MUMBAI: Ranjeet was among the most famous Bollywood villains in the 70s. After working in several movies and playing the sleazy guy most of the time, Ranjeet made an image for himself as the ‘molester’ or ‘rape specialist’ as he called it.

This hampered his chances at getting better roles in movies and his personal life. He has said in an interview that it made it difficult for him to find and keep a wife.

“I had never seen my parents fighting; my wife has her opinions and we have our arguments, especially over politics because our views are very different. How I met her was that I was going to cast her in my film, but my parents liked her--she was modern yet homely, could speak English as well as Punjabi--what else could I want. My younger brother and sister were married and my parents were really keen on me settling down. Par un dino ke Ranjeet ko kaun apni beti deta" (Who’d have married their daughter to the then Ranjeet), the actor said.

He eventually got married to Aloka but that came a few disappointments from her relatives. “Luckily, my in-laws did; I insisted on an intimate wedding with only immediate family present. Later, one of my wife’s relatives was livid when she found out she had been married to me. They told my mother-in-law that she should’ve instead poisoned or drowned her daughter than letting her marry me. They tried to instigate them saying that they should check their daughter’s body for marks of violence because surely I got drunk and beat her up every evening. My in-laws shot back that if anyone would get hit in the relationship, it would be Ranjeet,” he added.

Ranjeet and Aloka have a son and a daughter.

Credits: Hindustan Times