Bollywood Flashback: The Story Behind Actor-Director Vijay Anand’s Short Lived Marriage!

When actor-director Vijay Anand acted in Kora Kagaz (1974) opposite Jaya Bahaduri, little did he know that someday his life would also face the same turmoil of divorce like how it was in the movie! Well, let’s say in his case, things were uglier and unimaginable in comparison to the normal quarrels shown in the movie.

Vijay Anand (popularly known as Goldie), was one of the finest filmmakers of our country. His contribution to our Hindi cinema in the form of films like Teesri Manzil (1966), Jewel Thief (1967), Kala Bazaar (1960), Tere Mere Sapne (1971) and many more including the masterpiece Guide (1965) is totally commendable. Many directors consider this maverick filmmaker as their mentor and keep learning different crafts of film making by watching his evergreen films. But then, there was a phase where the director’s golden touch started to fade out with back to back disappointments, in the form of two big delayed films Ram Balram (1980)  (Dharmendra & Amitabh Bachchan) and Rajput (1982) (Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna & Vinod Khanna). While making these films, Goldie decided to renounce the world and seek total solace in Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho), the charismatic guru. He minimized his association with the film world and kept spending more and more time at the ashram of Rajneesh, in Pune, as his loyal devotee. It was at that time, he met Loveleen.

Loveleen came to interview Vijay Anand on behalf of Moscow radio. Vijay at the same time was producing a bold romantic film Jaan Hazir Hai starring Prem Kishen (son of villain Premnath) & Shekhar Kapur. Loveleen was beautiful and thus Vijay Anand offered her the lead role in Jaan Hazir Hai. She was not happy with the film as it had newcomers opposite her, but she still accepted the offer. The movie was launched with total fanfare. Loveleen started to bond with Vijay and was fascinated by his attire which he used to wear as a disciple of Rajneesh. Vijay introduced the spiritual world of Rajneesh to Loveleen and she was totally impressed with it. She kept joining Vijay in his Pune visits to the ashram. Vijay, at that time, used to spend minimum ten days a month in Pune ashram. Loveleen’s faith in Rajneesh kept growing and so did her feelings for Vijay due to which, she also decided to renounce everything and moved from Delhi to Rajneesh’s ashram in Pune. She proposed Vijay Anand to marry her. Initially, Vijay declined her proposal by saying that he had no other assets with him except for couple of clothes and a footwear. These minor hurdles did not change Loveleen’s decision as she was keen to get married to Vijay Anand and spend her whole life with him in the ashram of Pune. She knew that Vijay won’t like her acting in films and thus decided to leave Jaan Hazir Hai. Vijay was still not convinced with her feelings and integrity. Loveleen kept assuring him that all she wants is him and has no desire or inclination towards acting. One day, their guru Rajneesh, called them in his private chamber and gave Loveleen’s hand in the hands of Vijay Anand. After which, with the blessings of Rajneesh, Vijay and Loveleen decided to lead their married life in Pune.

Things were sailing smoothly until, Loveleen one fine day put forth her wish of working again in films and asked him to write a script which revolves around her as the heroine opposite a superstar actor. Initially, Vijay took this issue lightly and kept focusing on the ashram works, but later, the pressure and demand from Loveleen kept increasing day by day. Her desire of becoming a heroine kept growing stronger with every passing day. These demands took the form of heated arguments between the couple as Vijay wanted to detach himself from the fake world of showbiz. Vijay’s mental peace was lost as the couple kept fighting everywhere and at that same time Loveleen also started facing some serious health issues. Looking at these quarrels and health conditions of Loveleen, Rajneesh himself decided to end this failed marriage. He requested Loveleen to leave Vijay and follow her dream on its own. While parting with Loveleen, Vijay told her that, if he knew this day would come, he would have not got married to her in the first place itself. All he wanted from her was, to live a simple life with him under the guidance of his deity. He felt cheated and manipulated due to the false promises of Loveleen. Vijay and Loveleen parted their ways without any grudges. But, Vijay was shattered over this madness of Loveleen and couldn’t believe that she gave up their married life just for materialistic reasons. With Vijay out of her life, Loveleen’s dreams of working with a superstar actor also fizzled out. As for Vijay Anand, this was a learning example for him, which helped him in building proper relationship with his second wife Sushma.

Fun Facts –

Vijay Anand’s second wife Sushma (Kohli) Anand is his niece (real sister’s daughter). Their marriage led to several controversies and was not accepted by many people at that time, including his own brothers.

Along with Vijay Anand, celebrities like Vinod Khanna, Mahesh Bhatt, Parveen Babi and a few more from Hindi cinema migrated their base from Mumbai to Rajneesh’s ashram in Pune.

Along with being an actor – director, Vijay also ventured into the world of production and produced many different types of films under all sorts of genres. Gungaroo Ki Aawaz (combination of thriller and horror), Chor Chor (a fine crime drama), Jaan Hazir Hain (a bold film about problems of youth co-starring director Shekhar Kapur as an actor) are few more were produced under the supervision of Vijay Anand.

After the debacle of Rajput (1982) at the box office, Vijay Anand directed Main Tere Liye (1988) starring Suniel Anand and Meenakshi Sheshadri in the lead role. Years later, he once again donned the director’s hat, by making a film Jana Na Dil Se Door (2001) with Dev Anand in the lead role. Sadly, this movie, despite of being complete still remains unreleased as Vijay Anand passed away in 2004.

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