Bhagyashree says her fans must have cursed her husband for whisking her away: ‘Everyone used to abuse him, at that time only I loved him’

Bhagyashree, who shot to stardom with her debut film Maine Pyaar Kiya more than 30 years ago, has revealed that she had rejected director Sooraj Barjatya’s offer seven times but would feel sad whenever she made him go back. Despite the film’s success, the actor quit Bollywood to get married and have kids. The actor said her husband Himalaya Dassani was hated by her fans for whisking her away.

Talking about getting married and walking away from films at the height of stardom, Bhagyashree said she was barely 19 and “did not understand that people strive their entire life to achieve what God had blessed me with”.

Talking about husband, she told Times of India in an interview, “Poor man, he must have been cursed by all the fans who were upset that he had whisked me away from Bollywood. Everyone used to abuse him; I think at that time only I loved him (smiles). But both of us were young and in love with each other. I understand now that it’s easy to give in to jealousy and not want your girlfriend or wife to be the cynosure of all eyes.”

Bhagyashree also revealed that she had turned down the film but Sooraj Barjatya was persistent in convincing her. “I actually told Soorajji (Sooraj Barjatya) that I didn’t want to work in films, a fact he couldn’t understand. The subject was beautiful and I liked what he narrated to me. But, at the end of it, when he wanted to know if I would do the film, I told him that despite liking the script, I wouldn’t be able to take it up. He returned to me seven times, with changes in the script to please me, and each time I would come up with a new excuse. But on the eighth time, I couldn’t make one up and gave my nod to the film.”