- Rajesh Khanna once verbally abused actor Tej Sapru on a film set in Kashmir
- Khanna later apologised and spent a night with Sapru to make amends
- Tej Sapru described Rajesh Khanna as arrogant yet exceptionally generous
Rajesh Khanna remains one of Hindi cinema's most iconic stars, but his journey to superstardom also came with its share of controversies. Veteran actor Tej Sapru has now recalled an unexpected incident when the actor once abused him on a film set. Sapru also revealed that Khanna later apologised and made amends. He described Rajesh Khanna as a man of contradictions who could be arrogant at the height of his fame yet exceptionally generous.
Speaking on The Rediff Podcast, Tej Sapru said, “Rajesh Khanna had arrogance. It happens when you're at the peak of your career. More than you, it's often the people around you whose heads get turned. That happens. But at the same time, I have never seen a more generous man than him.”
The actor went on to recount an incident that took place when they were shooting for a film in Kashmir. “There was an incident when we were working together. I suddenly heard someone abusing me from behind. I turned around and saw that it was Kaka ji (Rajesh Khanna)," he said.
Without going into the details of what triggered the outburst, Sapru recalled that Rajesh Khanna was with one of the film's actresses when the incident occurred. He said the episode affected him deeply, particularly because he had always looked up to Khanna and held him in high regard as a senior actor.
“His first film was with my father D.K. Sapru. I have immense respect for him. Not just for him—for anyone senior to me or anyone who has worked with my father. Whether they are a bigger actor or a smaller one, I never sit on a chair until they are seated. Even after giving him so much respect, I don't know what happened that he abused me from behind. I was very upset," he added.
The following day, while the team was filming a chase sequence in the snow, Sapru was still upset about what had happened. He deliberately avoided greeting the actor. However, once the shot was over, Rajesh Khanna approached him and made an effort to resolve their differences.
Sapru explained, "He came up to me and said, ‘Hey, tall boy… forget it. I replied, 'Sir, you abused me without any reason. You were the one who had told me we were just having fun.' “He said, ‘It happened. Forget it. Come.' Then he asked me to come to his hotel with him.”
While Sapru was staying at another hotel, he accepted Rajesh Khanna's invitation after wrapping up the day's shoot. “I told him, ‘Sir, I'll come to your hotel. I'm staying somewhere else. I usually freshen up in the evening because I don't even have a proper washroom in my room.' From there, he took me along, and we spent the whole night eating and drinking together. He realised that what he had said was wrong," he said.
Reflecting on Rajesh Khanna's career, Sapru said he felt the actor's arrogance may have played a role in his decline. He compared the star with his contemporaries Dharmendra and Jeetendra, suggesting that their differing approaches to stardom may have influenced the trajectories of their careers.
“I think his downfall came earlier because of that arrogance, especially when compared to Dharam ji (Dharmendra) and Jeetu ji (Jeetendra). That's how I felt," he said.
After setting an unmatched record of 15 consecutive solo blockbusters between 1969 and 1972, Rajesh Khanna's career suffered an unprecedented and rapid decline starting in the late 1970s. The actor did films like Mehbooba, Bundal Baaz, Anurodh and Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein, which crashed at the box office.