Shruti in Tirupati with beau

Movie star and BJP mascot Shruti declares she is walking out of her marriage to link up with journalist-turned-director Chandrachood

Shruti in Tirupati with beau

Movie star and BJP mascot Shruti declares she is walking out of her marriage to link up with journalist-turned-director Chandrachood

SHRUTI, heroine of blockbuster Kannada hits, is going to marry a childhood friend after divorcing her director-husband Mahendar.

She confirmed to MiD DAY late last night that she would marry Chandrachood, who had lived with her on the same street.

"I have been in distress for eight years," she said. "And I have only now decided to file for divorce."

Shruti has been married to Mahendar, who directed the film Gatti Mela (Wedding drums) with her in the lead. He also acted as the hero of that film. They were married secretly in Puri, Orissa. The marriage has lasted 11 years.u00a0 Mahendar was not reachable for comment last night.

Shruti told a court two days ago that she wasn't able to cope living with a husband who had been financially destroyed.

Destiny
There's just a single number separating Shruti's phone number from Chandrachood's, and neither had asked for those numbers. Shruti's daughter was born on June 5, Chandrachood's on June 6. As for their age, they are both 33. A 33-day difference separates their birthdays. As children, they lived on the same street and studied in the same school. "Which is why I think it was all destined," Chandrachood told MiD DAY.

But Chandrachood finally came on the line, after being switched off for days, to admit he was in love with Shruti.

"Yes, we have know each other, and we plan to get married," he said, speaking openly about the relationship for the first time to any newspaper.

Chandrachood, a tabloid journalist who recently took to movie direction and made Janma (Birth), said neither his family nor Shruti's had any objection to the match.

Family friends

"Our families know each other, and we are not hiding anything from them," he said. Chandrachood has a daughter from his first marriage. He has divorced his wife.

Shruti (33) and Chandrachood (33) hail from Hassan district and are distantly related. They plan to get married once her divorce from Mahendar comes through.

"We are in Tirupati right now, but we're not getting married here," Chandrachood said.