New Delhi: Bollywood actress Neelam Kothari recently broke her silence on a deeply personal chapter of her life – her first failed marriage to UK-based businessman Rishi Sethia. Speaking on the third season of Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives, the Hum Saath Saath Hain actress shared the struggles she faced during her short-lived marriage in 2000 and the identity crisis she experienced as a result.
In a rare emotional moment, Neelam recalled how she was asked to give up several aspects of her life, including wearing Western clothes, eating non-vegetarian food, and drinking alcohol. She accepted these changes without much resistance.
Neelam Kothari opens up about her first failed marriage
However, the breaking point came when she was asked to change her name. “I was fine with everything,” she shared, “but changing my identity? That is something I was not okay with.”
Neelam, 54, opened up about how uncomfortable it became for her to deny who she was. “I reached a point where I questioned myself, ‘How am I allowing this?’ There were several times when I would be in a supermarket or out for lunch, and people would recognize me and ask, ‘Are you Neelam the actress?’ I had to say, ‘No, I am not Neelam.’ That was tough.”
Neelam Kothari’s first marriage
Neelam, who starred in several hit films alongside Govinda in the 1990s, took a step back from the limelight after her divorce from Rishi. She returned to India and eventually found love again with actor Sameer Soni, whom she married in 2011. While she has been private about her first marriage until now, she revealed that her daughter, Ahana, surprisingly discovered her past recently.
When Neelam’s daughter found out about her first divorce
Recalling the moment, Neelam said, “I came home from work, and Ahana was unusually quiet with her friends. Normally, they’re loud and playful, but this time it was silent. Then Ahana came up to me and said, ‘Mumma, you never told me you were divorced.’ I was stunned. I didn’t know how to respond.”
Neelam explained that her daughter had found out by Googling her name. “Ahana said, ‘You’re a celebrity, so we looked you up, and the first thing that came up was your divorce.’ It broke my heart that she found out this way.”
Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives is streaming on Netflix with Ranbir Kapoor’s sister Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, Shalini Passi and Kalyani Saha Chawla joining the cast for the third season.
