Divorce seems to be the flavour of the season. Barely five months into her marriage to the Nepali businessman Samrat Dahal, Manisha Koirala the talented but quirky actress, was back in news for all the wrong reasons. It was speculated that the Dil Se lady was headed for splitville.
And then again, the media circles are abuzz with former actress Karisma Kapoor who is all set to end her marriage with Delhi businessman, Sanjay Kapur.
We go down the memory lane and list marriages that didn’t last…
Guru Dutt – Geeta Dutt
He was cinematic genius. She a talented singer. He an admirer of Bengali culture. She a Bengali by birth. It was natural that the two would fall in love and then marry. Marriage and two children later, the marriage hit a road block. Many say that Waheeda Rehman was the reason. Guru Dutt cast a dusky southern beauty, Waheeda Rehman in Pyasa and the rest, they say is history. The director was smitten completely by this delicate beauty… though, Waheeda maintains to this day, that the ambers were one sided.
The one-sided romance, failures at box office (Kaagaz ke Phool & Pyaasa – both were is his labours of love) and horrific lifestyle (drinking, smoking and eccentric streak) led to his end and the end of his married life. At the time of his death, he was separated from wife Geeta Dutt and Waheeda Rehman had distanced herself from him.
Vinod Khanna – Geetanjali
Vinod Khaana is among the most handsome men Hindi films have ever known-dusky, tall, broad-shouldered and strong. Though he started out as a villain in films, producers and directors soon realized that he was actor material. In fact, competing against Amitabh Bachchan for much of his career, he was the darling of the critics much as the masses adored Bachchan.
Early in the 70s, even when he was still establishing his career, Khaana went on to marry his college sweetheart Geetanjali and within two years the two were proud parents to two boys, Rahul and Akshaye. But somewhere around 1975, Khanna became the disciple of acharya Rajneesh and then in early 1980s, he moved to Rajneeshpuram in the US for four years washing dishes and working as Osho’s gardener.
Though he was in touch with his family over phone from the US, the separation took the toll on his pretty wife resulting in a divorce. Vinod is now married to Kavita Khanna, a lawyer by profession and has a son and daughter.
Zeenat Aman – Mazhar Khan
There’s something about good looking, intelligent and super sexy women, particularly of the 70s era. Zeenat Aman was a flag bearer of sorts of this brigade. She had a gorgeous body which she never shied away from showing off. She had a mind of her own and never thought of letting it known. Sadly, she always got attracted to men who were handsome and famous and never ever capable of respecting a woman for being an independent person.
Zeenat dated (and married) Sanjay Khan and was publicly abused by Sanjay and his first wife, Zarine Khan in a hotel in Mumbai. The lady was also rumoured to have had a roaring with Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan but nothing concrete really came off it. In the early 80s, Zeenat finally settled down with small-time actor, Mazhar Khan from whom she has two sons.
But this marriage too was severely stressed with Mazhar and his family having actually thrashed Zeenat in their home. Zeenat claimed that joining the beating session was her elder son who had been brainwashed by her in-laws.
The marriage ended with Mazhar Khan dying an alcoholic in 1998.
Dimple Kapadia – Rajesh Khanna
He was truly the only super star the country has known. Rajesh Khanna broke many-a-hearts when he tied the knot with the ‘Bobby beauty’ Dimple Kapadia. It couldn’t have been better matched-she a wonder-eyed 16 year old tasting success for the first time in her life and he a superstar keen on settling down.
Not many know the exact reason for the two moving apart. Speculation put it to Rajesh Khanna’s sudden fall from superstardom. A string of failures in careers had a big role to play in the two moving apart.
Though they didn’t really divorce, separation did take place. With time though the bitterness is all gone. Today, they are proud parents to Twinkle Khanna (married to Superstar Akshay Kumar) and Rinke Khanaa (married to Samit Saran).
Rekha – Mukesh Agarwal
Sometimes, one love is the only love. That could very well be said of evergreen Rekha. Born Bhanupriya Ganesan, illegitimate daughter of Southern matinee idol, Shivaji Ganesan, when Rekha made an entry in Hindi films she was an obnoxious looking ulgy duckling though the star power was still there to be seen. In time, she metamorphosed into a beautiful swan-like lissome dusky beauty. Many insist it was after she came in contact with a certain Mr Bachchan.
Reams of paper have been printed speculating the exact twist and turns in this triangle. If the palpable passion in their films is to be believed, the chemistry between the two was electrifying. But marriage was not to be.
Rekha was rumoured to have married Vinod Mehra but that was a speculation. She definitely married businessman, Mukesh Aggarwal but the marriage just didn’t work for Rekha and her husband, in utter disappointment, hung himself to death.
Randhir Kapoor – Babita
He was the Kapoor khandan scion and she an upcoming actress. Randhir Kapoor and Babita did several films together before deciding to tie the knot. It is said that the early years were rosy but strains started to show soon. It is speculated that Babita, cousin sister of famous actress Sadhna, couldn’t cope with the super stardom of the Kapoors and walked out of the marriage with her two daughters in tow. Though Randhir Kapoor and Babita never divorced, they never ever stayed together either.
Rakhee – Gulzar
She was fragile Bengali beauty the like of which none had seen. He was a talented lyricist-director the likes of whom Bollywood wouldn’t see for a long, long time. Love blossomed but marriage couldn’t be sustained. He was known to be violent while she slightly neurotic, as per reports.
Reena Roy – Mohsin Khan
70s star Reena Roy was absolutely smitten by Pakistani cricketer Mohsin Khan. So was her debonair cricketer loverboy who would fly to London, especially to meet her. The two tied the knot in 1983 only to separate soon. It was a pain-filled divorce that saw Mohsin get their daughter’s custody. Much later, when Mohsin re-married, he gave up claim over his daughter. Today, Reena Roy lives in Mumbai with her daughter, now renamed Sanam.
Sanjay Dutt – Rhea Pillai
Sanjay Dutt was the ultimate casanova of Bollywood dating actresses like Tina Munim, starlet Richa Sharma, Madhuri Dixit, Lisa Ray, Rhea Pillai, Nadia Durrani (London-based) finally settling down with Manyata.
Rumour has it that while Sanju baba had a maddening romance with Madhuri, he actually married three women-first his wife Richa Sharma who died early in their marriage; then Rhea Pillai who stood by him during his crazy-days in the jail. Sadly, it was a love that couldn’t see a bright future. While adversity brought them close, good times couldn’t keep them together. While nothing really went wrong, so to say, they simply drifted away…
The marriage ended in 2005. Sanjay is now married to Manyataa.
Saif – Amrita
Here was another star couple that just couldn’t pull it on. When the two met in 1991, Amrita was a successful actress and he had only begun. But love blossomed and marriage of the obvious outcome. But the marriage wasn’t easy. Saif’s parents didn’t approve of the match; so the two married in secret. Of course, later the parents came around. What’s even amazing it that the two remained married for close to 13 years, having two children, Sara and Ibrahim together. But tempestuous relationship had to come to pass when a decision had to be taken.
It would be safe to assume that Amrita got caught up in happy (or read mundane) matrimony while Saif was slowly coming of his own and found the relationship varying boring to choking. In time, Saif’s name was to be attached to pretty faces such as Riya Sen, Smriti Mishra and Preity Zinta. Things changed completely when Saif met Roza.
Soon, it was splitville for the two when they finally divorced in 2004.
Nandita Das – Saumya Sen
The feisty and gutsy actress has now seen two divorces though her second one is most talked about. Saumya Sen, an ad executive, married Nandita in 2002 and they stayed married for seven years. But in 2009, Nandita ended the marriage citing irreconcilable difference.
She bounced back though and is now married third time, this time to environment entrepreneur Subodh Maskara and has a four-month old son with him called Vihaan.
Likewise, Hollywood has seen its own list of failed marriages- Eva Parker-Tony Parker;
Sandra Bullock – Jesse James; Jennifer Aniston – Brad Pitt; Kate Winslet – Sam Mendes;
Britney Spears – Kevin Federline; Imran Khan – Jemima Goldsmith and Rihanna – Chris Brown.
marriage bureau
Till Devil Does Us Apart
