Dimple Kapadia reveals details about her marriage with Rajesh Khanna and their separation

Dimple Kapadia got candid in an interview, where she revealed details of her marriage with superstar Rajesh Khanna and their separation. The actress got married six months before her debut film Bobby released in 1973. 

Bobby marked the debut of both Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia, and was a big hit. Even after five decades of its release, it remains one of the most talked about Bollywood movies. Kapadia was only 17 when she made her debut and instantly rose to fame. But it wasn’t just her role in Bobby that caught the headlines, her personal life did as well. 

It was reported that Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna met on the flight for the first time. After she signed Raj Kapoor’s film, she headed to Ahmedabad for an event. Recalling the incident at an event a couple of years ago, she said, “We were going to Ahmedabad on a private flight for a function. I was born dramatic. Bachpan se drama ka shauk bahut jyada tha. He sat next to me. I was looking at him. Rajesh Khanna, I mean come on guys, give me a break. I very chalaak-ly told him, ‘Wahan toh bohot crowd hoga, bheed hogi. Aap mera haath pakdoge na? (That place will be very crowded right? Will you hold my hand?)’ He said, ‘Haan bilkul (Yes, why not).’ I replied, ‘Hamesha ke liye? (Forever?)’ And the rest is history. It happened.”

Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna had two daughters, Twinkle Khanna and Rinke Khanna and broke off their marriage later in 1982. Dimple also commented on the reason behind them parting ways in an interview. She said, “I think we were two very different kinds of people. I was probably very young to understand what was happening to this man, who was a superstar. I have never been able to understand stars and their behaviour patterns at all because I am not one myself. I just couldn’t understand”

She also opened up about how instrumental Bobby was in shaping her career. She commented, “I see it as a lease of life. After 10 years, that’s the only film that took me where I was in life. Nobody would have given me work otherwise.”

She also shared an interesting fact about getting cast in Bobby. Dimple didn’t get Bobby in her first shot. Recalling the incident, she said, “I was in school and I read in the papers that he (Raj Kapoor) is looking for a new face. I said to my friends – that’s me. At that age, you can afford to be so confident. I was taken to the screen-test where I was promptly rejected because I looked older than Rishi Kapoor. But he gave me another screen test and I got the film. I kept trying real hard in certain scenes to bring real tears. He would build me up. I am yet to meet a director like him. He makes you feel that you are capable of doing it. He instilled that kind of confidence in you.”