Govinda speaks about darkest chapter after mother’s death, recalls Narmada River incident

Govinda has opened up about a difficult phase of his life, recalling how his mother Nirmala Devi’s death in 1996 left him overwhelmed by grief. The actor said he once walked into the Narmada River believing he could somehow meet his mother again. “I was in a lot of pain. I was in tremendous pain. At that point, I felt that everything was over; that was it,” Govinda said. “So, I was at the Narmada River, I thought I would go a little farther into the river and that I would meet my mother again. So, I went into the river.”

Asked if he was trying to commit suicide, Govinda replied, “Kind of. I was deeply attached to my mother. I was too much in love with her.” “That's what the world calls it. People use suicide type of words. We don't really have anything like that. Life never ends. It takes on new faces; It takes on new forms,” he added.

Govinda recalled that a sadhu, whom he now remembers as Ram Kundal, approached him while he was in the river. “He called out to me and came toward me. I came out of the river and he asked "What happened, Govind?"” he said.

The encounter made Govinda realise that he had responsibilities towards his children. “I realised, actually someone said to me this at that time that I was doing something wrong... And I learned a lesson, I realised that I have to live for my children,” he said. The actor said it took him 10 to 15 days to come out of that state. “But the real achievement for me was that I could serve my family and my mother. I could fulfil all the wishes she had imagined for me, what she had thought my son Govinda would achieve when he turned 21. That was her dream. And I was able to fulfill it. I saw true heroism in that part of my life. That is a very different way of looking at things,” he said.