Anita Advani, 49, the late Rajesh Khanna’s alleged live-in partner, hit the headlines when she sent out a legal notice to the ex-superstar’s family a day before he passed away on July 18, in a bid to ensure that she wasn’t evicted from his palatial Carter Road bungalow Aashirwad. “I’d have never ever done anything like this had I been treated well. I’d have been the happiest person had I got respect... though in losing him, I have lost everything. I cherish my moments with him. But today I feel cheated, shattered and humiliated. I feel publicly stripped. People think I am after money..,” she breaks down. “I want nothing from them (Rajesh Khanna’s family). I want my rights from Mr Khanna, whom I spent a decade with. I too want Aashirwad to be made into a museum, which was his dream. But I want maintenance, accommodation... I’ve never asked for anything ever. It’s my right that I should be looked after. I held my own chautha for him as I didn’t want any tamasha on that sombre day,” she claims.
When reminded that Rajesh Khanna’s will has left everything to his two daughters Twinkle and Rinke Khanna, she says, “That’s for my lawyers to look into.” Reportedly, Twinkle Khanna’s lawyer has also declared that Anita had no legal right to make any claim on the late actor’s property as she is not recognised by the family as part of Rajesh Khanna’s life.
Last May in 2011, pictures of a robust looking Anita with the ex-superstar flashed in the media. In person, she seems a paler version. “I can’t claim that I was the woman he loved the most. But yes, I was the woman who was with him till the end, rather I was with him when no one was around,” alleges Anita, interior designer/ fashion designer and niece of Fidel Ramos, the ex-President of the Philippines.
Living in
Anita met Rajesh years ago at a party, much after he had separated from Dimple. Soon they began meeting every day. “He had become a recluse. Though he was lonely, he never liked to admit it. He’d say, ‘I’m not lonely, I’m alone’. In 2003, he invited me to Delhi (Rajesh was a Congress politician). I stayed with him for a few days.” Anita says the bungalow Aashirwad was in shambles those days. “I convinced him to do it up. I don’t think he faced a financial crunch. He was God’s blue-eyed boy. He’d get money somehow or the other. He had investments in Chennai, Panvel and had also bought a terrace flat in Landmark building at Carter Road. But basically he was never a businessman, just an artiste. His dream was to turn Aashirwad into a museum. We bought carpets, curtains and also printed a lot of photographs for it. He had even built a mini theatre with a ticket window in the bungalow.”
Much in keeping with his reputation, Anita agrees Rajesh was ‘dominating’. “He was hot-tempered. His arrogance had not dimmed a bit. One awaaz from him and the staff would be shivering. From my clothes, to my hair, to my behaviour, everything had to be according to his specifications. He wanted everything prim and proper, including the position of his ashtray. I learnt to prepare different parathas for him. I’d even manicure his nails, make sure he took his medicines on time and press his legs. The thought of marriage did cross my mind but he was not divorced. My family believed I was ruining my life. But he’d say, ‘I belong to you, you belong to me, that’s all that matters’.” She denies that he was hung up about his past stardom. “He was practical. He’d point to his photograph and say, ‘That is Rajesh Khanna. But I’m someone else. Had I continued to believe in that image, I’d have gone mad’. He was like a child. One day he wanted a tea cosy and said, ‘Let’s get it right now’. Though he had many cars, he enjoyed driving around in my small one. He’d wait outside while I’d go and shop. Often we’d drive off to have ice-cream. Like a child he’d drop it on his shirt and I’d wipe it. Then I’d feed him paan. That was our daily routine.”
Ups ‘n’ Downs
The relationship had its share of skirmishes. “We had our fights. His temper was awful after a few drinks. He hit me a few times. But more than that, woh apne lafzon se zyaada tabah kar dete the (he’d hurt more with his words). I’d go off to my sister’s (Shanta) home saying I’d never return. Then he’d keep calling me, send me flowers and send the driver to fetch me. He’d often say our chemistry was too strong. I’d also miss him. My love for him made me stick on. He had a charisma, he was like a magnet.”
She recalls her most ‘romantic’ moment with him. “Once it was raining heavily. We both wore raincoats and walked hand in hand to the Hanuman mandir and performed pooja. Back home, the staff was waiting with his car at the gate. We removed our raincoats and stood under an umbrella. It being 2 am, the cops on their vigil, came and said, ‘Chalo ghar jaao!’ In his inimitable style, Kakaji said, ‘Main toh ghar pe hi hoon’. The cops recognised him and said, ‘Arrey Sir aap!’ and asked for his autograph instead.”
Anita reveals that she never felt insecure except when women acted ‘overfriendly’ with him. Was he faithful? “I can’t say that. Koi bhi Ramchandra toh hota nahin. Often he’d be in Delhi for months. I wouldn’t follow him around. It gave us space which was healthy.” But did she never ask for any kind of security from him? “How can one ever ask for such things? He’d also say, ‘Why do you worry when I’m there for you?’”
When reminded of the article in a tabloid where Anita professed her love for him but Rajesh was quoted saying, “She’s a good friend... we haven’t still reached the stage of love (May 2011),” Anita admits she was upset. “I told him you shouldn’t have said that and went away in anger. But within a few days he fell ill and was hospitalised. So I ran back to him. We had a rule that we’d never carry the previous day’s arguments to the next.”
The family
Anita says that the family never visited Aashirwad earlier. “They’d go to his office sometimes. Dimpleji and he did become friends later. She’d call him up to share her personal issues. After Aashirwad was renovated, we had a Grahshanti pooja last March. The family came to Aashirwad that day.” Soon Rajesh was detected with a serious ailment. “After Kakaji was diagnosed with a liver problem, he became weak and lost weight. His haemoglobin dropped. He was in and out of hospitals. But he had willpower. He gave up alcohol completely last June. He turned quiet and calm and hardly spoke. He had prophesied, ‘I won’t live beyond 70’.” Anita narrates further, “The family began visiting him. They were nice to me as well. His health was deteriorating and it took a toll on everyone. So we would look after him in turns. I was happy that Dimpleji and Anjuji (Mahendroo, Rajesh Khanna’s ex-girlfriend) would come. Also, he’d keep all the 12 lights on in the bedroom all night. I wouldn’t be able to sleep. So during the day I’d go to my sister’s house to rest.” She adds, “Because of the medications, sometimes he’d fail to recognise me. There were times when Anjuji and Dimpleji would be sitting and he’d still ask for them.”
The ‘outsider’
Anita alleges that she noticed ‘a change’ in the attitude towards her this June. “Kakaji’s behaviour towards me changed. They’d say, ‘He’s upset with you’. I even asked Kakaji, ‘You’ve turned cold towards me, have I done something wrong?’ He said, ‘Bhagwan saakshi hai, you’ve looked after me’.” She continues, “Around June 19 and 20, when he was very sick, Dimpleji took me to the other room and said, ‘I’m feeling bad to tell you, but I think you should go as he’s getting irritated with you. Darling, don’t despair, everything will be okay, give him some time’. I was so hurt, I spoke to Kakaji. But he just folded his hands. Why this rejection in the end? Suddenly I was not family, I was an outsider.” She adds, “Even Anjuji would sweetly tell me, ‘Bachha don’t cry, go and meet him’.”
In July, Rajesh was hospitalised once again. “When I went to visit him, I was told by Dimpleji, ‘He doesn’t want any visitors’. That’s when I said, ‘Well, then I will fight for my rights’. In that anger I went to my lawyer and sent a notice. I was pushed against the wall and forced to take such a big step, which happened at a wrong time (just a day before Rajesh Khanna’s demise on July 18).” She breaks down again, “It’s rubbish that I want Aashirwad. Will I ever be able to stay there for a single day without him?”