Rumour mills say that Bharat Thakur, husband of actor Bhumika Chawla who played MS Dhoni’s sister’s role in his biopic, invested the hard earned money of his spouse in yoga ventures that tanked. Yet Bhumika chose to remain silent.
But when the swindling becomes unbearable it is time to speak out. Veteran actress Helen too was a victim of her partner PN Arora who was many years older than her. He never married her and Helen too was never embroiled in any controversies during her tenure as a leading actress- dancer in the ’60s and ’70s. But she paid the price. She lost her peace of mind when she had to fight a bitter legal battle with her former partner. Arora had left Helen penniless. Today, Helen is contented being the second wife of Salim Khan, former actor and scriptwriter. She managed to find her soul mate at last.
Helen’s story stirs your hearts as does the story of Bollywood singer Sharon Prabhakar who never got her due from Bollywood despite hits like Meri jaisee haseena. Sharon, who was born and brought up in Delhi got married early in her life. She reminisces how her first husband invested her money in assets in his name and kept her in the dark (Shades of what happened in the movie Guide where Raju embezzles money from the bank account of his live-in girlfriend Rosy. Sharon was wise enough to call it quits. Sharon married ad man Alque Padamsee later and, sadly, this marriage also did not last.
Stories of actors who were being exploited by their families are legendary. Amisha Patel and Malayalam actor Meera Jasmine waged war against their parents. Legendary actor Nutan had to drag her mother Shobhana Samarth to court, though rumour mills insist that it was her husband Captain Rajnish Behl who was behind it all. Gossip mongers in Bollywood also whispered about Nutan’s plans of leaving her husband and marrying Sanjeev Kumar – though how much of this information is true no one knows. It is said that when Captain Behl came to know of this dalliance, he threatened the actor saying that he would harm their son. Nutan slapped Sanjeev Kumar on the sets of Gauri and put an end to all the speculation. Insiders insisted it was a ploy to appease her husband.
But interviews that Nutan has given in the early ’70s present a different picture and it is clear that these interviews were doctored by the magazines to satisfy her husband. Nutan had to face both these hassles – rumours of an affair and a protracted legal battle with her mother. Some reports also mention that Sanjeev Kumar had a roving eye. He also had this habit of feeding the rumour mill with news of his reported affairs for publicity.
By the time Nutan passed away in the early ’90s she was a woman battered by her husband – physically and emotionally. She had turned to spirituality during the last days of her life and for her death was more of a liberation. Today her niece Kajol bears a striking resemblance to her aunt – both in looks as well as in her acting prowess. Shobhana, who led a colourful life in her heydays and was linked to actor Motilal, outlived her daughter Nutan. Though the mother and actor patched up during the later years, it was too late by then. Her husband insisted that Nutan cut off ties with her family – her parents, sisters and only brother.
Tamil actor Gemini Ganeshan never gave legal sanctity to his affair with a Telugu actor called Pushpavalli. Their daughter Bhanurekha (who made a name for herself in Bollywood as Rekha) could never forgive her father for this. Rekha is however very close to her stepsisters, one of whom is a journalist. Her other sisters, Kamala Selvaraj and Jaya Sridhar, are doctors of repute. The former runs a centre for test tube babies for infertile couples while the latter has earned name as a paediatrician.
Enough has been written about the exploits of men who used legendary actors like Meena Kumari and Madhubala for their own selfish ends. In fact, Meena Kumari was equally exploited by her father and husband. Her last movie, Mere Apne, which had a 40-year old Meena Kumari convincingly playing a 70-year old woman, is evidence of her superlative histrionic abilities.
Bollywood insiders also recall the callous manner in which garam Dharam dropped Meena Kumari when he set his sights on a young, upcoming actress called Hema Malini whom Raj Kapoor introduced in 1967 in Sapnon Ke Saudagar. Thanks to her stern mother Jaya Chakravarthy, Hema escaped being drenched under the waterfall as is usually the wont in movies produced by the RK banner or movies that featured Raj Kapoor as the hero. But Jaya could do nothing to stop her daughter from falling prey to the charms of a much-married man.
Renowned classical singer MS Subbulakshmi was eternally grateful to her late husband Sadashivam, a man who was known to have had a fiery temper and was alleged to be obstinate in matters related to finance. The money that the veteran singer earned was always handed over to the husband without any questions asked.
Subbulakshmi may have been grateful that a man like Sadashivam married her knowing her family background. She was intensely devoted to him and it was unfortunate that she spent her last days in extremely modest circumstances. Salutations are due to this woman of substance. She outlived her husband but lost her soul in the process. It appears that she had also lost her will to live. For a woman who lived in a palatial home during the peak of her singing career, it was an unsettling experience when she had to move to a smaller home with meagre amenities during her last years.