Govinda shouldn’t let his personal life, habits overshadow his work life, says Anupam Kher - The Indian Express
Anupam Kher has been a part of the Hindi film industry for over 40 years now, and along the way, he has collaborated with almost all the leading men and women of Bollywood. In a recent interview, when Anupam was asked about Govinda and how his personal life has become the subject of gossip and ridicule, the veteran actor said that one should not allow their personal life to overshadow their work life. He also spoke about Akshaye Khanna in the same chat and said that the actor’s minimal appearances in front of the media could be a part of his marketing strategy.
In a chat with Faridoon Shahryar, Anupam spoke about his fondness for Govinda and said, “I am very fond of Govinda. I think he is one of the finest actors that I have worked with. I have done 10-12 films with him. Improvisation, acting, dance – no one can compete with him.” Anupam then added, “But you should not allow your personal life or your habits to overshadow your entire life.”
The chatter around Govinda’s personal life with respect to his troubled marriage with wife Sunita, and her accusations about his extra-marital affair, seemed to have become the only talking point about the life of the 90s star. Recently, the actor visited the Ganpati pandal Lalbaugcha Raja in Mumbai with his alleged girlfriend Komal Rani, who is also his co-star in an upcoming film, just hours after his wife Sunita visited the pandal alone. Anupam said, “I am no one to pass a judgment on him. He knows his life better, and he can deal with it. I called him once and he said he will call me back. I wanted to tell him, this too shall pass.”
Anupam then drew a parallel with his own life and said that he has been around for 41 years and has witnessed many good and bad phases but the audience now only remembers the good parts. “Everyone’s life has tragedy. I don’t think the problem is that he doesn’t know how to market himself. I think he has gotten bogged down by his surroundings, by his life, but he hasn’t given up yet, so there is hope. I pray that he bounces back and does much more work than he is doing,” he said.
Talking about the actors who have restarted their careers, Anupam brought up Akshaye Khanna, whose career saw a resurgence in 2025 with Vicky Kaushal-starrer Chhaava and Ranveer Singh-starrer Dhurandhar. When asked why Akshaye does not like to get photographed or seen in front of the media, Anupam said, “That is also a marketing strategy, that I should stay away from the limelight. Just a few days ago, he stepped out, and everyone was clicking him. Everyone has their own way of marketing.”
Anupam then recalled meeting Akshaye before the release of Dhurandhar and said that the actor was very confident about his performance in the film. “I am very fond of Akshaye. We have done two films together. He is a very brilliant actor. Before Dhurandhar, we took a flight together and he told me, ‘Sir, please watch the film. I have done a very good job in this one’. And he did so well,” Anupam recalled.
Akshaye has not given any interviews since the unprecedented success of Dhurandhar. He will next be seen in the Telugu film Mahakali Asuraguru Shukracharya.
