Sanjeev Kumar: Failed relationships, Hema Malini, and the lonely death of an actor's actor
Born on 9 July 1938 as Harihar Jethalal Jariwala, Kumar is remembered for his wide range of roles in movies like Sholay, Aandhi, Namkeen, Koshish and Anamika, among others.
But as famous as he was, his life was not without controversy. His multiple relationships, love story with Hema Malini and struggle with alcohol near the end of life drew many eyeballs.
According to a report by The Indian Express' Screen, Kumar never shied away from his popularity among women and numbered his girlfriends.
'Whenever he was seeing a girl, he'd share it with me. We had numbered his girlfriends 1, 2, 3… He'd call up and say, Number 3 called me up today and number 9 reacted in this manner,' the report quoted actor Anju Mahendroo saying in an earlier interview.
Kumar had relationships with several big actresses, including Hema Malini, Shabana Azmi, Saira Banu, and Sulakshana Pandit.
According to the book An Actor's Actor, Kumar wanted to marry Malini. However, this could not go forward due to cultural differences, as Kumar wanted Malini to stop working after the marriage.
Some years later, in the late 1970s, Sulakshana Pandit proposed that Kumar marry her, but he refused. Pandit spent her life unmarried and heartbroken.
Later, his marriage to Azmi also couldn't go through as his mother disapproved of an interfaith alliance.
For Kumar, reports suggest, his failed love life remained one of the biggest pain points. Later in his life, he drowned himself in food and alcohol. He underwent a bypass surgery following a massive heart attack and tried to cut down on alcohol.
However, another heart attack in 1985 took him away from his fans at the age of 47. Despite his short life, Kumar's contribution to Hindi cinema remains unparalleled and unmatched.
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