Saira Banu’s Reunion With Hema Malini Stirs Old Memories Again

Veteran actor Saira Banu welcomed Hema Malini to her Mumbai home after a long gap. She shared the moment on Instagram and looked back at their bond that began in the 1960s. As Saira put it, “Hema and I had been wishing to meet each other for a very long time… Not so long ago, she called me, and before I knew it, she was at my doorstep.”

They spent hours talking about the past. “We spent a beautiful few hours together, immersed in memories, reliving those golden days, and sharing laughter over stories that time can never erase,” Saira wrote. Saira first met Hema in 1966 on the sets of Deewana by Raj Kapoor, “I remember being instantly impressed by her lovely looks.” Soon, they were shooting at the Krishna Raj Sagar Dam. “Our rooms were adjoining, and in the evenings my mother, Hema, her mother and I would sit together in the large verandahs, exchanging beauty secrets. I reminded her how Amma would put lobaan in her hair for freshness and khushboo.”

She also recalled how she and Dilip Kumar introduced Hema to the press in Madras. “Dilip Sahab was so kind and gracious to be the main person to introduce her, and Hema was visibly touched by that memory.” Years later, Saira loved seeing Hema and Dharmendra dance together on TV. “The love and comfort between them was such a joy to watch.”

A Janmashtami story tied the memories together. “During that conversation with Hema, I told her another Janmashtami story… The picturisation of the Kanha song in Shagird happened to fall exactly on Janmashtami.” That night, at Filmistan Studios, Saira shared a playful message through Nazir Hussain for Dilip Kumar: “Please tell him that Saira is dying to work with him… and if he refuses, then ask him to marry me!”

Take a look at her post here:

Soon after, the joke turned real. “The next morning, he dutifully carried my playful message to Dilip Sahab… within days, he walked into my life, looked into my eyes, and asked my grandmother and mother for my hand in marriage.”

Saira and Dilip Kumar married in 1966 and stayed together for 55 years, until his passing in 2021. For Saira, the reunion with Hema brought back “friendships, cherished memories, and the love of my life.”

Also Read: Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu’s latest picture is a treat for their fans