Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia never got divorced officially, but they were living separately for many years. They hardly stayed together for a few years after their marriage and had two daughters. Dimple had said in an interview that she realised this marriage won’t last, the moment she entered his house. Meanwhile, in the later years of his life, just before Khanna passed away, he was allegedly in a relationship with Anita Advani. In an interview with 2013, Advani had spoken about how he was not an easy man to live with, however, it was her choice to be with him and she was okay with the repercussions.
In an old interview with 2013, Anita had revealed, “Anything could upset him. It was like he had to get angry; the reasons were never important or logical. It was really difficult. When he was drunk, he would even hurt me sometimes. But when he was not drunk he was the best person to be around.”
She had said, “He was my choice. I didn’t regret it. The bad time was from 6:30 pm when he started drinking, till dinner time. He would go to sleep at 9 or 9:30.”
She further added that one couldn’t argue with him after he was drunk. “He was a difficult man to live with. After a drink or two, he could be rude. You had to really know his moves and manage him. I learnt to deal with him. Earlier I would fight and argue with him. But he made me understand. He told me ‘Even if I am wrong, just keep quiet’.”
Anita also revealed more about their memories together and what he would do. “Around 3 in the morning, he would wake up and be in such a good mood. He would laugh and talk and smoke. I told him whatever it was I wanted and at that time he would listen and talk. We would go out for drive at 3 am — to Juhu, or into town. After returning he would go back to sleep and get up at 7:30 for his cup of tea and get me my cup of tea too every morning.”
In another interview, Anita had said that while they never got married, their relationship was legitimate as he gave her ‘kada’ in front of Balaji.
