Sonia ~ Selvagharan Divorce

After brewing for more than a year, leading director Selvaraghavan has finally made his split with actress wife, Sonia Aggarwal official.

Broken bond: Selvaraghavan, Sonia

On Wednesday afternoon, Selva and Sonia drove down in separate cars to the Family Welfare Court in Egmore and applied for a "divorce by mutual consent". They have cited "incompatibility" as the reason for seeking the divorce.

In an exclusive interview to CT, Selvaraghavan said, "We have been trying to thrash out our differences for the last few months. Unfortunately, we are two fiercely independent people with king-size egos and our opinions and views clashed. We were incompatible and we realised that the best way out was to part as friends. What is the point of hanging on to a marriage that's simply not working?"

For the last few weeks, they have been living separately. Selva lives in his palatial four-bedroom bungalow in Alwarpet, while Sonia has moved into her brother's apartment in T Nagar. The grapevine has it that the relationship soured after Selvaraghavan took a fascination for Andrea, his second heroine in Aayarathil Oruvan during the making of the film. He made her sing most of the numbers in the film, of which Idhu Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam ... is rocking the charts. Rumours have it that one day, during the shoot of the film in Hyderabad, Sonia, who was virtually playing the role of production manager, barged into the sets and slapped Andrea!

Selvaraghavan refuses to talk about his relationship with Andrea, while Sonia as per the advice of her close friends is keeping mum on the same. However, a source close to Sonia says, "She was initially very reluctant to file for a divorce and tried her best to save the marriage, but the odds were heavily stacked against her and finally, she relented as it became pointless to hold on to somebody who had slipped away."

The source also added that Sonia is now trying to reinvent herself as an actress in mainstream Tamil commercial cinema.

Selva and Sonia got married with pomp and style on December 15, 2006, but were living together for nearly four years before that. It was on Sonia's insistence that the relationship was legalised. Selva first met Sonia in early 2002, during the making of his path-breaking Kadhal Kondein, in which she debuted as heroine opposite his brother Dhanush. The film became a sensational hit and subsequently, she went on to become a star and was paired with Vijay, Silambarasan, Ravi Krishna, Srikanth, Jeevan and Arya. However, it was Selva who gave her meaty roles like that of Anitha in 7G Rainbow Colony, which proved that she was an actress of substance. Now, both are waiting for their divorce to come through, which will take another six months!