers poured in for her. Now, she married her lover, Farman Khan, at the Nayanar Temple in Arumanoor, near Poovar, Kerala, on Wednesday evening. Know all about the actor-model she married.

Monalisa, who went viral on social media during the Kumbh Mela, married her partner, Farman Khan, at a temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. (PTI)

Who is Monalisa’s husband, Farman Khan?

Farman hails from Bhagpat district in Uttar Pradesh, and several reports claim he's an actor and model. Speaking to the press after their wedding, Monalisa said that she had dated Farman for six months. They became friends through social media and later met on a film set.

Describing their courtship as ‘sixty years of love’, Farman added, “These six months were like sixty years of love thats why we decided to get married. We met during a shoot for the film. We were working together. We talked.” He also revealed that she was the first to propose, stating, “Monalisa proposed, I initially refused, but she convinced me.”

Monalisa told the press she respects all religions and that their love isn't ‘love jihad’. She also stated that she married according to Hindu traditions, with Farman also chiming in to say he didn't ask her to convert to Islam. At a press meet, the couple also showed her birth certificate, which lists her as born in 2008.

Parental opposition and police protection

According to the police, Monalisa and Farman arrived at the Thampanoor police station on Wednesday morning, accompanied by crew members from the film they were shooting. They alleged that her father was attempting to take her back against her will. They were in Poovar to shoot the film, and Monalisa alleged that her family opposed their union because of his religion and pressured her to marry her aunt's son.

“She insisted that she won't go with her father and made it clear that she is going to marry her boyfriend. As she is a major, she can act according to her choice,” a police officer said. Her father is in Kerala but chose not to attend the wedding. After her wedding, Monalisa told the press, “My family wanted me to marry someone else. I didn't like that and refused it. Now, (after marriage with Farman), I am happy.”

Kerala ministers attend wedding ceremony

The wedding ceremony was solemnised at the Nayanar Temple at Arumanoor in Poovar, in the presence of Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty, ruling CPI (M) state secretary M V Govindan, Rajya Sabha MP AA Rahim, and other prominent leaders of the Marxist party. Sivankutty told reporters, “Marriage happens in heaven, and that heaven is Kerala. It is the real Kerala story.”

Monalisa and Farman also remarked how Kerala was a state that ‘supports people beyond religion and caste’ and that they’re happy to be married in the state. She also expressed interest in settling down in the South and acting in Malayalam films.

With inputs from PTI and ANI