Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia got married in 1973 but separated almost a decade later. (Photo: Express Archives)Rajesh Khanna’s superstardom in the late 1960s was unmatched. No one before him, or even since his streak of successful films, has ever managed to deliver 15 hit films at the box office. And it was at the peak of his career that Kaka, as he was fondly known, decided to get married to a then 16-year-old Dimple Kapadia. Dimple was still filming for her debut film Bobby at the time and after wrapping up the Raj Kapoor film, she quit the movie business for matrimony. Though she returned years later, the circumstances were different as she and Kaka were separated by then.
The Luck By Chance actor has spoken about her marriage on many occasions and in an old chat with Khalid Mohamed, Dimple had said that Rajesh Khanna was a “misunderstood” man. “Kaka (Rajesh Khanna) has been consistently misunderstood. He’s a wonderful guy. I was far too young and impetuous when we married. We may have separated, but I still have tremendous regard and love for him. So don’t you dare try to extract any nasty statements from me. Kaka’s superstardom had to be experienced to be believed,” she said.
Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia with their daughter Twinkle Khanna. (Photo: Express Archives) In another chat with Khalid, Dimple had spoken about her decision to get married to Kaka, who was almost twice her age at the time. She had explained that like thousands of other women across the country, she too, was in awe of him. “I used to like Kaka (Rajesh Khanna), his movies and his romantic image was overpowering. I believe in romance, and that’s a major problem with me. I don’t function at a normal level, I see too much into things even when they are not there. I get carried away,” she said.
Dimple had shared that her father’s acceptance of her relationship with Rajesh Khanna meant the world to her. She said, “I was thrilled to bits, my father had finally accepted me with a guy – with Kaka. He had never approved of any of my boyfriends earlier. I would see them secretly. Kaka was a one-way ticket to freedom.”
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Although she admitted that she had second thoughts about getting married at an early age, she still went ahead with it. She shared, “I felt the entire courtship wasn’t happening to me, it was happening to another girl. I did have second thoughts though about rushing into marriage. But I had a fight with my boyfriend just a few days ago. It was my way of hitting back at him. I was even willing to call off the marriage if he had phoned me. He didn’t. I couldn’t backtrack from the marriage. It was unreal, I felt like a queen.”
Dimple had narrated the incident of her first meeting with Rajesh at a FICCI event a few years ago. “We were going to Ahmedabad on a private flight for a function. I was born dramatic. Bachpan se drama ka shauk bohot jyada tha (I was very dramatic since childhood.) He sat next to me. I was looking at him. Rajesh Khanna, I mean come on guys, give me a break. I very chalaak-ly told him, ‘Wahan toh bohot crowd hoga, bheed hogi. Aap mera haath pakdoge na? (That place will be very crowded right? Will you hold my hand?)’. He said, ‘Haan bilkul (Yes, why not).’ I replied, ‘Hamesha ke liye? (Forever?)’ And the rest is history. It happened,” she remembered and burst into laughter.
Dimple and Rajesh shared two daughters – Twinkle Khanna and Rinke Khanna. Rajesh Khanna passed away in 2011 after a long battle with cancer.
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