Sanjeev Kumar remains one of Hindi cinema’s most respected actors, remembered for his performances in films such as ‘Sholay’, ‘Aandhi’, ‘Trishul’, ‘Koshish’ and ‘Mausam’. However, before achieving stardom, the actor went through a difficult financial phase and reportedly took up whatever work came his way. Journalist Hanif Zaveri recently recalled that Sanjeev was so financially strained during the early years of his career that he even worked in C-grade films to support his family.In a conversation on the Meri Saheli Podcast’s YouTube channel, Zaveri spoke about Sanjeev’s struggling years, when he was trying to establish himself in the film industry while his family was also dealing with financial difficulties. According to him, the actor owned just two sets of clothes at the time, while his mother was trying to cope with his father’s failing business.“He didn’t know that the films he was doing were C-grade. He was quite broke, so he was doing whatever work he could get,” recalled Hanif Zaveri.Despite experiencing financial hardships himself, Sanjeev was known for being generous towards those around him. Zaveri claimed that the actor lent Rs 96 lakh to several friends over the years, but never received the money back. He also recalled instances of Sanjeev paying for his driver’s wedding and gifting a car to a friend.“He gave Rs 96 lakh away as loans to his friends, who never paid him back. He paid for his driver’s wedding. He gifted a car to one of his friends. When Sanjeev made his will, he kept Rs 2 lakh aside for his driver’s son’s education. People who are miserly don’t do this. He was simply against unnecessary expenditure,” added Zaveri.Zaveri further recalled how Sanjeev helped fellow actors and filmmakers without expecting anything in return. He said the actor gave money to Shatrughan Sinha when he needed it, even though Sinha had not asked him for financial help. He also claimed that Sanjeev gave money to filmmaker Boney Kapoor without any formal paperwork.“When Shatrughan Sinha needed money, Sanjeev Kumar gave it to him even though Shatrughan hadn’t asked for it. Boney Kapoor needed money too, so he gave it to him as well, without any documentation or formalities. After Sanjeev died, Boney returned the money to his family. Even the family didn’t know he had given that money,” he said.The journalist also spoke about the friendship between Sanjeev Kumar and Shatrughan Sinha. He recalled how Sanjeev supported Sinha during the early stages of his career after the latter returned from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).“They shared a deep friendship. When Sanjeev got to know that Shatrughan needed money, he was the first person to help out. He gave around Rs 5-7 lakh,” added the journalist.While Sanjeev eventually went on to work with some of the biggest filmmakers in the industry and establish himself as a celebrated actor, his personal life remained complicated. Zaveri spoke about his relationships with Hema Malini and Nutan before discussing his later relationship with actor-singer Sulakshana Pandit.According to Zaveri, Sanjeev chose not to marry Sulakshana because he was convinced that he would have a short life. He had already suffered two heart attacks by the time they met and reportedly believed that he would not live beyond the age of 50 because several men in his family had died young.“He had already suffered two heart attacks by the time he met Sulakshana Pandit. He did not want to marry anyone. He believed that he had a short life, and he felt this way because all the men in his family had died before the age of 50. He believed that he too would die before turning 50, so he did not want to get married and spoil someone else’s life. That was the only reason why he did not marry her,” said Hanif.Sanjeev Kumar passed away on November 6, 1985, at the age of 47. Interestingly, Sulakshana Pandit died on the same date in 2025.
