Veteran actor and politician Shatrughan Sinha once opened up about a painful phase in his friendship with the late Rajesh Khanna, revealing how the superstar stopped speaking to him for years after they contested the Delhi election against each other. In an old interview with The Times of India, Shatrughan spoke candidly about the fallout, the misunderstanding, and his regret at not being able to meet Rajesh Khanna before his death.
‘Mere khilaaf tum kaise khade ho gaye?’
Recalling the episode, Shatrughan said that Rajesh Khanna found it difficult to accept that he was pitted against him in the elections.“We fought against each other in a Delhi election for which he couldn’t forgive me for many days. He thought, ‘Mere khilaaf tum kaise khade ho gaye?’ (How could you contest against me?)” Shatrughan said.He clarified that the decision was political, not personal.“I told him, ‘I am not contesting against you. It’s the political party that decides who contests from where.’ LK Advani had won by a huge margin, and Rajesh Khanna had also won from Gandhinagar with a margin of over one lakh votes. He had to let go of one seat, so Delhi was given up,” he explained.Shatrughan added that Rajesh Khanna narrowly lost the election by just 2,000–3,000 votes and later contested again when the seat fell vacant — only to find Shatrughan once again standing against him.
‘After the election, he stopped talking to me’
Despite their long-standing friendship, the political rivalry left deep scars.“We were very good friends. After the election, he stopped talking to me. I tried to sort things out. I even said sorry to him after a few years,” Shatrughan recalled.He also spoke emotionally about wanting to meet Rajesh Khanna during their hospitalisation years later.“When I was in the hospital a few years later, Rajesh Khanna was also hospitalised. I used to often tell my daughter Sonakshi that when I get discharged, I’ll go straight to meet him,” he said.However, fate had other plans.“But I couldn’t meet him. One day, Sonakshi told me that Rajesh Khanna uncle is no more. I had apologised to him way before that,” he added. Shatrughan Sinha and Rajesh Khanna shared screen space in several films, including Muqabla (1979), Dushman Dost, Naseeb (1981), Dil-e-Nadaan (1982), Maqsad (1984) and Aaj Kaa M.L.A Ram Avtar (1984). Despite political differences, their cinematic legacy together remains a cherished chapter in Hindi cinema history.
