Rajesh Khanna ‘humiliated’ Sanjeev Kumar, walked in holding Hema Malini’s hand: ‘Sanjeev took this insult to heart’

Sanjeev Kumar was humiliated and hurt when Rajesh Khanna walked into a function with Hema Malini. Later, Jaya Bachchan was shocked to find out what he underwent.

Sanjeev Kumar felt humiliated by Rajesh Khanna.

Rajesh Khanna and Sanjeev Kumar were professional rivals and the rivalry somehow found a place in their personal lives as well. In the early 1970s, when Sanjeev and Hema Malini’s families were discussing the prospect of their marriage, the couple was going through tough times as the two sides could not come to a consensus. Sanjeev’s mother had put her foot down that she did not want a daughter-in-law who worked in films, and Hema’s mother was certain that her daughter would not throw everything that she had built for herself for a man. At this point, Rajesh Khanna entered the picture and pulled a stunt that “humiliated and hurt” Sanjeev.

In the book ‘An Actor’s Actor; The Authorised Biography of Sanjeev Kumar’, written by Hanif Zaveri and Sumant Batra, the authors recap the episode when Rajesh Khanna tried to deepen the wedge between Sanjeev and Hema. At a social function, Sanjeev was called with Hema, and Rajesh was called with Sharmila Tagore, as they were shooting for their film together. Sanjeev and Hema’s relationship was hanging by a thread so they, presumably did not discuss the event. Rajesh was fully aware of Sanjeev’s attendance, but Sanjeev didn’t know that Kaka, as Khanna was fondly called, would be there.

Sanjeev reached the venue before time and sat on his designated place. After the while, there was a commotion in the hall as Rajesh walked in holding hands with Hema. This, left him “humiliated. “Sanjeev was humiliated and hurt. Hema was equally shocked to see him. She had merely accompanied Rajesh Khanna at his insistence and did not know of the animosity that existed between the two. Although she could gauge to some extent the damage she had unwittingly inflicted, she did not dare confront Rajesh Khanna. Sanjeev Kumar stepped down from the stage and joined the audience in a different row, far away from them. None of them spoke to each other during the show,” the book shared.

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Sanjeev and Hema’s relationship was going through rough times as it is and watching Rajesh make a grand entry with Hema proved to be near-fatal for their relationship. “Sanjeev’s friends tried to explain to him that Rajesh Khanna had done it on purpose to humiliate him and that Hema was innocent. But Sanjeev took this insult to heart,” the book shared. Sanjeev just couldn’t get over this act, which he perceived as an insult and the next day, when he was shooting with Jaya Bachchan for Anamika, he managed to give his shots but his face was giving away his emotions when he wasn’t in character. “At last, during the lunch break, he told her what had happened. She was shocked,” shared the authors.

Sanjeev and Hema broke up shortly after this incident. Their troubles kept increasing as none of the two were willing to go against their mothers’ wishes but the Rajesh Khanna incident added fuel to fire.

Hema eventually married Dharmendra in 1980.

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