When Govinda compared wife Sunita “mercilessly” to Neelam Kothari

Govinda and his wife Sunita have been married for over 40 years. Sunita married the superstar when she was just 18 years old and they have two children together – Tina Ahuja and Yashvardhan Ahuja. However, the marriage also had its difficult phases. During an interview in 1990, Govinda was candid about this phase of his life, recounting how “merciless” he was towards Sunita, whom he had married in a secret ceremony. But the marriage ran into trouble because Govinda loved his co-star Neelam Kothari.

“I couldn’t stop praising her (Neelam). To my friends, to my family. Even to Sunita, to whom I felt committed. I would tell Sunita to change and become like Neelam. I would tell her to learn from her.” . I was merciless. “She told me, 'You've fallen in love with me, never try to change me,'” he confessed.

Talking about his love for Neelam, Govinda said, “Neelam is the kind of woman any man would have lost his heart to. I lost mine.”

Govinda had also revealed that he never planned to get serious with Sunita and that he was just “looking for a girl to be with”. “That was when I met Sunita. I admit that my collaboration with her was a completely calculated move on my part. And I paid a heavy price for it,” shared Govinda.

Meanwhile, Neelam married UK-based businessman Rishi Sethia in 2000 and divorced soon after. She recently spoke about her ex-husband on the Netflix show Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Women Season 3. Recalling details of how hostile her marriage became, she said: “I was told to wear Indian clothes, stop eating vegetables and not drink alcohol. I was fine with everything, but changing my identity is something.” I didn't agree with it.

Neelam married Samir Soni in 201 and the couple adopted their daughter Ahana together in 2013.