Govinda was worried about ethics of dating 15-year-old Sunita when he was 21: ‘Mujhe laga yeh bahut choti hai’

Actor Govinda and his wife Sunita Ahuja spoke about their love story and how it began. They said that Sunita made the first move after she was given the challenge to impress Govinda by her relative, who was also related to the actor. She mentioned in a new interview that she had to spend a year trying to woo Govinda, before they got into a relationship. At the time, Sunita was 15, which worried Govinda, because he was around 21. He was concerned about how this might seem to the public, and if he crossed an ethical boundary. They tied the knot on March 11, 1987, when Sunita was around 18.

Speaking to Bollywood Bubble, Govinda said, “Itni zyada yeh choti thi aur modern thi toh main darr raha tha ki aaj ki tareekh mein iss age mein log pyar karne lageinge toh kahenge child molester. She was 15, I was 21. Toh bahut chote the hum log. Toh maine kaha ‘aap bahut choti hai, pata hai ki kya keh rahi ho?’ She said ‘haan mujhe sab pata hai aur main chah rahi hoon ki… I love you’. Mujhe aisa laga yeh bahut choti hai yaar, yeh kya keh rahi hai (She was small and modern, and in today’s day and age if we fell in love, I would be called child molester. We were very young at the time. So I said, you are very young, do you know what you’re saying? She said yes I do, and I love you. I was like, what is she even saying).”

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Govinda said that they began dancing together at a film’s mahurat, and continued to do so at weddings and other functions. He recalled that the first time they held hands was when they left an even in the same car. He said, “Gadi chal rahi hai, aur inka haath mere haath pe touch ho gaya. Phir mujhe mehsoos hua ki yeh haath hata hi nahi rahi hai. Phir isne pakad liya haath, maine kaha ‘hai’, ab iska haath main chhudwata toh bahut ajeeb lagta. Maine socha Punjabi aadmi hoon, haath pakad liya hai toh chalo pakad hi lete hain. That’s the first time we (Sunita said ‘touched each other’)… gadi mein romance shuru hua. Usi gaadi mein first time hum logo ne pyar ka izhaar kiya (The car was moving, and our hands touched each others’ by mistake. She did not remove her hand, and held my hand.  I thought if I let go, it would look weird. I am a Punjabi, so I thought, might as well keep holding hands. We expressed our feelings towards each other in the same car)…”

Govinda and Sunita have two children, Yashvardhan and Tina. Govinda is planning to launch Yashvardhan in films soon, as Sunita had earlier revealed. His debut got stalled owing to the COVID-19 lockdown. She also added that Yashvardhan is preparing for the debut, and is building his physique.