Sanjeev Kumar’s life story is nothing short of a film. Coming from a middle-class Gujarati family in Surat, Gujarat, Sanjeev was among the few aspiring outsiders who made it big in the Hindi film industry. Though he may not have enjoyed the same popularity as his contemporaries like Dilip Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, and Shatrughan Sinha, he earned a cult following through character-driven performances in films like Khilona, Aandhi, Mausam, Namkeen, Koshish, Anamika, and more. He was also one of the rare actors who didn’t shy away from experimenting with roles early on, even playing older characters in films like Trishul and Sholay while still in his 30s.
‘Sanjeev numbered his girlfriends’
While his fans fondly remember his powerful on-screen presence, Sanjeev’s personal life also remained in the spotlight. The actor was popular among women, and he didn’t shy away from admitting it. In an old interview with Filmfare, actor Anju Mahendroo, who shared a close friendship with Sanjeev, recalled how the actor used to number his girlfriends. She said, “Whenever he was seeing a girl, he’d share it with me. We had numbered his girlfriends 1, 2, 3… He’d call up and say, ‘Number 3 called me up today and number 9 reacted in this manner’.”
Relationships with Hema Malini, Sulakshana Pandit and Shabana Azmi
Sanjeev was linked to many actresses in his lifetime, including Saira Banu, Hema Malini, Jayshree T, Shabana Azmi, and Sulakshana Pandit. However, his love story with Hema Malini drew the most attention. At the time, Hema had many suitors — Jeetendra wanted to marry her, and so did Dharmendra. She grew close to Sanjeev on the sets of Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), and the actor expressed his desire to marry her. However, Sanjeev’s condition that she stop working after marriage ended their relationship. “The cultural difference did not pose a hurdle, but Hema Malini’s film career became a bone of contention,” the book An Actor’s Actor mentions.
Hema Malini refused Sanjeev Kumar’s marriage proposal. (Pic: Express Archive)
Actor Sulakshana Pandit was deeply in love with Sanjeev Kumar, opposite whom she made her acting debut in Uljhan (1975). She even proposed marriage to Sanjeev, but he turned her down, as he was in love with Hema at the time. His rejection reportedly left Sulakshana heartbroken, and she never married.
Sanjeev was also infatuated with Shabana Azmi and knew she had a fondness for him too. However, due to religious differences and his mother’s disapproval of having a Muslim daughter-in-law, he never pursued the relationship. In an interview with Vijaya Irani in the December 1979 issue of Star & Style, he said, “I knew Shabana for a longer period than I had known any other girl in films. What she felt for me that time must’ve been mere puppy love, but it could have culminated in an alliance with me if my mother had not put her foot firmly down. My mother, tolerant in other respects, was adamant about her refusal to accept a Muslim bahu.”
Shabana Azmi and Sanjeev Kumar (Photo: Twitter/ Bombay Basanti)
Sanjeev’s makeup artiste Sarosh Mody summed up the actor’s tragic love life in an interaction in 1982. He said, “Every woman whom Sanjeev loved and yearned for, ditched him, leaving him high and dry. His ego is terribly hurt. Sanjeev is suffering from some kind of a complex. Luck has never been in his favour.”
Sanjeev was afraid that women were only after his wealth
While Sanjeev had many relationships, he never truly trusted the women in his life — partly due to heartbreak and partly because of what people around him made him believe. Anju Mahendroo once revealed how he became wary of women, suspecting they were only interested in his money. She said, “I don’t know whether he kept falling in love, or women kept falling in love [with] him. But there were lots and lots of women around him all the time. He was charming, he had a wonderful smile. They tried wooing him by sending him dabbas. Some women were genuinely in love with him. But he believed they were after his wealth, which was so sad because at the end of the day he had neither a home nor a wife.”
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Sanjeev Kumar in a still from Sholay. (Pic: Express Archive)
Drowned himself in alcohol, died at 47 without a wife or a home
Sanjeev was known for his fondness for food and alcohol. The actor never cared much for maintaining a fit physique. After suffering a heart attack, he underwent bypass surgery and significantly reduced his alcohol intake. Recalling a meeting with Sanjeev during that phase, Anju shared, “He had stopped going out to prevent himself from eating and drinking. He was aware that premature death ran in his family what with an inherited congenital heart condition. He’d keep saying that in his family, the men didn’t live beyond 50.”
Apart from longing for a life partner, Sanjeev also dreamed of living in a house of his own. Towards the end of his life, he managed to buy a large property. However, due to a legal dispute within the seller’s family, he was never able to claim ownership of it.
Sanjeev Kumar passed away after suffering a heart attack in 1985 at the age of 47, without fulfilling his two dreams — spending life with a wife and owning a home.
