‘Women Held Tyres Of His Car’: Rajesh Khanna’s Stardom Was So Wild Paramilitary Forces Had To Step In
Rajesh Khanna’s fame was unlike anything India had ever seen, and even decades later, stories of his stardom continue to amaze. Former child actor Satyajeet Puri recently shared a vivid account of working with the legendary actor during the height of his career. Appearing on the Friday Talkies podcast, Puri recalled shooting a film directed by Shakti Samanta, whose works like Kati Patang, Amar Prem, and Aradhana had played a key role in shaping Khanna’s career. Puri described how Rajesh Khanna’s enormous popularity sometimes led to extraordinary situations, even on a film set. While filming in Pune, the actor arrived several hours late, much to the frustration of the director. “No one has seen or experienced fame quite like Rajesh Khanna, and I have witnessed that with my own eyes. For example, we were shooting in Pune, and his call time was 2 pm, and he didn’t show up. He had a very different relationship with the director, Shakti Samanta. So when he finally arrived at 8 pm, Shakti sir got mad and said, ‘Kya kaka, tu kya bada star ban gaya hai?’ (What is all this? Do you think you are a very big star now?),” Puri recalled. The reason for Khanna’s delay, however, was nothing short of extraordinary. The actor explained that the entire city had essentially come to a standstill because of his arrival. “Rajesh Khanna stopped him mid-sentence and said, ‘Ask my driver what happened.’ He told Samanta that he landed in Pune at 12:30, but somehow the public got to know of his arrival. From 12:30 to 7:30 in the evening, the entire city was jammed. He couldn’t move. Paramilitary forces had to come and rescue him. He told the director, ‘I’m lucky that I could reach at this hour, otherwise I wouldn’t have reached before 11,’” Puri said. Despite his towering fame, Khanna was known for his kindness and generosity on set. Puri shared how the superstar made him feel at ease during their first scene together. “No one will see this kind of fame ever again. I have seen women hold on to the tyre of his car and cry. They used to take the dust left behind from the car and apply it to their scalp in place of sindoor. I was nervous like hell when I shot with him for the first time, and I even forgot my first dialogue. He realised that I was nervous, so he stopped the shot, got the crew to write the dialogues around the set and told me, ‘Beta, mujhe bhi dialogue yaad nahi rehte’ (Son, even I don’t remember dialogues),” Puri remembered with a smile. Rajesh Khanna was a legendary Indian actor, film producer, and politician, widely regarded as the first Superstar of Hindi cinema. Known for his unparalleled charm and screen presence, Khanna earned acclaim as one of the most successful actors in Indian film history. Over his career, he won five Filmfare Awards and was posthumously honoured with the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award, in 2013. Khanna made his acting debut in 1966 with Aakhri Khat, which later became India’s first official entry to the Academy Awards in 1967. In 2005, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award on the 50th anniversary of the awards. Beyond cinema, he served as a Member of Parliament in the 10th Lok Sabha, representing New Delhi from 1992 to 1996 after winning the by-election as an Indian National Congress candidate. In March 1973, Khanna married actress Dimple Kapadia, eight months before her debut in the film Bobby. The couple had two daughters, Twinkle Khanna, a former actress married to actor Akshay Kumar, and Rinke Khanna, who also pursued acting. Rajesh Khanna passed away on 18 July 2012 after a period of illness.
