India’s first superstar, Rajesh Khanna, and actress Anju Mahendru shared one of the most talked-about relationships in Bollywood history. They had a high-profile relationship lasting seven years in the late 1960s and early 1970s before breaking up due to Rajesh’s possessiveness and their clashing life goals. While Rajesh went on to marry Dimple Kapadia, his bond with Anju remained etched in time. Despite a bitter breakup that kept them apart for 17 years, fate brought Anju back into his life. She was by his side when he took his last breath in 2012.
The contradictions in their relationship
In a 1987 Screen magazine article featuring Rajesh Khanna alongside Dimple Kapadia, Anju Mahendru, and Tina Munim, Anju opened up about the complexities of her relationship with the superstar. She described Rajesh as an orthodox man who paradoxically fell for ultra-modern women. His expectations often clashed with her personality and lifestyle choices.Anju recalled, “I know it’s a contradiction, but then Rajesh Khanna is like that. Confusion was a part of our relationship. If I wore a skirt, he’d snap, why don’t you wear a saree? If I wore a saree, he’d wrinkle his nose and say, why are you trying to project a Bhartiya nari look?”
A woman unshaken by superstardom
Unlike many around him, Anju was never dazzled by Rajesh Khanna’s stardom. She remained blunt and outspoken, never shying away from expressing her opinions—even if it bruised his ego. Recalling their dynamic, she once said, “I was critical because that’s how I am. If he was bad, I always said so. Why should I have praised him just to keep him happy? There were plenty around to boost his ego. He has always been sensitive to criticism and I’ve always been very frank.”Rajesh Khanna and Anju Mahendru’s story may not have had a happy ending, but it remains one of Bollywood’s most intriguing chapters.
