Dilip Kumar: his second marriage, past relationship, and love with wife, Saira Banu!
Everyone is aware of the great love story of the Bollywood Legend Dilip Kumar and his wife Saira Banu.
But not many are aware that for some time Dilip Kumar also had a second wife whose name was Asma Sahiba. So who was Asma Sahiba and why did Dilip Kumar have a second marriage?
Dilip Kumar and his second marriage
Dilip is famous for his acting talents and his relationship with the late Bollywood actress Madhubala. Besides this, his strong and long-term relationship with his current wife Saira Banu is also a paragon for couples; old and new worldwide.
The love between Dilip Kumar, 97 years, and Saira Banu, 75 is one that people quote as an example of true love. But not many know that Dilip had a second marriage in between.
Rumors came up in the media about his second marriage. The media outlet revealed that Bombay’s ex-sheriff had wed a beautiful socialite from Hyderabad whose name was Asma Sahiba. She was a divorcee with two children.
The article in the tabloid also put up as proof a picture of the couple’s arm-in-arm. There was also an image of the couple’s nikahnama. The wedding was solemnized in May 1981 and it was a well-kept family secret.
But Dilip at that time vehemently denied these rumors stating that the news was fake. Additionally, he also sends letters of denial to the publications that put up the reports about it. But he also said that he is not divorcing his wife Saira Banu.
The silver screen idol’s wife Saira Banu was saddened by this news but she said:
“I am not prepared to be just one of his two wives. Earlier there were rumours and suspicions. But since he swore to me on the Quran that they were not true I was duty-bound to believe him. I don’t intend to use the law courts.”
Dilip Kumar’s delayed acceptance of his second marriage
But later after many years, Dilip in an interview accepted that he had earlier wed Asma and she was his second wife. But they divorced in January 1983. While married, Asma resided at his luxurious Pali Hill residence which was not far from the mansion in which he stayed with his first wife Saira.
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And in 2014, he released his autobiography called Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow in which he spoke of this second marriage. But he admitted that it was, a mistake of his life and he wants to forget it. He wrote:
“Well, the one episode in my life that I would like to forget and which we, Saira and I, have indeed pushed into eternal oblivion is a grave mistake I made under pressure of getting involved with a lady named Asma Rehman whom I had met at a cricket match in Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) where she then lived with her husband.”
“She was a mother of three when she was introduced to me as a fan and she seemed like umpteen other admirers, who were introduced to me by my sisters, Fauzia and Saeeda, at public places. She was a friend of my sisters.”
But why did he marry the second time despite having such a loving wife? And why did he again divorce Asma?
Saira Banu and Dilip: The Love Story
Dilip was in immense love with actress Madhubala and their love went on for 7 years. But when Dilip gave evidence in court in favor of the Chopras which went against Madhubala and her father, their relationship came to a screeching halt in 1960.
He was charmed with the young Saira Banu whose crush was Dilip Kumar. The couple married in 1966 and now have been together for nearly 54 years.
Later, in 1972, Saira became pregnant with their child. It was a son but Saira who was age 28 at that time developed high blood pressure in the eighth month of pregnancy.
The unborn child had trouble in the womb and despite the best efforts of the treating doctor, they could not save the baby. It died after getting strangulated by the umbilical cord.
After this episode, Saira never became pregnant again. And the couple remained childless. Reports said that Dilip remarried in the hope of having a baby with Asma.
But the actor denied it and said some emotions played a role in the relationship. There probably also was some pressure from his family to marry Asma.
Whether it was some internal friction between Asma and Dilip that led to their divorce or was it the inability of Asma as well to bear kids for Dilip that caused their separation, is not known.
The romance of Dilip and Saira is so immense that it has indeed sent into oblivion the fact of his second marriage to Asma.
Source: Wikipedia, India Today