Kannada director Prakash Rai's new love

Kannada actor and director Prakash Rai says there’s nothing illegal about him showing off his lady love, to whom he’s also getting engaged in June.

The rest of them may play it safe by mouthing lines like ‘We’re good friends’ or ‘It’s just another link-up by the media’. But namma Prakash Rai isn’t someone who believes in playing by the clichéd rules of tinseltown. At the recent premiere of the his first kannada directorial Naanu Nanna Kanasu, the actorturned-director unabashedly showed off the woman in his life — choreographer Pony Verma, who flew down from Mumbai especially for the event. The duo, reportedly, has been together for two years now, and it’s the first time they’ve appeared together in front of the media in namma Bengaluru.

“I’m not selling opium or indulging in forbidden activities — this is purely legal,” laughed Prakash. “There’s nothing to hide. I’m divorced and am fortunate to have found love again. But I love my daughters, Meghana and Pooja, as deeply as ever,” says Prakash, who’s legally separated from wife Lalitha Kumari.

Pony, who entered the film industry in 2001, is an ace choreographer in bollywood B-town and has choreographed for films like Khatta Meetha, Guzaarish, Prince, De Dhana Dhan, Chandni Chowk 2 China and Billu, among others. We hear that Prakash, who’s thrilled with the response to his debut directorial, will be engaged to his lady in June and is expected to tie the knot later this year.