Before stepping into Bollywood, Rakul Preet Singh was already a leading name in Telugu and Tamil cinema — and during those Hyderabad years, she formed one of her closest friendships with actor Lakshmi
Manchu, daughter of veteran star Mohan Babu. Their bond ran deep enough that Lakshmi practically lived with Rakul whenever she visited Mumbai, a tradition that continued right up until Rakul married producer-actor Jackky Bhagnani.
‘Laku, You’ve Changed’: When Rakul and Jackky Pulled Her Up
In an interview with Hautterfly, Lakshmi revealed that Rakul recently confronted her about being “different.”
“The other day she got very upset,” Lakshmi said. “Jackky and Rakul both pulled me aside on my birthday and said, ‘Laku, you have changed a lot.’ I was like, ‘What did I even do?’”
Lakshmi believes the shift is natural — after all, she now has her own home in Mumbai, and Rakul is newly married. What once was a sleepover-style friendship has now entered its grown-up phase.
‘What Is This Jackky Obsession?’ Lakshmi Jokes
Lakshmi then slipped into full best-friend mode, laughing as she described Rakul’s habit of checking with her husband before every plan.
“No matter what you ask her, she says, ‘Let me ask Jackky,’ or ‘Jackky is working tomorrow.’ She keeps doing ‘Jackky-Jackky’,” Lakshmi said dramatically. “She’s newly married, so I’ll keep quiet for one year. After that, I’ll whack her and tell her, ‘If Jackky can’t do it, YOU can still do it!’ What is this Jackky obsession?”
She added that Rakul shouldn’t cancel their long-standing friend-group plans just because her spouse isn’t available. “Jackky is an outsider in our group. If he can’t come, she can still join us for a meal,” she said.
Friendship Before and After Marriage
Lakshmi also reminisced about how inseparable they once were. “Whenever I visited Mumbai before moving here, I always lived with Rakul. And when she came to Hyderabad, her house was only a kilometre away from mine,” she said.
That ease has naturally changed — but the affection clearly hasn’t.
Rakul and Jackky’s New Chapter
Rakul Preet Singh and Jackky Bhagnani tied the knot in 2024 after a few years of dating. Lakshmi’s playful frustration reflects not distance, but the comfort of an old friendship adjusting to its new rhythms.
