Anita Advani opens up about challenges she faced after Rajesh Khanna’s death: ‘Dignified life jeena chahti hoon’

In a new interview, Anita Advani opened up about her life with late actor Rajesh Khanna, her legal battle and the challenges she has faced after his death.

Actor Anita Advani, long believed to have shared a close relationship with the late superstar Rajesh Khanna, has once again opened up about her equation with him. She stressed that her battle since his death has never been about financial gain but about preserving her dignity and self-respect.

Anita Advani was rumoured to be romantically involved with the legendary actor Rajesh Khanna.

Anita Advani speaks up

In an interview with Vickey Lalwani, Anita Advani opened up about her life with the late actor, her current legal battle and the challenges she has faced after his death.

Anita Advani was rumoured to be romantically involved with the legendary actor Rajesh Khanna. However, the details and the truth about the relationship remains largely unknown to the public.

Talking about the late actor’s will, Anita claimed that she was never shown the document. She also mentioned that currently she is fighting for what she believes is her right to live with dignity.

“I want to live the way I have lived. Woh bungalow toh waapis aa nahi sakta, toh ek dignified life mai jeena chahti hoon (That bungalow cannot come back, but I still wish to live a dignified life now),” she said, adding that she has never seen the will.

She claimed that she knew that the will had a lot of things listed for a lot of people, saying “Yeh maloom tha ki sabke liye hai bahut kuch”.

In the interview, she was also questioned about whether her legal battle was driven by financial security, a claim she firmly denied. She said, “It’s not money. It’s also my respect. More than anything else, and also the way I want to be, the way I was. I have a right to do that."

In 2013, Anita filed a case against Dimple Kapadia, daughters Twinkle and Rinkie and son-in-law Akshay Kumar for allegedly throwing her out of his bungalow.

About Anita Advani and Rajesh Khanna

Last year, in an interview with Meri Saheli, Anita claimed that she secretly married Rajesh Khanna. When questioned why she never married Rajesh Khanna despite being in a live-in relationship with him, Anita revealed, "We got married privately, but in the film industry, no one talks about such things openly. Everyone says ‘we’re friends’ or ‘we’re in a relationship’ or something else. But it was already reported in the media that I was with him, so neither of us felt the need to go and publicly announce that we were married. We never felt that need."

Rajesh Khanna, India’s first superstar, lived a life of unmatched fame and eventual solitude. Married to actress Dimple Kapadia in 1973, their relationship was rocky. The couple separated in 1982 but never officially divorced. Despite the split, Dimple returned to care for him during his final years, especially when his health began deteriorating.

In his last phase, Rajesh reportedly lived a reclusive life at his Mumbai bungalow, Aashirwad, with few close friends and confidantes. His health declined rapidly in 2011–2012 due to a prolonged illness. Rajesh passed away on 18 July 2012, at the age of 69. Earlier, Anita also claimed that Rajesh Khanna’s family did not allow her to attend his last rites and had bouncers stationed to stop her from entering.

Anita began her career in 1978 with a small role as a dancer in the film Shalimar, starring Dharmendra and Zeenat Aman. She then appeared in films like Daasi, Chorni, Aao Pyaar Karen, and Saazish. She also participated in Salman Khan's show Bigg Boss 7 in 2013 but did not win the trophy.