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Anita Advani claims that she secretly married Rajesh Khanna, met him even before his marriage to Dimple Kapadia: ‘He applied sindoor…’
Anita Advani revealed that one night, in a quiet ceremony at their home, Rajesh Khanna secretly married her, placing sindoor in her hair and telling her, “From today, you are my responsibility.”

Rajesh Khanna, India’s first true superstar, led a life marked by dramatic highs and lows, both professionally and personally. At the peak of his success, he married actor Dimple Kapadia in 1973, just months before her debut film Bobby released, the couple eventually separated in the 1980s. What remains relatively unknown to the public, however, is his long-standing and deeply personal relationship with actress Anita Advani. Now, in an interview with Meri Saheli, Anita revealed that she and Rajesh Khanna were not only in a relationship but had also married privately.
“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’ or something else. But it was already reported in the media that I was with him, so neither of us felt the need to go and publicly announce that we were married. We never felt that need.” She went on to recount how the private ceremony took place: “We had a small temple in our home. I had a mangal sutra made, gold with black beads. He made me wear it. Then he applied sindoor and said, ‘From today, you are my responsibility.’ That’s how our wedding happened one night, just like that.”
In the same conversation, Anita disclosed that her relationship with Rajesh began well before he met Dimple Kapadia: “Yes, I came into his life before Dimple Kapadia. But we didn’t get married at the time because I was so young. Eventually, I went back to Jaipur.” Despite the deep connection she shared with him, Anita revealed the pain of being excluded from his final rites. She claimed she was barred from attending Rajesh Khanna’s chautha (a prayer meeting held on the fourth day after death):
“They had bouncers stationed there to stop me from coming in, I learned this from friends. When I told them I planned to go, they warned me that I would not be allowed inside. Still, they said, ‘If anything happens, we’re here for you.’ But I was stunned and asked, ‘Why all this?’ Some of my staff and close friends encouraged me to go, even suggested I carry a camera and record what they do. But I thought, how can I do such a thing on such a solemn day? So I didn’t go. I held my own chautha for him alone at a temple.”
She broke down while sharing how deeply the incident affected her: “It would have been beneath my dignity to go there after everything. And frankly, it was beneath theirs to treat me that way, to call bouncers for me. One of my friends who did attend told me that they were blocking seats to ensure I wouldn’t have a place to sit. They even told one of our family lawyers to ‘handle me’ if I showed up. What does that even mean? I was shocked. I would never go to Kakaji’s chautha to create a scene. I would never even think of it. That’s why I didn’t go. And what happened there? It was all just a show. No one had any real feelings for him.”
Another controversial moment unfolded at the time of Rajesh Khanna’s funeral. Reports suggested that Anita attempted to climb into the vehicle carrying his body but was asked by family members to step down immediately. For nearly eight years, Anita Advani claimed she was in a live-in relationship with the superstar until his death in 2012. Describing herself as his “surrogate wife,” she said she managed his household, the famed Aashirwad bungalow, and cared for him during his declining health. She also observed rituals like Karva Chauth for him. Following superstar’s passing, Anita Advani filed a legal case against his family, seeking maintenance and formal recognition of her relationship with the late actor. He always remained married to Dimple, even after their separation, meaning that he couldn’t legally have married Anita.
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