Dev Anand was ‘very upset’ when brother Vijay married his niece on Osho Rajneesh’s advice

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Sushma shared with Filmfare that they got married during the shoot of his film Ram Balram in 1978. “We cared for each other to the extent that we wanted to get married. He liked my simplicity. I understood his temperament. He rarely lost his cool. I was the one who’d lose my temper. I was crazier. I’d deliberately do things to annoy him,” she told Filmfare.

Vijay Anand with wife Sushma. (Photo: Express Archives)

‘Women threw themselves at him’

Sushma described their relationship as playful and said, “Sometimes, he manaoed (cajoled) me, sometimes I manoed him. Yes, women did throw themselves at him. But I never felt jealous or insecure. Rather, I’d tease him, ‘Main dekh rahi hoon. Maze karo. Enjoy yourself’. (I am watching. Have fun.)” She recalled that he “rarely complimented” her but when he did, it made her happy.

Vijay became a follower of Osho back in the 1970s and it was Osho who encouraged him to marry Sushma, even though his family was completely against the match. She was his niece, and this relationship was frowned upon in their society.

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Osho said ‘go ahead’ when he decided to marry his niece, family didn’t support

In a 2022 interview with The Times of India, their son, Vaibhav Anand, also recalled this chapter of his parents’ life and shared that Vijay “was going through issues with his family. He wanted to marry my mom. Rajneesh said ‘go ahead’ and brought some stability in his personal life.” Vijay and Sushma welcomed son Vaibhav in 1980.

However, Vijay had a massive fallout with Osho a few years after he helped him take the biggest leap of his life. His son Vaibhav said that Vijay had realised there was “something amiss about Rajneesh. Vaibhav said that Vijay had certain questions that Rajneesh could never answer but what ended their relationship was Rajneesh’s request for a biopic. “Dad said, ‘Goodbye, thank you and f**k off. He realised the man was no longer spiritual. He’d turned materialistic. He wrote a letter to him saying this was not what he’d come to him for and left the ashram the next day,” he said.

‘Vijay was under Osho’s spell’

Dev Anand, who often collaborated with Vijay, was also quite disappointed in his younger brother when he learnt about his relationship with their niece. In a recent interview, Dev Anand’s secretary, Ashok Sinha, recalled Dev’s reaction to the relationship. He shared with Vivey Lalwani that Dev was “very upset” about the alliance and said that Vijay was under “Osho’s spell.” “Vijay was under Osho’s spell then. First he married a woman named Loveleen. Later, he left her, also on Osho’s advice,” he said. When asked if Dev and Vijay’s relationship soured after his marriage to his niece Sushma, Ashok said, “They didn’t stop talking but he certainly didn’t like it.”

Vijay’s first wife was named Loveleen Thadani and their relationship grew when they were both regulars at Osho’s ashram. She worked as a journalist, and later became an actor, but the relationship fell apart in a few years.

Vijay and Sushma had a long marriage which lasted until his death in 2004. Sushma died in 2023 at 84.