Once one of Bollywood’s biggest stars, known for delivering back-to-back hits and whose very name guaranteed unabashed entertainment, actor Govinda’s career has been virtually dormant for years. Not just that he hasn’t had a commercial success in over a decade, but he also hasn’t appeared in a film since 2019, following the disastrous performance of Rangeela Raja. Recently, Govinda’s wife Sunita Ahuja addressed the decline of his career, attributing it to his futile attempts to replicate the formula that worked in the 1990s. She also criticised the “wrong circle” surrounding him, who are nothing less than sycophants, suggesting that they played a significant role in his downfall.
“Why has Govinda not been seen in 17 years? The problem is that his circle is the wrong one. It’s a wrong circle. Today, my fights with him are because I can’t lie, and I do not appreciate flattery,” she shared during a chat with The Powerful Humans. Although Sunita refrained from naming anyone, she did not hold back in calling them out, at least indirectly. “Today he has four people – a writer, a musician, a secretary and a lawyer friend. They are of no use. They only say ‘wah, wah!‘ If he makes music, they say ‘wah, wah… kalam kar diya.‘ They should tell him the truth. When I tell him the truth, he gets upset,” she claimed.
Sunita Ahuja then went on to point out how Govinda was still attempting to relive his glory days and trying to churn out something from the same template, which has left him completely obsolete and outmoded. “I tell him the 90s era is over. It is 2025. Look at what’s working on Netflix and digital platforms. But he stays with his ‘wah, wah‘ production. I told him, change your circle. For as long as you have these 4–5 people, they won’t let you go forward,” she added.
Despite his fame for slapstick comedy, energetic dance performances and headlining blockbusters such as Raja Babu (1994), Coolie No 1 (1995), Saajan Chale Sasural (1996), Hero No 1 (1997), Deewana Mastana (1997), Dulhe Raja (1998), Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998), Anari No1 (1999), Haseena Maan Jayegi (1999) and Jodi No 1 (2001), Govinda’s career began declining in the early 2000s. Although he managed a brief comeback with a couple of hits in the latter part of that decade, his career has been steadily deteriorating since the early 2010s.
