After the death of industrialist Sunjay Kapur, whose estate is reportedly worth Rs 30,000 crore, a legal battle has erupted between his third wife, Priya Sachdev Kapur, and his children with actress Karisma Kapoor. Amid the inheritance dispute, Sunjay’s sister, Mandira Kapur Smith, has now spoken out candidly, revealing that the entire family had long opposed his relationship with Priya.In an interview with Vicky Lalwani, Mandira recalled, “I had known about them (Priya and Sunjay) since they met on that flight, and I wasn’t happy about it. Lolo and Sanjay were in a good place. Kian was born. My brother was obsessed with his kids. For another woman not to care about a woman who’s just had a child is in bad taste. You don’t destroy a marriage. And Lolo did not deserve that.”She further added, “To come and disrupt a family is in bad taste. And I will leave it there. I think the world knows what I’m saying. You don’t break up a happy marriage. Not even a happy marriage, you don’t break up a marriage that is trying to work on keeping a family together. When you’ve got a child, you’ve just had another child, you step aside and say, ‘You know what?’ Or you encourage the man to go back and make it work. You don’t destroy a marriage. And Lolo did not deserve that. Lolo was also working very hard to make this marriage work. She did not deserve what came to her.”
Family’s disapproval was clear
Mandira revealed that the Kapur family, including their late father, never supported Sunjay’s relationship with Priya. “He kind of convinced me that, you know, this was the one for him, and she was this way and she was that way. And I had a trip with my mother, my father, my sister, my brother-in-law in Goa. And Dad was totally against Priya. He said, ‘He can never marry her. I don’t ever want to see her face. And they can’t have children.’ Nobody in this family stood by them getting married. Lolo had the children, she had everything. They should have made it work. She should have been allowed to have her husband.”She added that neither she nor her sister attended the wedding in New York in 2017. “I was very clear that my father was against this, and I wasn’t going to stand by it. My mother had to go because she was living with my brother, but we made it clear we could not support this, because the only thing Dad said to him was: ‘Do not get married and do not have kids.’”
Regrets and reflection
Speaking about her relationship with Karisma during that difficult period, Mandira expressed regret for not taking a stronger stand. “We weren’t actually talking in that time frame… because I think she was obviously upset with me as well. And I don’t blame her. I think it was horrible, what happened with the family entirely. I feel bad because she was my best friend. I wish I’d taken more of a stand for her, because she was my best friend, and I should have stood up for her. I should have. I don’t know what I could have done differently, honestly.”Karisma Kapoor and Sunjay Kapur married in 2003, welcoming two children, Samaira (2005) and Kiaan (2011). Their marriage ended in divorce in 2016 after a prolonged legal battle. Sunjay married Priya Sachdev the following year, remaining with her until his death in June 2025.
