Reference Auto

So, what was it that made Rajesh Khanna the extraordinary darling (and not just the darling of three hearts) in Indian films or India’s first superstar?

Unlike Amitabh Bachchan, who is the angry old man, and Dev Anand, the romantic hero, Rajesh Khanna was not a hero who vanquished his enemies but the charmer who made deep inroads into the common man’s heart (and also the hearts of at least three popular Bollywood ladies) like no other star or superstar.

He was not the messiah who would save the people from treachery but the “common man” star the common man connected with in the 1970s. So much so that women across the country saw their hearts bleed when he got married to Dimple Kapadia in 1973.

Rajesh Khanna may have been the common man’s darling but he really wasn’t the darling of many in Bollywood. Not many know that he was very erratic at work.

For instance, if he was supposed to report for work (shooting, that is) at 8 am, he would turn up at, say 3 pm, only to say sorry.

He would disrupt production schedules, make his co-star and other actors wait and often give directors sleepless nights for scaling up production costs due to his erratic ways.

Despite all this, he was the superstar.

Also, he was allegedly linked to two other ladies besides his wife Dimple. We know that his first girlfriend was Anju Mahendroo, who was earlier linked to the legendary Sir Gary Sobers.

Rajesh took Anju to be not only his girlfriend but also his “friend”. As per gossip, Rajesh would become infuriated when he found Anju not in her bungalow (which he gifted to her) when he came back from shooting (she was also the hippie types against Rajesh Khanna’s possessive character). He would call up Anju’s friends and remain awake until she came back to him.

Dimple, in the initial days, was star-struck by Rajesh. She was a great follower of his and mingled with people who only Rajesh had approved. But later, she is believed to have turned sour, had bouts of violent tempers and there is gossip that she used foul language against him often. That’s what soured their relationship but not their marriage.

Dimple remained his wife till the end. “He is the father of my children and this fact cannot be brushed away,” she had said.

Also, India’s first superstar had a roaring affair with Tina Munim. About her, Rajesh is believed to have said, “I married Dimple and Tina came as a healing touch whenever my relationship with Dimple turned bitter.”

Tina came as a balm after Rajesh’s relationships with Anju and Dimple didn’t work out and he was desperately looking for someone to fill the void. Tina had the glam quotient also and never hid her relationship with Rajesh. They were paired in a number of films like Alag Alag and Fifty Fifty, among others.

So, despite having a slew of affairs, Rajesh Khanna had remained the common man’s hero in the 1970s like no other actor and was surely the heartthrob of a million hearts (man, woman as well as child).