Dhoni has a South Indian actress girlfriend

Friends close to Team India captain reveal that Mahendra Singh Dhoni is dating Chennai-based actress Lakshmi Rai, though Rai is learnt to have taken a conscious decision to stick to the clichéd and boring ‘We are good friends’ line. Rai’s family is originally from Mangalore and the actress was earlier linked with Dhoni’s colleague, bowler Sreesanth.

The fact that they are dating came to light when Dhoni told his parents that he was flying to Bangalore for a meeting when he actually flew to Chennai to see Lakshmi. This was on the eve of the India-England Test series. Dhoni’s parents are reportedly still blissfully unaware of the new development in their son’s life.

A close friend of the cricketer says, “They are dating. Dhoni has flown to Chennai at least four times in the last 45 days to see her. Last time he took a day out of his ‘rest days’ in Ranchi just to meet her and have dinner with her. Now if you don’t call that love, what is?”

Apparently Dhoni and Lakshmi met at party organised in Chennai to celebrate the win of Dhoni’s team at an IPL match. Lakshmi was a special invitee there. They met, chatted, and were soon on the dance floor. This is how, Dhoni’s friends say, his whirlwind romance with the actress began.

Just a few days ago, Dhoni was spotted having dinner with Lakshmi at a five-star hotel in Chennai when he went there for the meeting to select the Indian team for the England series. After news of the dinner date came out, the couple has become more secretive about its meetings and Lakshmi has gone into denial mode.

Lakshmi, it is learnt, has already bagged and will soon be seen in a Hindi film Hey Gujju which is being produced by a big banner. The shooting of the movie will start early next year. At that time, the actress will temporarily shift base to Mumbai.

s_banerjee@dnaindia.net