Mumbai: Neelam Kothari has finally addressed the long-standing rumours surrounding her alleged romance with actor Govinda.
The actress recalled how their on-screen chemistry sparked speculation about a relationship and revealed that she was unaware Govinda was already married when they worked together.
“I was too young. I didn’t know that he was married. I learnt about it later. I was too young, and I had very strict parents. So a relationship was never an option. I was always accompanied by a family member because I was very young. It wasn’t because the industry was a bad place,” Neelam was quoted as saying by TOI.
Neelam’s husband and actor Samir Soni also reacted to the long-standing speculation, admitting that he was never particularly bothered by the rumours.
“Something that may or may not have happened 20 years ago – I don’t know about it. So how can I hold on to it? He still claims he was madly in love with you,” Samir said.
In a 1990 interview with Stardust, Govinda had spoken candidly about his feelings for Neelam and admitted that he had fallen deeply for the actress.
He revealed that his attraction to Neelam had become so intense that he even called off his engagement with Sunita Ahuja, whom he later married, because he wanted to pursue a relationship with Neelam.
“We met so often and the more I got to know Neelam, the more I liked her. She was the kind of woman any man would have lost his heart to. I lost mine. I couldn’t stop praising her. To my friends, to my family. Even to Sunita, to whom I was committed,” he had said.
Govinda also admitted that he compared Sunita with Neelam and told his then-fiancée to change herself.
“I would tell Sunita to change herself and become like Neelam. I would tell her to learn from her. I was merciless. I asked Sunita to leave me. I broke off my engagement with her. Had Sunita not called me after five days and coaxed me into it again, I would probably have married Neelam. I wanted to marry her. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that,” he had revealed.
Neelam’s comments come amid ongoing reports of trouble in Govinda and Sunita Ahuja’s marriage, with the couple having made public remarks about their relationship in recent months.
