Bollywood’s first superstar, Rajesh Khanna, was adored by millions on screen, but at home, he was a big foodie carried himself like royalty too. Recently, his alleged partner Anita Advani opened up about the late actor’s unusual food habits and how he always demanded a royal spread, whether it was a feast of ‘chhole-bhaturas’ or just simple paranthas.
Rajesh Khanna treated dining like royalty
Speaking on the YouTube channel Reel Meets Real with Pooja Samant, Anita recalled how Khanna enjoyed good food and expected variety every day. “He had about 6-7 staff members and a cook was always there in the house. I would also cook for him sometimes. Like he really enjoyed ‘chhole’ so I learnt to make that with ‘bhaturas’. He really liked all of that. He enjoyed eating such dishes. He was quite a foodie,” she shared.
Superstar insisted on at least ten dishes
Anita revealed that the late superstar’s dining table always looked like a mini-buffet. “He wanted dosa every day. He wouldn’t like it if there were less than 10 items on the table. Me and the staff of the house wouldn’t understand what to do,” she remembered.
Paranthas always came in many flavours
His love for paranthas came with another twist. He did not settle for one type. “Like when he wanted paranthas, he would ask us to make one each of aloo, mooli, gobhi. He would take a bite from each of the paranthas,” Anita said.
All the food was shared with staff
With such large spreads daily, one might wonder if food went to waste. Anita explained that was not the case. “Even the staff would eat the same thing. The staff wouldn’t eat separately,” she clarified.
Rajesh Khanna showed humour at meals
Khanna was known for his charm and sense of humour, and it showed even during meals. If his table was not loaded with dishes, he would jokingly snap. “If you didn’t serve him food with so many options, he would ask ‘Hum refugee hain kya? Khana nahi dete (Are we refugees? That there’s no food’)’,” Anita revealed.
Rajesh Khanna’s personal life beyond screen
Rajesh Khanna married Dimple Kapadia in 1973, but within a decade the marriage ran into trouble. They chose to live separately without legally divorcing. Years later, Khanna reportedly began living with Anita Advani, and she stayed by his side until his demise in 2012 at the age of 69 after battling cancer.
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