“Bachchon ko paalne mein saara samay nikal gaya. Par ab Tina aur Yash apne kaam mein busy hain aur Govinda apne mein rehte hain toh mere pass bahut samay hai. Ab lagta hai I should work and earn some money,” says Sunita Ahuja, actor Govinda’s wife, who will soon be seen in her daughter, Tina Ahuja’s podcast. In a special shoot with us, Sunita says she’s open to taking on projects.

“Every woman should be independent, they shouldn’t be dependent on their husbands or fathers. I took care of my family, my husband and kids. I was managing Govinda’s work, but he, too, has stopped working for two years. So now, I want to carve a career path. I feel alone, so I want to be busy. Judging a comedy show on TV is something I am looking at,” she says.

Govinda and his family are often in the news for various reasons — including his recent bullet injury, the discord with his nephew, actor-comedian Krushna Abhishek, or the couple making bold statements in media interviews. But Sunita doesn’t “care a damn” about the attention her family gets for the wrong reasons: “Mujhe koi troll kare ya mujh par comment kare, it doesn’t affect me. I will not change myself because of people’s reactions. Main jo hoon, main hoon. Pasand hai toh baat karo mujhse, nahi pasand hai, toh get out!”

Talking about being a star wife, she adds, “Dil par patthar rakhna padta tha kyunki kabhi yahan link-up ke rumours, kabhi wahan. But since he was working non-stop, time hi nahin tha affairs karne ka. Ab woh (Govinda) kaam nahin kar raha hai toh mujhe insecurity hai kahin affair na kar le (laughs).”

“Maine abhi tak Krushna se baat nahin ki hai. Jab Govinda ko goli lagi thi, woh 10 baje ghar aaya tha (when he was recovering at home), par main 9.30 baje so jaati hoon. Toh hum mile hi nahin. Dono ne apologize nahin kiya hai abhi tak, so how can I forgive? Krushna apologized to Govinda on Kapil’s (Sharma, comedian) show, but not to me. Kashmera came to visit Govinda in the hospital but once I came, I didn’t see her around.”

Her son, Yashvardhan Ahuja’s debut film was confirmed recently by co-actor Babil. “I am happy that his debut is with good makers. Yash wohi karega jo uski maa kahegi. I don’t want people to say that he is copying Govinda’s acting or dance moves. People might compare, but I want Yash to be original,” says Sunita.

“He always felt that a ‘90s hero should not play second lead, which was a delusion. He could have done more and better work. He did a few films, but refused so many, including several OTT projects, as they were not solo leads. He produced Aa Gaya Hero (2017), which was a flop. Heroes shouldn’t write films for themselves.”