Entertainment

IIE DIGITAL DESK : Sunita Ahuja’s offhand remark about a pet name given by Govinda — “Bas pyaar se mujhe ‘Sona’ bol dete hain toh main pagal ho jaati hoon” — has become the latest flashpoint in a string of headlines around the veteran couple, after she discussed the nickname and other personal details on her newly launched YouTube vlog. The short exchange, picked up by entertainment outlets, quickly rekindled public interest in persistent rumours about strains in the marriage and amplified speculation that has followed them for months.

The brief interview did more than spotlight a playful complaint: Sunita used the conversation to reflect on her long marriage and the emotional distance she described, saying she has often spent birthdays alone and that she and Govinda live separately because of his work and outspoken nature. Those remarks fed into earlier reports that Sunita had filed for divorce; while her team initially pushed back against speculation, Govinda’s camp later acknowledged that she had filed papers about six months earlier — a development that has since prompted court-mandated counselling for the couple. According to reports, the counselling process began in June 2025, with Sunita attending sessions in person and Govinda joining virtually.

Amid swirling coverage, Govinda’s lawyer sought to tamp down public alarm, telling reporters there is no active case and suggesting that people were dredging up old matters as the situation gets parsed in the media. Sunita herself has appealed to outlets not to circulate unverified claims and said that any confirmed updates about their marriage would come from the couple directly. The episode underscores how even small, affectionate details from long public lives can be reframed by social media into larger narratives about privacy, publicity and marital strain. 

For observers of Bollywood’s perennial fascination with celebrities’ personal lives, the story is a reminder that intimacy and image often collide: a nickname meant to signal warmth becomes, in the spotlight, another data point in a story about distance, legal steps and attempts at reconciliation — all unfolding while fans and the press await definitive word from the principals themselves.