Mumbai: Actor Govinda and his wife Sunita Ahuja may have been married for decades, but their love story was anything but easy. In a recent conversation with Galatta India, Sunita opened up about the challenges she faced growing up, her turbulent relationship with her strict mother, and the disapproval she encountered for dating a then-struggling Govinda during her school years.
Sunita recalls how her relationship with Govinda affected her academics
Sunita revealed that her romance with Govinda began when she was still in class 8, a relationship her family didn’t take kindly to, especially after it started affecting her academics. Recounting a harrowing memory, she said, “I was in 8th standard and I failed the class. I didn’t tell my mother about it, and by then, I was already in a relationship with Govinda. I lied to my mother saying that I have passed. So my mom, she heated up a tawa (pan) and she burnt me here (points at her cheek bone), and she questioned me about my lies. My mom was very strict. She pushed me to study but I hated it. I would just fall asleep whenever I opened my books.”
While Sunita admitted she was never inclined towards studies, she shared that mathematics was the one subject she enjoyed — thanks to her fascination with money. She also narrated another intense episode from her childhood. “My older sister, once she was trying to make me study, and I was hating it. So I took a blade and cut her thigh with it,” she recalled with a laugh.
Sunita and Govinda's love story
Sunita and Govinda tied the knot in 1987, but the couple kept their marriage a secret for a year. It wasn’t until the birth of their daughter Tina that they went public. Even then, Sunita’s father, who had opposed the relationship from the beginning, refused to attend the wedding. Speaking to Hauterrfly, she said, “When I got married to Govinda, he had a big family. I got married when I was just 18. I was 19 when Tina was born so I was still a child when I had the baby.”
Adding her perspective, Tina recalled the stark contrast between her parents’ backgrounds. “My mom used to wear hot pants, lived in Pali Hill, came from a very rich background. My dad was not that financially strong. He was struggling from Virar. My maternal grandfather was very well to do comparatively. It was a very Bollywood story where he told my mother, ‘Are you crazy? He is an aspiring actor’. He didn’t even attend the wedding because he was not too happy with the whole thing.”