Rajesh Khanna almost rejected Aradhana, Sharmila Tagore left shoot mid-way for Satyajit Ray’s film, recalls director’s son

Ashim shared, “Dad was supposed to make a film with Shammi Kapoor, but he had gained weight and asked for six months. At this time, my dad decided to make a new film. At that time, the United Producers had signed Rajesh Khanna. So my father decided to make a film with him. It was then when Sachin Bhowmik had narrated the story of Aradhna to my father. This was narrated to him about a decade ago, but the fact that he still remembered the story he assumed this is a good story. They finally decided to make this film.”

He further explained how Rajesh Khanna was finalised for the project: “Then my dad called Nasir Husain, at that time, he was making Baharon Ki Sapne. That film starred Rajesh Khanna, my dad requested Nasir if he could show one reel from the film. When he watched, he liked it, hence he signed him. When Rajesh Khanna heard this film, he said it was heroine oriented. ‘Main kya kraunga?’ My dad convinced him that it was a good film. ‘You do this, it will become a hit.’ He was not willing to do the film, but he did it because he was bound to do it by United Producer. If not, he wouldn’t have done it. But, he finally did. And it was a superhit.”

Ashim Samanta was among the few who witnessed Rajesh Khanna’s transformation from a newcomer to a star — almost overnight. The shift, he recalled, happened during the film’s premiere in Delhi.

He said:, “I remember Aradhna first released in Delhi, it released a week later in Mumbai. We had gone for the premiere of Aradhna in Delhi. Jagjeevan Ram was the finance minister and he was the chief guest. When the show began, Rajesh Khanna was a newcomer nobody was interested in–including the audience. It was a charity premiere. People were mostly interested in Sharmila and the songs.”

ALSO READ | Dhanush once described love as an ‘overrated emotion’; actor divorced after 20 years of marriage, continues to co-parent with ex-wife Aishwarya Rajinikanth

What followed left an indelible mark on Hindi cinema history. “However, by the time it was interval, they all became fans of him. And by the time, the film ended, Rajesh Khanna had already became a star. Suddenly, the entire crowd was all over Rajesh Khanna and asking for his autographs,” he said.

In the same conversation, Ashim Samanta also recalled how the film nearly faced a setback due to Sharmila Tagore’s last-minute withdrawal from the shoot of Mere Sapno Ki Rani.

He revealed: “At the last minute, Sharmila Tagore cancelled the shoot of Mere Sapno Ki Rani, claiming she was called by Satyajit Ray. She said she can’t say no to him and dad got really angry with her. But couldn’t do anything about it. Hence, he just used Rajesh Khanna and Shoojit Kumar to make the entire song. Later, they made a compartment set outdoors and shot Sharmila’s close ups.”

Sharmila Tagore later shared her perspective on the situation while speaking to The Hollywood Reporter. She said: “He said, ‘Will you work in my film? I need you for one month… in month of May’. Without thinking I said yes. Then when I put the phone down, I said, ‘Oh God, I am committed to Shakti Samanta because he was doing Meri Sapno Ki Rani that exact May.’”

She further explained the logistical challenge: “Rajesh Khanna was very busy because he had won a talent contest and was indebted to 12 producers. So he had to give dates to everybody and they were all making a film. His dates were very precious. I said, ‘Shakti ji, I just have to do this film. Somehow I negotiated and managed to come to Satyajit Ray and then went back to the other film.”