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Gita Kapoor made her first appearance 18 February 1993. She is portrayed by Shobu Kapoor.

Storylines[]

1993-1998: Time in Walford[]

A heavily pregnant Gita arrives in Albert Square in February 1993, shortly after her husband Sanjay Kapoor. Sanjay's parents had left him a clothing business when they moved to India but he proved himself to be a poor businessman and after some bad monetary investments, his business went bankrupt. Gita has been forced to live with her sister Meena Mackenzie whilst Sanjay desperately tries to find them a place to live. Sanjay, a compulsive gambler, gambles away the deposit for a flat they intended to buy, so Gita is forced to move in with Sanjay's friend Richard Cole, the Bridge Street market inspector. After more gambling, Sanjay finally managed to secure the funds for a flat at 43B Albert Square. That same day, Gita goes into labour and Sanjay is nowhere to be found. She gives birth to a daughter, Sharmilla Kapoor, with Richard holding her hand through the ordeal.

Gita finds parenthood quite stressful at first. Sanjay is no help whatsoever so her snooty sister Meena decides to come stay with the Kapoors for a while, under the pretence she is there to help. Actually, she has fallen out with her husband Jerry McKenzie and she needs somewhere to stay. Meena is a snob - she has married into money and deems herself better than Gita in every way. Meena and Sanjay have never gotten along and she always causes problems whenever she is around. Gita suffers from post-natal depression and starts to think Sanjay is having an affair. To add to her stress, Gita and Meena's mother dies in 1993. After seeing him and Michelle Fowler liaising together, Gita begins to think that she is the other woman. Furious, Gita confronts Michelle in the Queen Victoria public house, but Meena rushes to Sanjay's defence and eventually convinces Gita that Sanjay is not capable of committing adultery. Feeling embarrassed by her outburst, Gita decides she needs a break from Walford, so at the end of the year she leaves Sharmilla in Sanjay's care and goes to stay with a relative.

In January 1994, Gita arrives home early from her break. As she creeps into her flat, she is shocked to find Sanjay and Meena sleeping naked in her bed. Gita suddenly realises that Meena is the other woman. Gita disowns her sister and throws Sanjay out. She then sets about trying to get revenge by refusing Sanjay access to both the market stall and Sharmilla and informs Jerry about the affair. A furious Jerry confronts Sanjay and he admits that the affair has been going on for months - at least 3 or 4 nights a week. Furious, Gita then decides to leave Walford with Sharmilla, without telling Sanjay where she is going. The only person she has told is her best friend Cindy Beale. She then gets a job in an office but keeps wanting to leave early to pick up Sharmilla from nursery. Her boss asks her to train a woman. Gita is unaware that this new woman is to take her place. Her boss sacks her, saying he needs someone who is totally committed to the job. Gita is angry and says her boss has given her a ticket straight back to Albert Square.

Months later, when she has run out of money, she returns to Albert Square and forces Sanjay out of their flat again. She and Sanjay share the stall work and care of Sharmilla, which makes Sanjay think he and Gita will reunite soon. However, Gita remains wary, and with Meena still visiting Gita in an effort to reconcile with her, a reconciliation does not materialise. Later that year, she becomes the target of racist attacks and so she begrudgingly begins to lean on Sanjay for assistance. Eventually he catches a bunch of yobs in the act and is just shoving one to the ground when a police car pulls up and Sanjay is arrested. He is released with a caution and Sanjay and Gita reconcile on Christmas Day and spend the night together. Gita is quick to remind Sanjay that their night of passion was just about sex, but during 1995 they continue to meet regularly for sex. Eventually Gita agrees to give their marriage another try and let him move back in.

In September 1995, Sanjay is forced to return to India to tend to his dying grandfather. This leaves Gita to run the stall as she sees fit. She is soon approached by smooth talking businessman, Guppy Sharma, and after many dinner dates (allegedly to discuss business), Gita becomes close to him. However it is revealed that Meena has split from Jerry and Guppy is her new fiancé. Gita then wants nothing more to do with Guppy but upon Sanjay's return he is persuaded to invest in one of Guppy's dodgy deals. However, Guppy is a conman and after Sanjay gives him the money, he disappears, leaving to face huge debts.

In 1996, Sanjay and Gita decide to try for another baby. When Gita fails to conceive, they consult doctors and Sanjay is diagnosed with a low sperm count. Sanjay was devastated by this news as he feels it compromises his masculinity. Gita assures him that it did not matter and that she would always love him. Sanjay's mother, Neelam Kapoor, comes over from India to live with them later that year. Gita and Neelam regularly clash and Neelam often makes it clear that Gita is not good enough for her son. After much sniping, Gita can finally take no more and in October 1997, she announces she is taking Sharmilla away to visit her sister for a while.

In January 1998, Gita and Sharmilla are due to arrive home, but Sanjay is late to meet them at the train station. When he finally arrives, they are nowhere to be seen. Sanjay had planned to collect them from the station, but after getting involved in yet another dodgy business deal, he was late for their rendezvous. When he arrived, Gita was nowhere to be seen. When there is still no sign of them days later, Sanjay is forced to contact the police. Months pass but there is still no word from Gita and coincidental evidence leads the police to think that Sanjay may have been responsible for her disappearance. He is even arrested and accused of her murder, although he is later released without charge. Everyone comes to assume that Gita and Sharmilla are dead.

In July 1988, Gita contacts her friend, Ruth Fowler, and tells her that she is living in Birmingham and is in desperate need of some money. She makes Ruth promise not to tell Sanjay, but he finds out, and he goes to Birmingham with Ruth and Mark Fowler to track her down. After much digging, they trace Gita to a hospital and are shocked to discover Gita with a new-born baby boy. She divulges that she had become pregnant after a one-night stand and, instead of returning to face Sanjay, she had run away. The father had since abandoned her and now she is all alone. Sanjay is furious but, after much soul-searching, he decides that he can be a loving father to her new child, Arjun Kapoor, and he eventually decides to give their relationship another go. The family are happy for a short while, until the local reporter, Polly Becker, discovers their recent scandal. After secretly taping confessions from Sanjay and Ruth, she gets their shocking story published in the Walford Gazette. Suddenly all of Walford know what had transpired in Gita's absence. From then on, Sanjay and Gita are hounded by reporters and Sharmilla is bullied at school. The Kapoors decide that their only option is to leave Walford forever. Their last appearance is in September 1998.

Fight count[]

Slaps[]

  1. Sanjay Kapoor (6 January 1994)
  2. Richard Cole (13 January 1994)

Total: 2

Individual characters slapped: 2

Total slaps: 2

Gallery[]

See also[]

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