Raju Shresthapopularly known as Master Raju, shared other anecdotes Rajesh Khannalegendary ego, this time with the participation of his son-in-law, an actor Akshay Kumar. Recalling the Khanna house incident, Raju said the late superstar maintained his rigid sense of hierarchy even in family circles.
Khanna’s reaction when Akshay came to meet him
Talking about what he heard, Raju told how once Akshay Kumar visited Rajesh Khanna at his residence. According to him, Khanna decided not to go down to meet the actor. Raju told Siddharth Kannan, “I heard another incident about him when Akshay Kumar went to his house to meet him and Rajesh Khanna was sitting upstairs in some room and someone informed him that Akshay Kumar had come to meet him. His reaction was, ‘Main uska sasur hoon, woh aayega mere paas, main kyun jaoon (I am his father-in-law, he will come to him) me, why should I go?)’Akshay Kumar married the daughter of Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia,
Twinkle Khanna
in 2001.
“He worked with me when I was a child, but he still doesn’t recognize me”
Raju also recalled how Khanna had the same attitude at work, even with people he had previously worked with. Sharing his own experience, he said, “Rajesh Khanna was working in the show and I was in the directing team of that show, so I used to meet him regularly in his office. However, he refused to recognize me. After a year of working with him, he once called me by my name.”This moment left Raja stunned. “I was surprised that he knew my name and when I asked the director about it, he confirmed that the veteran actor recognizes me and he also often talks about me and how he worked with me when I was a child, but Rajesh Khanna never showed me that.”
Raju added that Khanna’s behavior stems from a belief system based on fame and authority. “He had this attitude. I don’t know why, but he might think that why should I speak well to this person or why should I show him respect?”
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Producers took him from home, film sets were waiting for his arrival
Sharing another example of Khanna’s star tantrum, Raju talked about the actor’s behavior on the sets during the shooting of Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein. “During the shooting of Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein at China Creek, this area was outside Bombay at that time and had only one dirt road to reach it. All the actors, including
Hema Malini
and I will arrive in the morning.”He added that Rajesh Khanna will come only if the producer personally brings him. “Rajesh Khanna was the lead actor in the film, so the producer would go to his house to pick him up. We would sit and wait for him.”
“By the speed of the car, we knew if it was going”
Raju said that the crew could predict whether the shooting would take place based on the speed of the producer’s car. “Also, we got to know if Rajesh Khanna is going to the set by the speed of the car. If the speed is high, it means Rajesh Khanna is driving behind and if the speed is slow, it means Khanna is not coming today and the producer is bringing bad news and he is going to announce that they are going.”
