By Monisha G Kumar Last Updated:
Bollywood has an array of actors, who are not only known for their amazing films but also for their tumultuous personal relationships. From the constant link-ups to their falling marriage, gossips and rumours about them keep hitting the headlines. In the world of glamour, it is very difficult to secure one’s personal relationship, without being linked to a co-actor. And Rajesh Khanna was one of those actors, who was linked to many leading ladies of Bollywood.
Born on December 29, 1942, as Jatin Khanna, Rajesh Khanna a.k.a, Kaka was the first superstar of Indian cinema. He had made his acting debut at the age of 24 with the film, Aakhri Khat, which was a disaster at the box office. It was in 1971, when his film, Haathi Mere Saathi had broken all the records and had become the highest-grossing Hindi film of the decade. After this, there was no looking back for him. With an unbroken record of 15 solo hits from 1969 to 1971, Rajesh Khanna is still the undisputed king of Bollywood. In 1973, Rajesh Khanna had gotten married to the gorgeous budding starlet of that era, Dimple Kapadia. But his affair with aspiring actress and model, Anju Mahendru is still one of the most talked-about gossips.
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Before meeting Dimple Kapadia, Rajesh Khanna was dating Anju Mahendru and the two were in a live-in relationship for seven years. After the two had parted ways, Kaka had met Dimple and was completely smitten by her beauty and had proposed to her. Dimple was a huge fan of Rajesh Khanna and didn’t think twice before accepting his proposal. Dimple was just 16, when she had gotten married to Rajesh, who was 15 years elder to her. Rumours have it that Rajesh had deliberately diverted his baraat to pass in front of his ex-girlfriend, Anju Mahendru's house. We have recently stumbled upon a rare picture of Dimple Kapadia clicked with Rajesh Khanna’s ex, Anju at a party. In the candid picture, where the two had looked away from each other, Dimple had looked gorgeous in a red saree whereas, Anju had donned a purple top and black pants.
Rajesh Khanna and Anju Mahendru were each other’s biggest support. Anju had been his pillar of strength and was a devoted girlfriend to him. On the other side, he too had reciprocated his love and care for her by lavishing his earning upon her. But their relationship couldn’t sail through because of their stark personalities. Rajesh Khanna was an orthodox and Anju was quite opposite to him. In an interview with Stardust, Anju had elaborated on the same, "He is a very orthodox man, yet somehow, is always attracted to ultra-modern girls. The confusion was a part of our relationship. If I wore a skirt, he'd snap, why don't you wear a sari? If I wore a sari, he'd say, why are you trying to project a Bhartiya nari look?"
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She had also revealed the reason behind their breakup and had stated, “Rajesh was becoming increasingly difficult to get along with. His recent flops had upset him mentally and he was moody, temperamental, irritable. All the time he was so tense... almost a nervous wreck.”
After a few years of his marriage to Dimple, Rajesh Khanna’s stardom had started fading away as his movies were not doing that well in the 70s and 80s. As a result, the superstar couldn’t handle the failure and it had affected his relationship with Dimple. Besides many attempts, Dimple couldn’t mend her failing marriage and as a result, she had left him in 1984 and had later admitted that marrying a superstar was a wrong decision. In an interview with India Today, she had stated, “The life and happiness in our house came to an end the day I and Rajesh got married.”
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What do you think about Dimple and Anju’s rare picture? Let us know.
NEXT READ: Rajesh Khanna And Anju Mahendru's Love Story: Didn't Speak To Each Other For 17 Years Post Break-Up