Pony Verma: How a 12-year age gap brought calmness

Choreographer Pony Verma has opened up about her marriage to actor Prakash Raj, and her framing of their 12-year age gap is refreshingly grounded. Friends may have worried, but she says the difference became the source of the understanding and steadiness she needed.

Why the age gap never felt like a problem

Verma said some friends were unhappy when she chose a partner 12 years older. She did not see the gap as a disadvantage.

“My friends were mad because I was marrying a man who was 12 years older than me,” she told The Times of India.

Her logic was simple: Prakash Raj had lived enough to understand her journey, her thinking and the struggles that shaped her. She felt a man with his experiences could meet her where she was.

Calmness over grand gestures

What drew her in, she says, was not glamour. The actor did not try to impress her with flashy dates or by performing a version of himself. He was direct about wanting marriage and a long-term future from the outset.

“He was very honest with his approach. He never tried to impress me. He never tried to make it all flashy for me,” she said.

That clarity has translated into a particular kind of reassurance in her life: a belief that nothing is running out and that things will work out. In an industry that often sells whirlwind romance, Verma’s account felt practical.

A blended family that shows up

Verma also spoke warmly about Prakash Raj’s daughters from his first marriage, Pooja and Meghana. The daughters took part in the wedding rituals, applying mehendi and haldi, and have stayed close to the couple.

• The couple married on 24 August 2010 in an intimate Punjabi ceremony.
• Their son Vedhant was born in 2016.
• The family makes a point of being together every December and for key milestones.
• Verma moved from Mumbai, where she had worked since 2000, to Hyderabad.

Prakash Raj was previously married to actor Lalitha Kumari. Their son Sidhu passed away in 2004 at the age of 10, which adds weight to Verma’s description of a warm, maintained relationship rather than a smooth fairy tale.

For readers, this is less a glamorous love story than a working map of a second marriage: honesty at the start, family rituals, and a move that neither partner forced.

Source: The Times of India