REVEALED: Sanjeev Kumar had dated Hema Malini; Hema’s mother didn’t approve of the relationship and had famously said, ‘Sanjeev is TOO fat for my beautiful, slim daughter’

By Fenil Seta -

July 21, 2022 - 2:46 PM IST

The 1975 classic Sholay had a terrific ensemble cast and interestingly, had two real-life couples – Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, and Dharmendra and Hema Malini, though the latter were not married then. However, many are not aware that Hema Malini was earlier romantically involved with another actor of Sholay, and that is none other than Sanjeev Kumar. His recently released biography, 'Sanjeev Kumar: The Actor We All Loved', written by Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta and Sanjeev’s nephew Uday Jariwala, touches upon this episode.

REVEALED: Sanjeev Kumar had dated Hema Malini; Hema’s mother didn’t approve of the relationship and had famously said, ‘Sanjeev is TOO fat for my beautiful, slim daughter’

Sanjeev Kumar first met Hema Malini on the sets of Seeta Aur Geeta (1972) and soon became close. The authors of the book carry a quote by Sanjeev Kumar's sister, Gayatri Patel, who confirms that Hema had started coming to their home often. Sanjeev Kumar's mother loved Hema a lot and had even visited her house in Madras. Gayatri Patel states, "On every birthday, since 1972, Hema used to call my mother and say, 'Mataji, give me your blessings, it's my birthday'".

In an interview with Bunny Reuben for the 1979 issue of Star & Style, Sanjeev Kumar admitted that her mother loved Hema more than she had loved any other person in his life. "She told me she admired her simple charm and asked me why I didn't propose to her," he stated. Sanjeev's mother also pointed out that since she's from the industry, it won't be difficult for her to get settled as Sanjeev Kumar's wife.

Hema Malini's mother, Jaya Chakravarthy, however, was against this relationship. Bharathi S Pradhan has written a chapter in this book in which she claimed that Hema's mom had famously said, 'Hari's (Sanjeev’s real name) too fat for my beautiful, slim daughter'!

Hema Malini didn't hide that she was involved with Sanjeev Kumar. In an interview with Stardust in June 1974, she was quoted as saying, "My mother had nothing to do with the break-up (with Sanjeev Kumar). There were other reasons involved, reasons too personal and complicated to be disclosed".

In a March 1977 issue of Star & Style, an interview of Sanjeev Kumar was published which revealed that the two actors broke up as Sanjeev wanted Hema to quit working after marriage. Gayatri Patel also confirmed this aspect.

Meanwhile, the authors then write that Hema Malini's mother got apprehensive when the actress began seeing Dharmendra. Hence, now the mother tried to set Sanjeev Kumar and Hema Malini for marriage! She even met Sanjeev's mother and expressed her desire.

Hema Malini however denied this episode. She told a journalist in the 70s, "It is certainly not true that my mother has been sending feelers to his place. My mother will never do anything behind my back".

The authors then reveal that Sanjeev Kumar's mother remained hopeful till the end that her son would marry the 'Dream Girl'. When she visited Gayatri in the USA in 1976, one of her biggest agendas was to buy a gift for Hema Malini.

Hema Malini married Dharmendra on May 2, 1980, in a dramatic fashion. Sarosh Mody's quote has been mentioned in the book that stated that though Sanjeev Kumar maintained a cool, he was quite hurt when she tied the knot to Dharmendra and even gave birth to a baby together.

Also Read: REVEALED: When Nutan had publicly SLAPPED Sanjeev Kumar and had said, ‘Sanjeev isn’t even worth my husband’s toenail!’