The big news in Sandalwood circles this week is the impending wedding of Kannada filmmaker Tharun Kishore Sudhir and actress Sonal Monteiro. Rumours of the duo being linked as a pair and of an August wedding had been circulating for about a month, which both had pooh-poohed back then, only to officially confirm it on July 22 with a special video announcement. Tharun and Sonal will wed on August 11; details of which are expected in the coming days.

Tharun and Sonal reportedly met on the set of Roberrt, which was his second directorial and first full-fledged feature with Challenging Star Darshan, who is currently in judicial custody in connection with the murder of Chitradurga-resident Renukaswamy. Sonal was the second heroine in the film and was paired with Vinnod Prabhakar. Wedding rumours apart, what was also widely discussed is the age difference between the couple, with reports suggesting that Tharun is 10-12 years older than Sonal.

Tharun is known to be close to actor Darshan, on account of being second generation actors and having worked together as actors and as director-actor. The filmmaker is said to have sought Darshan's blessings for the wedding, as it remains unclear if the actor will get bail before their big day. Sonal also maintains a close bond with Darshan, having celebrated Raksha Bandhan with him earlier. 

Who are Tharun and Sonal?

Tharun is the younger son of Kannada actor Sudhir and brother of filmmaker Nanda Kishore. Tharun began his filmi journey as an actor, and then made the switch behind the camera, as a writer and creative producer for actor Sharan’s home productions since he turned hero with Rambo.

Tharun’s directorial debut was Chowka, which he then followed up with two films starring Darshan, Roberrt and Kaatera. The duo is committed to doing another film together, a biopic of freedom fighter Sindhura Lakshmana, as and when the actor is released from jail in the ongoing case and finishes his ongoing commitment, Devil.

Sonal, on the other hand, does not have a filmi background, making her foray into showbiz with modelling. After winning a couple of pageant titles in Tulunadu, she made her acting debut with the Tulu film Ekka Saka. Her Kannada film debut came 3 years later with Abhisaarike. Last seen in Sugar Factory, the actress has a couple of pending projects, including the long-delayed Buddhivanta 2 and Margaret Lover of Ramachari. She had also been signed up to play the younger version of Sarojini Naidu in an upcoming biopic, but there’s been no update on this project.

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