Veteran Indian actress Poonam Dhillon is currently undergoing a tough phase. She sparked major health concerns as details about her hospitalisation surfaced on August 22, 2026. The 64-year-old has been admitted to Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital after testing positive for dengue fever. She has been under medical care for several days, and recently shared that she is stable and recovering.
Poonam’s recent health scare led fans to revisit her controversial personal life, specifically and link-ups with high-profile entities like Yash Chopra. Here’s a look back at her life story.
Poonam Dhillon’s affair with a married director ended after he chose his family over her
Poonam Dhillon was a shining star on the big screen; however, behind the scenes, she fought silent battles. Beyond the glitz and glam of the Bollywood film industry, her real life was filled with difficulties. In the early 1980s, when Poonam was at the peak of her career, she met Indian filmmaker Raj Sippy on a movie set. At that time, the actress was in her early 20s, while Raj was around 34-35. The two of them bonded quickly despite their age gap of over ten years.
Soon sparks flew between Poonam and Raj, and they became a daily fixture of tabloids. The duo reportedly felt deeply for each other and then started their highly publicised romance. Their relationship faced intense public scrutiny because Raj Sippy was a married man at that time. Many slammed him and Poonam for their affair and showed their support for his wife, Meena Sippy.
Poonam and Raj tried to make things work, but their courtship period was marked by heavy emotional distress due to his marital status and commitments. Despite that, Poonam reportedly openly expressed her love for him and shared her desire to marry him. However, the backlash around their affair was too much to bear for both of them. When things got too overwhelming and Raj Sippy had to make a choice between his family and Poonam, he picked the former.
Raj was unwilling to leave his wife for Poonam, which proved to be the final straw in their relationship. Poonam then decided to part ways with him as she didn’t want to be the ‘other woman’ in his life. She chose her dignity over love and walked out of the relationship around 1988. However, the split left her heartbroken. Poonam went through a rough patch at that time as her father passed away shortly after her breakup with Raj.
That was when and emotional support in him and eventually got married to him. However, a few years into marriage, reports surfaced regarding him cheating on her. To get back at him, she reportedly got into an extramarital affair with a Hong Kong-based businessman named Kiku.
Poonam Dhillon’s other high-profile link-ups include one with Yash Chopra
Bollywood beauty Poonam Dhillon was a woman desired by many. She was frequently linked up with the people she worked with and even got entangled with a few. Among her most talked-about link-ups is one with Yash Chopra, the father of actor Uday Chopra and Yash Raj Films chairperson Aditya Chopra. Notably, the dating rumour between Yash and Poonam was purely based on online gossip. She even reportedly quashed the speculations herself by calling it disrespectful.
As for Poonam Dhillon’s current life, she has slowed down her movie career, however, she is quite active in social work, including drug awareness, organ donation, family planning, and many others. In 2014, she launched an event management and film production company. Poonam also appears in films and television. In 2004, the actress joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and was appointed Vice President of the Mumbai unit of the party in 2019. As per multiple reports, Poonam Dhillon’s net worth is estimated to be around Rs 22 crores!