Over the decades, the love story between Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu has inspired generations. Their bond was often seen as an example of everlasting love, and even after Dilip Kumar’s death, Saira continues to keep his memory alive by sharing heartfelt anecdotes about him.
However, their marriage faced a turbulent phase when Dilip Kumar entered into a second marriage with Asma in 1981. Saira reportedly learned about the marriage through newspaper reports, which left her extremely devastated. The marriage to Asma did not last long, as Dilip soon realized that it was a mistake and ended it. He later reconciled with Saira, and the couple’s relationship emerged stronger from the difficult separation.Meanwhile, she found herself amid intense media scrutiny and chose to leave India in search of privacy. In a 1983 interview, which was later shared by YouTube channel ITMB Shows, Asma spoke candidly about moving to Vancouver, Canada, after her breakup with Dilip Kumar. Reflecting on the constant attention surrounding her personal life, she said: “What do I do? Even I don’t like it but what can one do about it? Even in India, the media was after my life and I thought it would be more peaceful in Vancouver but it seems I was not made to have peace.”
“She also added, “I feel like there’s a complete lack of privacy no matter where I go. I really don’t like that.” Asmaa explained that although her family already lives in Canada, her decision to move was largely driven by a desire to escape the constant spotlight. “It was because the media was following me. I just wanted to get away from it but I couldn’t,” she said. At a time when the tabloid press was thriving with celebrity rumours, Asma and Dilip Kumar’s relationship became a constant topic of discussion, especially since the actor was already married.
Looking back, Asma claimed that most reports about her relationship were inaccurate.“95% of the things written about me were false,” she said. She also wondered how the media could claim to know about the private conversations between her and Dilip Kumar. “Conversations that take place between two people, which are personal and private in nature, how could anyone know about them? But these people’s imaginations are so wild that they just make up stories,” she said.Many years after the incident, Dilip Kumar confessed to his second marriage in his book “The Substance And The Shadow: An Autobiography”. He spoke about his second marriage which started as an innocent interaction between a star and his fan in Hyderabad. The actor had met Asmaa through his sisters and was told that she was married and had three children. But Asmaa and her husband appeared wherever he went as if they knew his itinerary.
“I was completely unaware of the collusion that was maliciously perpetuated, and the situation that was cleverly created by special interests to elicit commitment from me,” he wrote.He regretted his second marriage and admitted that he had caused pain to Saira. He also said in his autobiography: “He admitted that marrying Asma was a beautiful mistake, so he divorced her. “I can never forget or forgive myself for the hurt I caused to Saira and the shattering of the unshakable faith within me,” he admitted, also adding: “Sarah stood by me when I admitted the huge mistake and asked her to give me some time to correct the mistake through proper legal action and restore the sanctity of our marriage of sixteen years.”
I asked Saira to give me some time to sort it all out.” Dilip Kumar signed a commitment letter to Saira to take back the promise he made to her parents that there would be no talk of any second marriage. “There are many versions about this but the truth is that the whole thing was orchestrated by Dilip Sahab’s two sisters. They never loved Saira and the book reveals how they treated her when she entered Sahab’s life as a wife,” author Uditara Nayar, who worked on Dilip Kumar’s memoir, had previously told City Express.
They created the conditions in which Sahab was trapped, and this second marriage was their way of getting back to Saira.Another theory at that time is that Dilip Kumar remarried because he and Seera were unable to have children. Years later, the actor revealed the personal tragedy the couple had suffered. In 1972, Saira lost her baby boy during the eighth month of pregnancy, a heartbreak that remains one of the most traumatic experiences of their married life.
