Hema Malini on not holding grudges against former partners Jeetendra, Sanjeev Kumar: ‘Never keep anything in your heart’

Hema Malini said that there is no point in holding grudges against anybody, both professionally and personally. She was asked about the cordial relationship that she maintained with Jeetendra and Sanjeev Kumar, even after they were romantically linked.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | July 13, 2023 02:08 PM IST

3 min read

Hema Malini and Jeetendra maintain a cordial relationship.

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Hema Malini said that there is no reason to hold grudges against anybody, both in her personal life and in her professional life. Hema recalled being thrown out of a project after shooting for it for four days, and then being hired by that same producer later, when she had become successful. She was also asked about maintaining a cordial relationship with actors Sanjeev Kumar and Jeetendra, both of whom she was said to be romantically involved with.

In an interview with Lehren Retro, it was pointed out to Hema that she went to visit Sanjeev Kumar in the hospital when he had a heart attack, and continued to work with Jeetendra years after they’d split. She explained that she didn’t believe in holding grudges as such things happen in life. She said that one should never keep anything in their heart and instead forgive and forget. She said that she has ‘always been like that’.

Also read | Hema Malini opens up about living in separate house from Dharmendra, says she doesn’t ‘feel bad’ about having unconventional married life

Asked if the producer Sridhar apologised to her for having her replaced, only to hire her after she’d become famous, Hema said that he was very sweet to her, but the past didn’t come up. She said that it was as if the incident ‘had never happened’. But being rejected at such a young age made her want to prove herself, she said, so it was ‘good’ that it happened. If she hadn’t been thrown out, she said hypothetically, she would’ve still been ‘working in some Tamil film’, and never made the move to Bollywood.

Hema and Jeetendra reportedly came close to tying the knot, as their respective families felt that it was the correct thing to do. But Dharmendra, who was in love with Hema, is said to have turned up drunk and disrupted the wedding, according to Ram Kamal Mukherjee’s biography of Hema, Beyond The Dream Girl. Dharmendra was already married at the time, and had four children, which is why Hema’s family didn’t want him around her. But they ended up tying the knot in 1980, and had two daughters of their own.

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