When Lokah star Kalyani’s mother Lissy opened up about her ‘ugly’ divorce from Priyadarshan: ‘Had a fierce, uncivilised battle on and off the courts’

Subsequently, Lissy issued a statement to the media, wherein she mentioned that their divorce was as ugly as their marriage. “My marriage with Mr Priyadarshan officially ended today. We both signed the final papers at the Honourable Family Court here in Chennai. This has been a real ordeal. In recent times, all celebrity divorces — from Hrithik Roshan and Sussane Khan, Dileep and Manju Warrier, to most recently Amala Paul and AL Vijay — have been mutually agreed divorces. I am sure it also must have been painful to those couples, but whatever differences they may have had, they all decided to respect each other. Ours was the only exception where it was often a fierce and uncivilised battle on and off the courts until a compromise was reached at the Honourable High Court, Chennai. Perhaps the ugliness of our divorce proceedings says all about the kind of marriage we have had,” Onmanorama quoted her as saying in the statement.

She added, “Anyways, I feel relieved now. This is the end of a long and often very difficult road. All of us can now move on. I thank all my lawyers, friends and well-wishers for their unconditional support and prayers. I thank those friends in the media who have been kind with their words. I am grateful to both my children for all their love, affection and support. Above all, I thank God Almighty.”

‘Only reason for the problem in my family was ego’: Priyadarshan

In another interview, Priyadarshan cited “ego” as the reason behind their split. Talking to Grihalakshmi, he said, “The only reason for the problem in my family was ego. I was born and brought up in a conservative family, and in my mind, the model of a woman is my mother. When we marry, we should not expect our partner to have the same nature as that of our mother because it is not possible, as she is from a different generation.”

“My parents also loved Lissy more than my sister. All these years I was living in heaven, and now we are separated. But my house (in Chennai) still bears the same name: Priyadarshan-Lissy. I know that, irrespective of whatever has happened, she still respects me. It was just a problem of ego,” he added. Priyadarshan also heaped praise on her parenting skills. “She is the best mother in the world. She brought up our children in a very simple manner and instilled in them the values of life and money,” he maintained.

Divorce was a shock for Kalyani

Kalyani also opened up once about her parents’ divorce, stating that she was initially shocked upon hearing that they were planning to part ways. “It always takes a toll. It is not like divorce will never affect anybody. But I applaud my parents for they never really put us in hell. Whatever, emotionally, they were going through… they made sure they never took that out at home. Obviously, the divorce was a shock, but today we are all the happiest we could be… we are at peace, and I think my relationship with my parents is much stronger now. That is the most important thing,” she told The Hindu.

Priyadarshan and Lissy tied the knot in 1990 while both were at the peak of their respective careers. However, following their marriage, Lissy gave up acting. Aside from Kalyani, they also have a son, Siddharth.

 

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A post shared by Lissy Lakshmi (@lissylakshmi)

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A post shared by Kalyani Priyadarshan (@kalyanipriyadarshan)

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A post shared by Kalyani Priyadarshan (@kalyanipriyadarshan)

Although Kalyani began her acting career in Telugu, playing the lead role in Hello (2017) opposite Akhil Akkineni, and appeared in two Tamil movies subsequently, it was her maiden Malayalam film Varane Avashyamund (2020) that brought her fame. She then appeared in movies like Putham Pudhu Kaalai, Maanaadu, Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea, Hridayam, Bro Daddy, Thallumaala, Antony and Varshangalkku Shesham.