Recalling the difficult period his family endured, Govinda recently spoke about his mother’s decision to leave the film industry. “After becoming a heroine, my mother Nirmala Devi got poor to such an extent that all the stuff from our bungalow were taken away,” Govinda recalled in a recent interview.
He said his father, Arun Kumar Ahuja, had warned Nirmala Devi about the attention she might attract while looking for work because of her appearance. “My father told her, ‘Nirmala, you're so pretty that when you go out to ask for work, people would ogle at you.’ So my poor mother got her shaved off her eyebrows and head and became a saint. She said, ‘Let my children grow up,” he added.
Watching his mother renounce her aspirations and embrace an ascetic life left a lasting impression on Govinda. He believes he inherited her sense of detachment and learned not to be troubled by what others say about him.
“Being the son of such a mother, I don't care about who's saying what about me. I'm not even looking in that direction,” he told ABP Live while responding to Sunita’s allegations that he cheated on her with Komal Rani, a much younger co-star from his upcoming home production, ‘Roopa’.
Govinda also recalled that his mother initially discouraged him from pursuing an acting career because she believed his innocence would make it difficult for him to survive in the film industry. His father, Arun Kumar Ahuja, a former actor, recognised his potential and encouraged him to follow his ambitions, a path both his parents had eventually left behind.
Nirmala Devi made her acting debut in 1942 as the leading lady in V.C. Desai’s ‘Savera’. She subsequently appeared in S.U. Sunny’s ‘Geet’, Rama Chowdhary’s ‘Gaali’ (1944), Nanabhai Bhatt’s ‘Chalis Karod’ (1946) and M.S. Sadiq’s ‘Anmol Ratan’ (1950).
In 1942, Nirmala Devi eloped with her ‘Savera’ co-star Arun Kumar Ahuja. The couple later reunited on screen for his 1948 home production, ‘Sehra’, which failed at the box office.
Nirmala Devi stepped away from films after ‘Jai Mahalkashmi’ in 1951 and devoted herself to raising the couple’s five children, comprising three daughters and two sons.
Her decision to leave the film industry and dedicate herself to her family remains central to Govinda’s understanding of detachment. The actor has drawn on that influence while addressing personal criticism and the recent allegations surrounding his marriage.
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