In the starry life of Indian show business, romance tends to play out in public view, drenched with glamour, rumor, and sometimes, tears. Occasionally, though, a celebrity throws open their doors not for publicity but to narrate a very private page from their life. That’s exactly what actress Kunickaa Sadanand did when she candidly spoke about her six-year-long relationship with celebrated playback singer Kumar Sanu.
Currently seen on Bigg Boss 19, Kunickaa didn’t shy away from talking about a past that many would have preferred to leave behind. In a heartfelt conversation with host Siddharth Kannan, she laid bare a relationship that was as emotional as it was complex.
A Chance Meeting in Ooty
Their story, according to Kunickaa, began quite unexpectedly in Ooty. She was there on a work assignment, while Sanu was vacationing with his sister and nephew. One dinner changed everything. She recalled how he had a little too much to drink and broke down in front of her.
“He was crying and wanted to jump out of the hotel window. He was deeply depressed,” she said, her voice carrying both pain and empathy. “We had to physically hold him down. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. That night shifted the dynamics between us.”
To Kunickaa, it had created a strong emotional bond. It was not attraction; it was waiting there for someone who was evidently in pain.
From Neighbors to Partners
After that emotional evening, their relationship grew stronger. Sanu moved into a flat close to hers, and the relationship gradually blossomed.
“We started exchanging food. I helped him lose weight, took care of his wardrobe, and was deeply involved in his life. It felt like a real partnership,” Kunickaa shared.
They kept the relationship private out of respect for his then-wife and children. But behind closed doors, they lived what Kunickaa describes as a married life. She even compared their story to the mythical relationship of Shakuntala and Dushyant, a bond strong in spirit, even if not socially recognized.
“I considered him my husband. He treated me like his wife. We didn’t need a paper to tell us what we felt.”
The Other Side of the Story
But, as with many love stories that begin in the shadows, reality eventually came calling. When Rita Bhattacharya, Kumar Sanu’s wife at the time, discovered the relationship, things got heated and very public.
Kunickaa didn’t hold back while recounting one particularly traumatic incident:
“His wife smashed my car with a hockey stick. “She would stand outside my home and scream,” she revealed. “But I understood her pain. She didn’t want him back; she just wanted financial support for her children. And she wasn’t wrong.”
This wasn’t just jealousy or anger; Kunickaa believes it was a mother’s frustration, a woman trying to ensure her children’s future amidst a broken marriage.
The public drama, emotional strain, and unresolved tensions eventually led to their separation. But Kunickaa remains firm in how she viewed the relationship: not as a fleeting affair, but as a chapter of real love, partnership, and emotional labor.
“He Was My Family”
Throughout the six years, Kunickaa played the role of much more than just a partner. She became his emotional anchor, his stylist, and his confidante. She handled his wardrobe for performances, helped him with fitness, and tried to bring balance to his chaotic personal life, all while keeping her own emotions in check.
“I was like a wife to him. I did everything a partner does. But in the end, I discovered things about him that broke my heart.”
Though she didn’t elaborate on what those discoveries were, the heartbreak in her voice said more than words ever could.
A Cautionary Tale Wrapped in Empathy
Kunickaa’s story is not one of scandal; it’s a story of emotional courage, of a woman who stepped into a complicated relationship and gave it everything she had. It’s about love that wasn’t black and white, about intentions that were honest but caught in the messy grey areas of real life.
What’s refreshing is her lack of bitterness. She does not demonize Sanu or his wife. She just speaks her truth, unvarnished and unadulterated, acknowledging the suffering of all parties concerned.
Final Thoughts
In a time when everything is generally measured by how it begins or ends, Kunickaa’s tale reminds us that what occurs in between is as real as real.
As the audience watches Bigg Boss 19, they get the opportunity to reunite with Kunickaa yet again on the show, and this phase of her life is a sad reminder that under all the tinsel, stars are as emotionally vulnerable as the rest of us.