Urvasi and Manoj K Jayan granted divorce

Justice P. Kalai Arasan of the principal family court in Chennai has granted divorce to celebrity couple Urvasi and Manoj K. Jayan on Monday, after both submitted a mutual consent to end their nine-year-old relationship. The court will issue the order granting divorce on Friday.

However, the legal battle between the two for the right of custody of their only daughter Kunjaatta, who is now staying with Manoj's parents in Kochi, will continue as a case is pending at the family court in Ernakulam.

Urvashi, one of the most talented actresses in Malyalam film industry who won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1995 and 2006, debuted at a young age with K Bhagyaraj's Mundhanai Mudichu (1983). She played some most unforgettable characters in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada during the 1980s and 1990s. She fell in love with popular actor Manoj K. Jayan and they were married at the Mookambika Temple in 2000.

The relationship between the two actors (who already had differences in opinion) worsened when Urvashi began to concentrate seriously on her career again. Manoj, it seems, wasn't happy with that decision. Urvashi had been living separately for a few years.

In 2006, rumors spread that Urvasi had attempted suicide at her residence in Chennai. After discharging from a private hospital, Urvasi later explained that she was down only with Chikungunya, which broke out at the costal areas of South India in 2006.

After they filed the divorce, the court had given time to reach reconciliation. However, Urvasi had leveled several allegations against Manoj, including that she had been 'mentally and physically tortured' by him.