When Anju Mahendroo Spoke About Her Relationship With Rajesh Khanna

Several love stories in the film industry never find a happy ending. One of these is the relationship between Rajesh Khanna and Anju Mahendroo. Anju was one of the popular choices for a lead actress in Bollywood in the late 70s. She started her career in modelling at the young age of 13. Famous poet Kaifi Azmi saw Anju and told Basu Bhattacharya about her. The actress went on to make her debut with Basu Bhattacharya’s 1966 flick Uski Kahani. After the film’s success, Anju Mahendroo worked on several other movies and advertisements but could not enjoy a lot of success.

This became the reason for Anju to become a supporting actor in several films rather than take on lead roles. After not being able to achieve great success in films, she turned to the TV industry where she enjoyed a lot of stardom. She appeared in important roles in several films and is still active in the industry. Apart from her career, Anju also made headlines because of her relationship with Rajesh Khanna. The couple were in a long-term relationship but could not make things work and separated later on.

Rajesh Khanna and Anju Mahendroo reportedly dated for almost seven years. While the Ardhana actor was at the peak of his career, Anju was still struggling to make a mark in the industry. Reportedly, Rajesh Khanna asked Anju Mahendroo to marry him and leave her dreams of becoming an actress behind. However, Anju was adamant and wanted to make an identity based on her acting skills. She refused to marry Rajesh.

Yasser Usman’s book Rajesh Khanna: The Untold Story of India’s First Superstar, has Anju Mahendroo talking about how Rajesh was exhilarated when he saw the effect he had on women and expected the same out of her. She revealed she could never bring herself to fawn upon the actor.

After parting ways with Anju Mahendroo, Rajesh Khanna found love with Dimple Kapadia and married the actress in 1973. The couple shared two daughters- Twinkle and Rinke Khanna.

Anju Mahendroo never married anyone after her relationship with Rajesh Khanna fell apart.