Love against all odds: Tarak, Alekya's marriage nothing less than filmy drama
It’s a true love story. A tale of commitment, dedication, companionship and endurance. NTR’s grandson and actor Tarak Ratna and his wife Alekya Reddy’s marriage is nothing less than a filmy drama.
They were in love, and no one was going to stop them. They tried to convince their families but when it went in vain, they eloped.
“We met through a common friend. Tarak was in fact my sister’s senior at school in Chennai. Later, we met in Hyderabad,” recalls Alekya, who also designed costumes for one of Tarak’s film.
“He fell in love first. We were just good friends, later he proposed to me and I asked him to talk to my parents. They were not okay with it because there is a big taboo regarding the film industry. Even Tarak’s parents were against it because I was a divorcee. I myself wasn’t very sure about getting married,” says Alekya. She adds, “It was my uncle, Vijay Sai Reddy, who supported me.”
Tarak says, “We got married at the Sanghi temple in Hyderabad on August 2, 2012. Ours was the only marriage that happened there. It was a very difficult decision to get married without our families.”
There was nobody at the wedding except Alekya’s sisters — Neha and Shakti — and a couple of friends. “When I was crying Tarak, said, ‘At least you have your sisters. I have nobody from my side. That way you are lucky’. That made me feel better,” she says.
The couple was blessed with a child, Nishka in 2013. Tarak says, “My parents know that their son is happy... getting married to Alekya was the best decision of my life.”
Till recently, the couple was living, without any connection with their families. “We were waiting for the time when things would fall into place. The first step towards this was taken in February this year. For Tarak’s birthday, I invited Balakrishna garu and kept it a secret till he arrived. Because I wasn’t sure if he would turn up, but he did. Tarak is extremely fond of Balayya. After seeing him at the venue he was speechless.”
Opposites attract
“He is very soft spoken and I am the opposite, he is an introvert and I am an extrovert. We balance it that way,” she says.
Even today the two are hopeful of patching things with his family. “My family was easy, I went back saying that you better talk to me, I am not going to budge from this place and today Tarak is closer to my parents than I am,” says Alekya, adding, “With his family it hasn’t worked out. I guess they are still angry. I can understand... accepting a divorcee is not easy. N.T. Rama Rao garu set some rules, Tarak and I crossed everything and got married. They mostly had arranged marriages and we were the only odd ones out. But I believe that some day, they will definitely accept us.”
