Didn't know he was married: Neelam Kothari on Govinda's old love confession

Actor Neelam Kothari has spoken about long-running speculation over Govinda’s feelings for her, saying she was too young at the time and did not know that he was married. In a recent interview, the 56-year-old addressed the off-screen rumours linked to her frequent collaborations with the actor in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Sitting beside her, husband and actor Samir Soni said he had never dwelt on something that happened, or may have happened, decades ago. Govinda had earlier openly spoken about falling for Neelam while he was in a relationship with Ssunita Ahuja.

During an interview with Times Now, the host told Neelam that Govinda was in love with her off-screen. Responding to this, Neelam said, “I was too young. I didn’t know that he was married. I learnt about it later.”

Samir said he never felt the need to hold on to something that happened, or may have happened, 20 years ago. “Something that may or may not have happened 20 years ago, I didn’t know about it. So how can I hold on to it? He still claims he was madly in love with you,” said Samir.

Neelam said a relationship was never really an option for her at that stage of her life, adding that her focus was on learning Hindi and working in films. “I was too young and I had very strict parents. So a relationship was never an option.”

She also clarified that a family member would accompany her to shoots because she was very young, and not because her family believed the film industry was unsafe. “I was always accompanied by a family member because I was very young. It wasn’t because the industry was a bad place,” she said.

According to Neelam, everyone on the sets pampered her and her co-stars treated her like a child. Samir added that Jackie Shroff and Sanjay Dutt were particularly “protective” of her.Govinda’s earlier comments on Neelam

In a 1990 interview with Stardust, Govinda admitted his feelings for Neelam and said their many films together had led to a growing fondness. “And we had so many films together. We met so often and the more I got to know her, the more I liked her... She was the kind of woman any man would have lost his heart to. I lost mine,” he had said.

Govinda’s relationship with Ssunita was kept secret within the film industry, but Ssunita was aware of Neelam’s impact on him. Govinda said he often praised Neelam to Ssunita and even asked her to become more like Neelam, which caused tension between them.

He said, “I couldn’t stop praising her. To my friends, to my family. Even to Ssunita, to whom I was committed. I would tell Ssunita to change herself and become like Neelam. I would tell her to learn from her. I was merciless. Ssunita would get irritated. She would tell me, ‘You fell in love with me because of what I am, don’t ever try to change me.’ But I was so confused. I didn’t know what to own.”

He also said that his relationship with Ssunita had begun before his acting career. Govinda confessed that his involvement with her was initially a calculated move to gain experience in romance. He also admitted to using his relationship with Neelam for professional gain and said he should have been honest about his engagement.

At one point, Govinda considered ending his engagement with Ssunita because of his feelings for Neelam. However, after a brief separation, Ssunita reconciled with him. “I asked Ssunita to leave me. I broke off my engagement with her. And, had Ssunita not called me after five days and coaxed me into it again, I would probably have married Neelam,” Govinda said in the same interview.Where are they doing now?

Neelam Kothari later stepped away from acting after appearing in several popular films and moved into jewellery designing. She returned to the spotlight with Netflix’s reality series Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives, which also featured Maheep Kapoor, Bhavana Pandey and Seema Sajdeh. She was also seen in the spin-off Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives, which brought the Mumbai and Delhi cast members together.

Meanwhile, Govinda and his wife Ssunita Ahuja have been in the spotlight after she made allegations about his alleged infidelity and spoke about problems in their marriage. The controversy intensified after Govinda was seen with his Roopa co-star Komal Rani Swarnkar. Duniyadari is another project in his upcoming lineup.- EndsPublished By: Priyanka SharmaPublished On: Sep 13, 2026 20:08 ISTALSO READ | Neelam Kothari breaks silence on affair rumours with Govinda: That was not...