Sanjeev Kumar was celebrated for his talent, generosity, and love for his friends. However, behind the glamor, the actor faced heartbreak when many of his close friends abandoned him after he gave up drinking for his health.
Friends deserted him after he quit drinking
In conversation with journalist Vicky Lalwani, Sanjeev Kumar’s niece Jigna Shah and veteran film journalist-author Hanif Zaveri revealed that the actor was left heartbroken when his friends deserted him.
Only a source of alcohol and freebies
Jigna shared, “All of Sanjeev Kumar’s friends, who used to spend every evening with him over drinks, suddenly disappeared after he stopped drinking post-surgery. None of them even came to check on him. It really hurt him.”Elaborating further, she added, “He was a genuine friend to them, but for them, he was only a source of alcohol and freebies.”
Generosity often misunderstood
Talking about misconceptions about the actor’s nature, Hanif Zaveri said, “There are people who called Sanjeev Kumar ‘kanjoos’ (stingy), but that’s far from the truth. He was incredibly generous — he gifted cars to friends, bought a house for Dilip Dutt and his manager Jamnadas. He lived for his friends, but nobody ever truly understood him.”
Gave away nearly Rs 1 crore
Jigna added, “I’ve never seen anyone like him in the industry. I was just 14 when he passed away, but I’ve always heard stories in my family that he gave away nearly Rs 1 crore to people from the industry — and this was in the 1980s.”“After Sanjeev Kumar passed away, Boney Kapoor came to us with Rs 3 lakh,” she recalled. “He said, ‘I owe him more, but this is what I can return right now. Please keep it.’ Nobody else ever returned anything. “They were all his dear friends — people he met every day. And yes, they were all quite rich,” she shared.
