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This is an archive article published on October 26, 2024
‘Govinda spoke in Hindi, I only knew English but we understood each other’, Neelam recalls their awkward first meeting
Neelam recalled her initial awkward meetings with Govinda where they understood each other despite the language barrier.
Neelam and Govinda were a hit on-screen couple in the 80's. (Photo: Express Archives)
In the 1980s and 1990s, Neelam and Govinda were one of the most loved on-screen couples. This was the era when Govinda was starting to gain his superstar status and Neelam was already a star. At the time, there were some rumours about their romance as well. In a recent interview, Neelam recalled her initial meetings with Govinda and said that she spoke in English and he spoke in Hindi.
Neelam reminisced about their first meeting on the sets of Ilzaam, where Govinda was shooting for Street Dancer. “He came and said hello to me and started speaking to me in Hindi. So, I was like, ‘ok, there’s going to be a little bit of a problem here,’ because I would only speak in English and he, only in Hindi.” Despite the language barrier, they found common ground in their passion for dance. “It was very funny seeing both of us interacting. He used to speak in Hindi, I used to speak in English, and somehow it was fine. He understood what I was saying and I understood what he was saying,” Neelam said in an interview with Radio Nasha.
Their competitive spirit brought out the best in each other, especially when it came to dance. “When it came to our dance steps, when it came to our songs, we were very competitive. Who’s doing it better?” Neelam recalled. “I wanted to do better than him, he wanted to do better than me.” Their differing dance styles – Govinda’s filmy flair and Neelam’s ballet background – surprisingly complemented each other perfectly. “The combination worked. The audiences loved it.”
One of their most iconic songs, “Aap Ke Aa Jaane Se” from Khudgarz, was shot in an astonishing one-and-a-half days. “You’ll not believe it, but we shot that song in one-and-a-half days, that’s it,” Neelam revealed. “We never imagined that this song would become such a huge sensation.”
Neelam Kothari and Govinda formed a winning on-screen pair, delivering blockbuster hits like Love 86, Khudgarz, and Ghar Ka Chiraag. In the past, Govinda spoke about his unrequited feelings for her and shared that he was attracted to her.
In a 1990 interview with Stardust, Govinda said that at one point, he even broke off his engagement with Sunita because he wanted to marry Neelam. The actor said that he was “very conscious” of Neelam, as they came from different worlds. He said that they overcame the obstacles of their “background and upbringing” and eventually, he started opening up to her. “We became friends. And we had so many films together. We met so often, and the more I got to know her, the more I liked her,” he said, and added, “She was the kind of woman any man would have lost his heart to. I lost mine.”
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