In the glitzy and glamorous world we often hear the picture-perfect tales of actors whose dazzling lives are idealised. But behind these fabricated masks is a story thats far from reality. One such tale is of a legendary superstar who redefined Indian cinema and his love story was considered straight out of a fairytale a perfect romance. However in reality their romantic partnership involved a third person who loved in silence and suffered in the shadows. The names in question are Dilip Kumar Saira Banu and Asma Rehman. Dilip Kumar tied the knot with Saira Banu when he was 44 and Saira was 22; they had a gap of 22 years and their marriage lasted for 16 years. During this time he was introduced to a Hyderabad-based woman by his sisters called Asma Rehman. Both of them met at a cricket match and this brief interaction was the start of their love story that ended up in their wedding. When Asma met Dilip she was already married and a mother of three. Dilip and Asma got married secretly and Saira Banu had no idea about this; she discovered it through the newspaper. At first she didnt believe it. Later when she got to know the truth she was devastated However their marriage didnt last long; it became a hot topic of discussion and a controversial part of both Dilips and Asmas lives. In his autobiography Dilip wrote that he regretted his decision to marry Asma; it was a mistake and he was manipulated into doing it. Bearing the consequences of marrying a superstar Asma was always under high scrutiny with no personal space. To escape this attention Asma had to move to Canada since she faced a “total lack of privacy there. Later in an interview Asma opened up about her decision of moving to Canada and emotional turmoil she faced after her divorce from Dilip Kumar “Even in India the media was after my life. I thought it would be more peaceful in Vancouver but it feels like I am not meant to have peace” she shared. Even after being miles away from Mumbai the constant shatter of her past relationship didnt stop. “There is a total lack of privacy no matter where I go” she said. She even stated that most of the facts stated in her name are false and hold no truth. “Ninety-five percent of what was written about me was fabricated” Though her name got somewhere lost over the years Asma Rehman remains an integral part of a forgotten but deeply human story a reminder that the coin of fame has two sides to it.