Anita Advani makes shocking claim, says she secretly married Rajesh Khanna

Anita Advani, who shared a long association with late superstar Rajesh Khanna, has come forward with a new claim about their relationship. She says that she and Khanna were secretly married, something that was never spoken of publicly.

Khanna, whose career made him India’s first true film superstar, had already seen his personal life under constant spotlight because of his marriage and later separation from Dimple Kapadia. Advani’s latest words now bring a new twist to his story.

In a conversation with Meri Saheli, Advani said, “We got married privately, but in the film industry no one talks about such things openly. Everyone says ‘we’re friends’ or ‘we’re in a relationship.’ It was already reported in the media that I was with him, so neither of us felt the need to publicly announce that we were married.”

She explained that the rituals were simple and took place in their home. “We had a small temple in our house. I had a mangal sutra made, gold with black beads. He made me wear it, then applied sindoor and said, ‘From today, you are my responsibility.’” Despite this, doubts remain over whether the union could be legally recognised, as Khanna never divorced Dimple Kapadia.

Advani also shared that her bond with Khanna actually went back to the time before Kapadia entered his life. “Yes, I came into his life before Dimple Kapadia. But I didn’t marry him because I was very young then. Eventually, I went back to Jaipur,” she recalled.

When Khanna passed away in July 2012, Advani said the grief was made worse by being deliberately kept away from the funeral. According to her, security guards were placed to stop her. “They had bouncers stationed there to stop me from coming in, I learned this from friends. When I said I would go, I was warned that I would not be allowed inside.”

Though some of her close ones urged her to go anyway, she refused. “Some of my staff and friends encouraged me to go, even to carry a camera and record what they do. But how could I do that on such a solemn day? So I didn’t go. Instead, I held my own chautha for him at a temple,” she said.

Speaking about the treatment she received, Advani added, “It would have been beneath me to go there after everything. And frankly, it was beneath them to treat me that way, to call bouncers for me. I would never go to Kakaji’s chautha to create a scene. That’s why I didn’t go. What happened there was all just a show.”

Anita Advani herself had acted in films like Daasi (1981), Aao Pyaar Karen (1983), and Saazish (1988), before fading from the screen.

Rajesh Khanna, who died in Mumbai on July 18, 2012, after a prolonged illness, left behind his wife Dimple Kapadia and their daughters, Twinkle and Rinke Khanna.