Rajendra Kumar on Saira Banu in new book: 'We liked each other a lot'

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Mumbai: A new book reveals late Bollywood star Rajendra Kumar opening up on actress and Dilip Kumar's wife Saira Banu, saying that there "was some truth to the rumours about us" and that "Saira was a lovely girl and we liked each other a lot".

However, Kumar went on to say that "doesn't mean we had an illicit affair", according to the book "Jubilee Kumar: The Life And Times Of A Superstar" by Seema Sonik Alaimchand, published by Hachette India.

Rajendra Kumar further said that Saira's "mother too approved of me". He is recorded as saying that he often told both mother and daughter about how he prayed that Saira would find a worthy life partner. "And see, my wish came true; she married the legend of Indian films, Dilip Kumar," the book reveals Rajendra Kumar as having said.

Rajendra Kumar and Saira Banu acted together in superhit films such as "Jhuk Gaya Aasman" and "Aayi Milan Ki Bela". Saira's first release after her marriage to Dilip Kumar, incidentally, was Aman in 1967, also opposite Rajendra Kumar.

Rajendra Kumar was a Bollywood actor who started his career in 1950 and appeared in over 80 films, in a career spanning over four decades. His streak of consecutive superhits earned him the sobriquet of Jubilee Kumar. He was considered one of the most successful Bollywood stars of the 1960s. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri in 1969.