Feisty and fearless: Govinda's wife Sunita Ahuja on standing up for herself and self-care

She has been in the news lately addressing rumours on her 38-year-old marriage to Bollywood superstar Govinda. She has been an object of memes due to her unfiltered opinions, even mimicked, but the feisty and fearless Sunita Ahuja, at 56 years of age, is nonchalant and unaffected by triumph or disaster. The star wife was in Dubai recently to attend a wedding and is super serious about her new career in creating content for her YouTube channel Mannat with Sunita Ahuja, that covers unique places of worship around the world. Her latest blog was on the Hindu Temple in Jebel Ali.

Married in her teens and then watching her husband Govinda catapult to the big league, Sunita has been the rock that held his family and career together. The Bandra girl, whose father Ramchandra Munjal was a film distributor in Kolkata, is no novice to fame. “We lived next to Dilip Kumar’s bungalow in Pali Hill (in Mumbai) and our family has known several film industry people before I met Govinda,” she says. The youngest of three siblings, the convent educated Sunita married early when she fell in love with the actor. Maria Goretti, who is actor Arshad Warsi’s wife, is her classmate.

Recommended For You

Expert United Marine Services: Powering progress across the Gulf’s marine sector

Golden Light and Annuj Goel enter Dubai South with a 42-year legacy

Seemar and O’Shea dominate Dubai Racing Carnival in stunning seven-win showcase

Greetings causing injuries? White House blames Trump's bandaged hand on handshakes

Iran raises fuel prices for heavy users to curb consumption, smuggling

 

“An acclaimed film star’s wife’s life isn’t easy. Fake friends and sycophants are out to exploit your naïveté. I recently watched my old interview in Simi Garewal’s Rendezvous, and was shocked to see how demure and quiet I was. The ‘loud and opinionated me’ you see today is a result of battling people I met in Bollywood. I had to stand up for myself and my family or risk people walking all over me,” laughs Sunita.

With flawless skin, that she attributes to her Nepalese heritage (her mother Savitri Sharma is Nepalese), adorned with amulets from the places of worship she frequents, she feels they keep her protected with good energy and opportunities. “As a child I remember going to the Mahalakshmi temple in Mumbai with my mother regularly. My married home was extremely devout too.”

Her daughter Tina, who is starting a chat show, and son Yash, who will make his film debut soon, encouraged her to put her knowledge of spirituality to good use. “I enjoy visiting shrines and places of worship. So when my children motivated me to start the blog, I agreed wholeheartedly.  I visit churches, mosques, dargahs and gurudwaras, too,” she says. 

Sunita is a natural in her channel and speaks from her heart without a full script. “Of course, I whet my information with the priests  and holy men of the places I go to. I am particularly interested in the lesser known shrines,” she says. Did she train to face the camera? “I like myself unfiltered and natural. Sometimes I cry during the video recording because I am overwhelmed with emotion. But so be it. I have done four blogs and one for the Ganesha festival which Govinda attended that garnered several likes and subscribers,” she says. Her next destination is Agra’s Dhoomavati temple and some temples of Kalbhairav and Batuk Bhairav. “Spirituality is an endless pursuit. I am happiest in that space.” There’s more. Sunita will soon be seen in a Solar ad and is open to fly overseas for appearances and product launches.

A big advocate of self-care and self love, she stresses the importance of women indulging in what they enjoy most. “A woman usually slogs for her entire family and supports everyone quietly, often neglecting herself. I learnt it late. So I take a few days off on my birthday and visit a spiritual space.” And all self care shows on your face. “What you do in your life—your daily habits, your food, your interactions with people will show in your behaviour. If you regulate all that, your face shines with positivity.”

Her dogs Winter and Raja keep her energised. “Winter is a Chihuahua and my Daschund is called Raja. I used to have a St Bernard but I lost him. Animals love so devotedly, sometimes better than human beings,” she adds. Sunita has a few friends in the film industry that include actors Manisha Koirala and Shilpa Shetty (who is a neighbour). “Producer Ramesh Taurani’s family is also very close to me. As for the rest of them, I am not close,” she laughs.

Will she join the known Netflix series on Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives? Sunita has been approached by Karan Johar’s team but things aren’t finalized yet. “ We had an initial meeting and they said they will let me know,” she adds. 

Excited to be part of the grind, does she feel intimidated by men hitting on her? “Men are scared of hitting on me. They think I will hit them,” she says. That sums up a fun, fearless woman on the rise.