Bollywood parday ke puchay-- part X - Page 17

In the mid 80's, Amrita Singh was the bold Punjabi kudi, unapologetic about her liaisons with Sunny Deol, Ravi Shastri and allegedly even Anil Kapoor. Vinod Khanna and her relationship was high on passion and even the 12 year age gap didn't deter them from being drawn to each other. But the cracks began to show when Vinod tried to tame the fiercely independent Amrita. Quite like a fireworks display, it was great while it lasted but fizzled out just too soon!

THE BEGINNING OF THE AFFAIR
Vinod Becomes Amrita's Obsession

Amrita met Vinod on the sets of JP Dutta's Batwara. While she was instantly besotted with the handsome actor, he didn't quite acknowledge her. At the time she was engaged to cricketer Ravi Shastri. Friends say the actress even told Ravi that he better watch out as she had signed up for a movie with Vinod Khanna. Ravi had apparently scoffed, "You can never get Vinod Khanna even if you tried!" Amrita didn't like the rebuff and decided to take up the challenge. Ravi, she was aware, had been unfaithful to her and this further fired her resolve to attract Vinod's attention.

OPPORTUNITY PRESENTS ITSELF
But Vinod Still Doesn't Reciprocate

During an outdoor shoot for Batwara, Amrita got the chance to turn on the charm with Vinod. She tried her best to entice him with attractive outfits and ladylike behaviour. The otherwise spirited, loud and occasionally abusive girl turned soft-spoken and polite on the sets. Her efforts were rewarded when they became good friends but she often felt that Vinod wasn't into her all that much. As she later said, nothing happened between them during that schedule; they just became good friends. Amrita was quite disheartened to see her co-star not returning her feelings. She then tried to give her relationship with Ravi Shastri another shot but soon realised they were just not meant for each other and broke up with him.

Finally He Gives In
Things were at a complete standstill between Vinod and Amrita since there was practically no communication between them for several months. They had another chance only when the second outdoor schedule of the film in Rajasthan was announced. This time though the dynamics were different! Vinod not only paid attention to her but also returned her affection. Soon, they were in an intimate relationship.

THE OBSTACLES IN THE RELATIONSHIP
Amrita's Mum Disapproves

Their relationship got mixed reactions. While some friends were indifferent, others were happy for them. The age difference was constantly highlighted along with nasty gossip about Amrita being just a passing fancy for Vinod. Amrita's mother, the headstrong Rukhsana Sultan was perhaps their fiercest critic. She couldn't understand why her daughter fell for a man who was nearly as old as her and who was notorious for his escapades with various women. Moreover, Vinod had just ended his marriage to first wife Geetanjali, who he had left in the lurch along with their two kids Rahul and Akshay to fly off to America to be with spiritual guru Osho Rajneesh.

Chandigarh girl Poonam Dhillon joined Bollywood when she was only 16. She had no ambition to become an actress since she was busy with her studies and sports but fate had other plans for her. It's said Yash Chopra saw her photograph in a magazine and then approached her through common friends to offer her a role in Trishul. The talk of a big filmmaker like Yash Chopra introducing a new face made Poonam an instant celebrity. Thus at 16, she worked with the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhi, Shashi Kapoor and Sanjeev Kumar in her debut film. Poonam, who had signed Trishul just for fun, thought she would go back to Chandigarh after the shoot. But soon more offers came her way, the most prominent one being Noorie. The fact that she had an author-backed role made her rethink her decision to quit films and she decided to give it her best shot. Noorie was shot mostly in Jammu and Mumbai while Poonam was still in school. The producers had arranged her flights in such a way that she could give her exams in Delhi in the morning and fly to Mumbai for shoots in the afternoon or evening.

In her initial years, Poonam trusted only a few people in Bollywood - Yash and Pamela Chopra and Ramesh Talwar. Pamela was like a mentor to Poonam, teaching her all about hair, make-up and grooming. Even today the actress is very close to Pam. But there was another person who had a deep impression on Poonam - Ramesh Talwar, Yash Chopra's assistant between 1969 and 1979, who later scripted Noorie and then turned director.

When Ramesh came up with the story of Noorie, the only girl he could think of for the title role was Poonam. He helped her a lot during the film and along the way, it's said, they became more than good friends. But Poonam didn't want the relationship to be talked about in the press. Even Ramesh would deny his close association with her, brushing off all rumours of a link-up saying, "She's a nice girl. She's friendly with all of us at the Yash Chopra camp."

People could see that Ramesh was trying hard to suppress his feelings for her. But the same could not be said of Poonam who completely denied any relationship between them. Some people said they had jointly decided to keep their friendship a secret but Ramesh's close friends like producer Ramesh Behl and actor Rishi Kapoor unknowingly spilled the beans. Once, when Rishi and Poonam were seated on a sofa on the sets of Yeh Vada Raha, a photographer asked Rishi to move a little closer to Poonam. The actor reportedly said, "Don't be silly, yaar. She's Ramesh Talwar's exclusive property."

The industry was soon abuzz with the news that she was secretly engaged to Ramesh. But the denials didn't stop primarily because Poonam thought she would lose good offers that came her way. The media also reported that Ramesh had bought a bungalow for the pretty actress in Juhu. A source close to Ramesh said, "He bought Poonam a home where he thought they both could live happily ever after." But the relationship did not have a happy ending. The relationship, it's said, came to an end when a columnist wrote some nasty things about Yash (Chopra) and Poonam.

Throughout the affair, Poonam's career never suffered and she was counted among the top actresses of the time. However, Poonam's family felt it was time for her to get married and settle down. Poonam's mother was on the lookout for an ideal groom for her daughter but the actress had other plans. After Ramesh Talwar, she allegedly had a brief involvement with married filmmaker Raj (fondly called Daddu) Sippy. Raj was obviously not willing to leave his wife for Poonam and the couple broke up. Insiders say she was very hurt when they split and many felt that she married producer Ashok Thakeria on the rebound.

Poonam met Ashok Thakeria through a common friend, producer-director Umesh Mehra. Poonam's father had expired and she had decided not to celebrate Holi that year. Umesh, however, invited her to his Khandala farmhouse for the celebrations. She initially refused but agreed since Umesh and his wife Ritu were very close friends. Ashok, who was present at the bash, was instantly attracted towards her. "Why is she not playing Holi?" he is supposed to have asked Ritu who explained that she was mourning the loss of her father. Ashok decided to help her get out of depression and he apparently poured a bucket of water on her. That was the first time they met and though Poonam didn't know anything about Ashok, she found him sweet and considerate. Thereafter, they spent some time chatting at the Holi celebrations.

Later, when Poonam returned to Mumbai, Ashok apparently sent her flowers almost every day till she accepted his proposal of marriage. She agreed and even decided to quit films to concentrate on domestic life.

Initially, they seemed to have a good marriage. Poonam sat at home doing nothing while Ashok got busy with work and expanding his production business. She then had her first child, Anmol, and was thrilled to be a mother. Sources say her sister and relatives advised her to do something to keep herself occupied, but Poonam enjoyed being a mother and went on to have a second child, Paloma. The first few years were great but as time passed, Poonam began to get bored of doing nothing. She then decided to take up television and did a show, Andaaz, produced by Himesh Reshammiya where she had to shoot just five months a month.

However, all these arrangements were temporary as cracks started showing up in the Poonam-Ashok marriage. As years passed, their incompatibility increased and they started having arguments. Finally, in October 1997, Poonam walked out of Ashok's home and moved into her sister's home. The main reason why they drifted apart was apparently because she felt there was no passion left in her relationship with Ashok. He failed to give her time and his Sundays were reserved for their son Anmol. Poonam was heard telling a friend, "I don't feel connected to him the way I used to earlier and I don't have him to myself even on a Sunday." A friend of Poonam recalls, "She began to feel that Ashok didn't care." Most of their friends could not figure out why they had split since there were no substantial grounds for the separation. Perhaps it was just the lack of passion and a certain amount of boredom that had crept in.

Poonam was firm about wanting a divorce and met her lawyers to start the proceedings. Then, around 1993-1994, Ashok apparently started seeing another woman, which made Poonam insecure. When she allegedly confronted him over this, he made no efforts to hide it but promised to remain faithful to her. But Poonam's suspicion added to the existing problems.

Later, Poonam allegedly got involved with a successful businessman from Hong Kong named Kiku. He would visit her in Mumbai regularly and she would apparently also fly to Hong Kong. That proved to be the last straw in her broken marriage. The mounting problems and instability proved too much to handle and he couple finally divorced in 1997.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW:

Poonam Dhillon: She is currently doing a TV soap titled Ekk Nayi Pehchaan and recently, her best friend of many years, Padmini Kolhapure, has also entered the serial.

Ashok Thakeria: He leads a quiet life in his Palm Beach apartment in Juhu, looking after his mother. He is occasionally seen at social events and parties.

Ramesh Talwar: In 2010, he made his debut as an actor in soap called Mukti Bandhan which was aired on Colors TV. He has also been a jury member for the Screen Awards, Filmfare Awards and Indian Films Panorama over the last few years.