Bollywood actor Govinda was so full of joy to see Lord Jagannath at Srimandir in Odisha’s Puri that tears rolled down his cheeks. After seeing the deity, a visibly happy Govinda said he was passing through a “very hard time” for over a decade since entering politics and now he was freed from many bonds. Accompanied by his wife Sunita Munjal Ahuja, the actor said he was now “bound only by divine bonds”.
“I was wondering for months how I could go and see Lord Jagannath. Whenever I have serious troubles, I come to Puri and worship the Lord, and I find peace. Now, after seeing the deity, a lot of my hardships have been alleviated,” said Govinda after visiting the seaside temple on Sunday.
The actor candidly said that he had been living amid “many hardships and pains” for the past 14 to 15 years and that the hardest time for him came after he entered politics. Govinda was a Congress MP from Mumbai between 2004 and 2009. He won by defeating the incumbent BJP stalwart Ram Naik, who later became the Governor of Uttar Pradesh.
“Politics was so difficult for me that I announced quitting politics in 2008 just like Amitabh Bachchan had done. Then, for the past 14 to 15 years I’ve been through a lot of pain and suffering,” said the 57-year-old actor known as Bollywood’s dancing star and comedy king in the 1990s.
Govinda said he always had Lord Jagannath in mind and that he dreamt of Him recently. “I was looking for a way to visit Lord Jagannath and get rid of my pain. Now that I have seen him, I am free from many bonds and am bound only by the divine bondage,” said the actor after emerging from the 10th-century shrine.
Saying that he believes in astrology, Govinda said it was a great privilege for him to see Lord Jagannath on March 21. “Today’s date’s digits add up to 3, and the month is 3. The time of my visit to the temple and worship was 12 O’clock, which also adds up to 3. I feel very happy and full of peace now. Many years of hardship have been relieved today,” said Govinda.
“I’ve gone through a lot of hardships in my life. From pestering filmmaker Anand Singh for work in 1980 to working through the 1990s, I have struggled a lot. But when the god is with you, everything becomes easy. The most difficult time for me came when I entered politics,” said Govinda, who married his friend Sunita Munjal on March 11, 1987 and their daughter Tina Ahuja was born on March 16, 1988.
The Bollywood actor had earlier visited Srimandir on January 26, 2017. His wish to visit again was thwarted for a year as the temple was closed for months in 2020 due to restrictions for Coronavirus infection. The temple reopened for the public in January.
Bhavani Shankar Mohapatra, the Srimandir priest who organised the worship for Govinda, said the actor called him on Saturday and said he had dreamt of Lord Jagannath. “He (Govinda) suddenly called and wanted to come, saying he had dreamt of the Lord. So he arrived this morning with his wife. I took him to the Inner Wood (Bhitarakatha) of the temple and worshiped for him. He wept after seeing the Lord. He said, ‘Govind ke dwar par Govinda rere sharan mein’ (actor Govinda is at the feet of Lord Govind),” said Mohapatra.
Srimandir in Puri is often visited by Bollywood stars and celebrities. Actress Kangana Ranaut had visited the shrine recently. While Sanjay Dutt was in jail in the TADA case, his father Sunil Dutt had performed a puja in the temple. Amitabh Bachchan has also visited and worshiped Lord Jagannath.
(With inputs from Akshay Mishra)
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