54-Year-Old Story: Jaya Bachchan Once Fought With Rajesh Khanna Over Amitabh

Mumbai, Feb 10: Veteran actor Master Raju (Raju Shrestha) has shared a 54-year-old anecdote involving legendary actors Rajesh Khanna and Jaya Bachchan (then Jaya Bhaduri). According to him, the clash between the two stars occurred because of remarks Rajesh Khanna made about Amitabh Bachchan.

Raju, who appeared as a child artist in the 1972 film Bawarchi alongside Rajesh Khanna, recalled in a recent conversation with Siddharth Kannan that during the shoot, Rajesh Khanna made objectionable comments about Amitabh Bachchan, triggering an argument with Jaya. The disagreement escalated to the point that shooting had to be halted temporarily.

Raju explained, “Jaya was friends with Amitabh, who at the time was gaining tremendous popularity and challenging Rajesh Khanna’s status as India’s first superstar. Rajesh Khanna didn’t like this and made certain remarks about Amitabh to Jaya, which led to the confrontation.”

This period marked Amitabh Bachchan’s rapid rise in Bollywood, with films like Zanjeer (1973) propelling him into superstardom. Over the following years, blockbusters such as Sholay, Deewar, and Namak Haraam solidified his position, effectively rivaling Rajesh Khanna’s earlier dominance.

Interestingly, despite occasional conflicts, the two legends also collaborated on classics like Anand (1971) and Namak Haraam (1973), both directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. In Anand, Amitabh played the role of a doctor and won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance.