Actors’ romances are as old as the film industry itself. There are tales of stars in the black and white era of Indian film industry eloping, marrying, and sometimes even having bitter break ups. Social media and paparazzi culture may have brought it out in the open today but on-set romances have existed for decades. One such romance in the Bollywood of 1970s almost had a bitter end when the actress decided to marry another star, but it only resulted in more drama.
When a secret wedding of superstars was interrupted by another drunk star
In the 1970s, Hema Malini was one of the highest-paid actresses in the country. She had solo hits like Seeta Aur Geeta under her name. The actress was also seeing Dharmendra, who was already married and had four children. For this reason, Hema’s parents were against the relationship. Knowing that fellow actor Jeetendra had a soft spot for Hema and was good friends with her, Hema’s parents convinced her to at least meet his parents for a match. Jeetendra’s parents were all in favour. Under family pressure, Hema agreed too. Jeetendra only said yes as he thought Hema was willing too.
The families decided to have a hush hush wedding in Chennai. Sadly for them, a major film tabloid got the wind of it all and published the details of the secret wedding on the front page. Reading that, an angry Dharmendra flew to Chennai, taking along with him Jeetendra’s girlfriend (and later wife) Shobha with a plan to disrupt the wedding. As per reports, a drunk Dharmendra reached the wedding venue and created a ruckus.
How Dharmendra and Shobha were able to stop Hema and Jeetendra’s wedding
Reports stated that Dharmendra was met by Hema’s angry parents at the venue. The actress’ father asked him to leave the place since he was married and ‘not fit’ for his daughter. But Dharmendra relented. Eventually, he convinced to speak with Hema alone. The actor reportedly pleaded and convinced Hema of their love. Outside, Shobha also confronted Jeetendra but the actor did not relent. However, when Hema refused to go ahead with the wedding, Jeetendra felt insulted and stormed out. In anger, he vowed never to speak with Hema again.
How Jeetendra and Hema reconciled
Eventually, when the dust settled, Jeetendra and Hema mended their friendship putting the bitterness behind them. He and Shobha married in 1974 and had two kids – producer Ekta Kapoor and actor Tusshar Kapoor. Hema and Dharmendra too tied the knot in 1979 and had two kids themselves – actress Esha Deol and dancer Ahana Deol.
