Veteran actor Jeetendra took a trip down memory lane while celebrating 60 years of Hema Malini’s career at a recent event, sharing an anecdote that underscored how destiny shaped both their careers. Interestingly, when Hema Malini made her debut, she was largely paired with senior stars, beginning with Raj Kapoor in Sapno Ka Saudagar. Jeetendra became one of the first young leading men to be cast opposite her, and the actor revealed that it almost didn’t happen.

“I was new, and I made a lot of mistakes in those days,” he said, adding that he had already signed a film with veteran filmmaker L.V. Prasad when Subodh Mukherjee, known for Junglee (1961), approached him for another project.

He further explained, “In those days, Hema Malini was one of the biggest stars, so I told Subodh Mukherjee that I wanted the Dream Girl as my heroine. He said, ‘Main toh usse janta nahi.’ Toh maine kaha... main Hema Malini ko leke aata hoon.”

At the time, Hema Malini was staying at a hotel in Churchgate. Jeetendra personally called the hotel, spoke to her mother, introduced himself, and conveyed that Subodh Mukherjee wished to cast Hema opposite him. Hema agreed, and the very next day, Jeetendra fetched her and took her to the filmmaker’s home, where she was signed for the film.

Confident that he had landed a major project, Jeetendra then requested L V Prasad to release his dates for the film with Hema. Prasad agreed, but the story took an unexpected turn.

“Just three days later, I read in the newspapers that Hema Malini had been signed by Subodh Mukherjee opposite Shashi Kapoor! Picture mein se mujhe hakal diya aur bataya bhi nahi. Aap sochiye mujh pe kya beeti hogi,” he shared.

The actor added that, eventually, he and Hema went on to star in many films together, including Gulzar saab’s Khushbu and Kinara.