Why Kumar Gaurav's Love Story With Vijayta Pandit Failed

Vijayta Pandit has revealed that Kumar Gaurav's father, the onetime jubilee star Rajendra Kumar, made sure that she never signed another film with his son despite filmmakers clamouring to repeat their pair.

Vijayta Pandit and Kumar Gaurav in Love Story.

Key Points

Kumar Gaurav and Vijayta Pandit fell in love on the sets of their first film, Love Story, which released in 1981.
Kumar Gaurav's superstar father Rajendra Kumar opposed the relationship.
Kumar Gaurav and Vijayta Pandit went on to marry different people.

While we have seen many love stories bloom in Bollywood, many have remained unfulfilled.

This Valentine's Day week, Dinesh Raheja looks at the many love stories that just didn't work out.

Kumar Gaurav and Vijayta Pandit had a Love Story but it was not to be in real life.

Only a fellow debutant can perhaps fully understand the tremulous fears and unspoken aspirations that come with facing the camera for the first time. Understandably, there are several instances of two newcomers whose onscreen romantic vibes have overflown into their real life too.

Kumar Gaurav and Vijayta Pandit fell in love while they awaited a conjoined future at the time of their first film, Love Story (1981). The film was a smash hit and their on and offscreen chemistry became the talk of the town. But, like in the film, their love story ran up against a strong wall of parental opposition.

The Kumar Gaurav-Vijayta Pandit parental drama

Vijayta has revealed that Gaurav's father, onetime jubilee star Rajendra Kumar, made sure that she never signed another film with his son despite filmmakers clamouring to repeat their pair.

Rajendra Kumar even fixed his son's engagement with biggie Raj Kapoor's younger daughter Rima, and though the couple quickly ended that engagement, Gaurav could not convince his father to ever approve of his relationship with Vijayta.

Both found fulfilment in their personal lives elsewhere. Gaurav went on to marry Sunil Dutt's daughter Namrata while Vijayta wed music composer Aadesh Srivastav. But professionally, neither career reached even keel ever again.

Photograph curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff