‘Arrogant’ Rajesh Khanna was annoyed I didn’t give him attention, Sharmila Tagore supported me: Farida Jalal was ‘disgusted’ by Kaka’s influence

Farida Jalal said that Rajesh Khanna was quite rude to her on the set of Aradhana, however, the two became friends after the shoot.

Farida Jalal played a significant role in Rajesh Khanna's Aradhana.

Veteran actor Farida Jalal and late actor Rajesh Khanna started their journey in the film industry at around the same time. The two were finalists on the same talent show, where they were declared joint winners and offered film roles. In a recent interview, Farida recalled working with Kaka, as he was fondly known, in the film Aradhana, which made him a massive superstar. The film was led by Rajesh and Sharmila Tagore, but Farida had a substantial part in it. Farida said that even before the film became a hit, Rajesh behaved arrogantly on set, which led to a few spats between the two.

“He became ‘The Rajesh Khanna’ after Aradhana. But on the set, he was already quite arrogant,” she shared with Bollywood Bubble. Farida said that she didn’t give him the star treatment on the set, which perhaps offended him a little bit. “I didn’t give him as much attention, so he got annoyed with me. I was in my own world. He was a little annoyed with that,” she said, while adding that he was actually quite impressive in the film.

She then recalled that Sharmila Tagore was quite protective of her on the set as she was a newcomer, and her support came in handy when she had a fight with Rajesh. “I would think this man is very proud, very arrogant. When I would ask for rehearsal, he would say ‘How many rehearsals?’ I was a newcomer. I felt very bad. I even said ‘How can you talk to me like that? I can ask for 10 rehearsals if I want’. We fought there, Sharmila ji intervened. She protected me, she would speak in my defence,” she recalled.

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Aradhana was a massive success; it ran in theatres for months. At the time, the cast of the film would get felicitated in every city where it had completed a 75-week run, and it was during this post-release tour that she and Kaka became friends.

Recalling the effect of his stardom, Farida said that she would see women falling down at his feet and it would actually “disgust” her. “I would see how people would go mad for him. Girls would fall at his feet. They would ask him to sign on their arm, face. I used to feel disgusted looking at that. He would proudly look at me and say ‘Dekha?’ I would think I worked with him but I don’t feel this way, what is wrong with them?” she said and added, “I have never seen this kind of stardom.”

Farida Jalal was recently seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi.

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