Gary ki prem kahani

Garfield Sobers’ romance with actress Anju Mahendru remains one of the most interesting love stories between cricket and Bollywood

Their relationship made headlines after Sobers reportedly proposed to Anju with a ring at a Mumbai party, creating a nationwide buzz long before the era of social media

Kabir Singh Bhandari

Last week, when Garfield Sobers, the ‘greatest all-rounder of all time’, died aged 89, I remembered the first time I had heard his name. I must have been six years old and was probably talking about Sachin Tendulkar when my grandfather told me about the talents of Sobers. A few days back, while talking to my father about him, he mentioned two other aspects of Sobers that I didn’t know about: the legend’s relationship with actress Anju Mahendru and his appearance in a Bollywood film. What was interesting about this was that the only West Indies-India Bollywood-cricket romantic connection the current generation is mildly aware of is Neena Gupta-Viv Richards.

In competition with Rajesh Khanna

During the same time, Mahendru was in an on-off relationship with Bollywood’s future superstar, Rajesh Khanna, and allegedly, after the proposal from Sobers, there had been an argument with Khanna. However, due to the logistical issues of the long-distance relationship, the Sobers-Mahendru relationship didn’t last long.

Mahendru reportedly went back to Khanna and called Sobers to call off their engagement. It was, however, an amicable split, and Sobers reportedly later wrote a letter to Mahendru asking for her permission before marrying his Australian girlfriend, Prudence Kirby, in 1969. They separated in 1984 and divorced in 1990. They had two sons and a daughter.

A whirlwind romance

It was during the 1966-1967 West Indies cricket tour of India that the then captain of their team, Sobers, met Mahendru at a party. It is said that the two bonded over their love for dancing and sharp humour. Love blossomed during the two-month tour, and then came a public proposal. Sobers reportedly put a ring on Mahendru’s finger at a Mumbai party, which sent the newspapers and magazines of that time into a tizzy. It was the talk of the town, without the intervention of the paps and Insta Reels, which are commonplace now.

Enter, Raj Kapoor

Sobers also made a brief, uncredited cameo appearance in the 1967 film Around the World, which starred Raj Kapoor and also featured a cameo by his fellow West Indies cricketer, Sir Frank Worrell. The story is about 

Raj, a youngster who sets out to travel the world with his multi-millionaire uncle. However, he gets stranded in Tokyo with only eight American dollars. The movie revolves around how he survives and travels around the world, while also finding love along the way.