Prem Chopra says Rajesh Khanna was ‘frustrated, could not adjust’ after losing stardom: ‘He was a misunderstood man, had his own problems’

By “adjustment”, Chopra meant that Khanna could not fit into the character roles that he was offered. Amitabh Bachchan, on the other hand, he said, “accepted all those character roles, where he was not playing the hero of the picture.” Khanna, he said, was “reluctant to do it” and “could not change his style.”

“He was a great actor, he could have managed it but after his superstardom went down, he got very frustrated. Adjustment is very important in film industry,” he said.

Prem Chopra recalled another anecdote from his earlier years and said that it was Manoj Kumar’s Upkar which was his “turning point” in the movies but he landed that role at the last minute as Rajesh Khanna walked away from the film just one day before the shoot. “The first choice was Rajesh Khanna. His dresses were made, he was going to shoot the next day. The set was ready,” he recalled. The problem arose when Khanna was told by the panel of producers who had selected him that if he did a supporting role in Upkar, they wouldn’t hire him as the lead hero in later films. “He was very perplexed. He came to Manoj and said that this what is happening. Manoj was very upset also,” he recalled.

Upkar established Prem Chopra as the go-to villain in the movies and for years after that, he continued to do negative roles in movies.