When Rajesh Khanna Faced Seven Back-to-Back Flops and Dimple Kapadia Opened Up About a Difficult Marriage
Old interviews of Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia have resurfaced, revealing emotional moments from their turbulent marriage and career struggles. Khanna once recalled breaking down after seven consecutive flops, while Dimple admitted she was too young to understand life with a superstar. Their rare confessions offer insight into fame, pressure and resilience.
Old interviews of legendary actor Rajesh Khanna and actress Dimple Kapadia have resurfaced online, shedding light on the emotional challenges they faced during their marriage and professional journeys. The couple married in 1973, when Rajesh Khanna was 31 and Dimple Kapadia was just 16. Soon after marriage, Dimple stepped away from acting despite the massive success of Bobby. The couple later had two daughters, Twinkle Khanna and Rinke Khanna, before separating. They never legally divorced.
Dimple Kapadia on Being Unprepared for Stardom
In a 1994 interview with Pritish Nandy, Dimple spoke candidly about struggling to understand the pressures of being married to a superstar. She said, “I think we were two very different kinds of people. And I was probably very young to understand what was happening to this man who was a superstar… I couldn’t understand it. I just couldn’t understand it.” When asked if the phase was traumatic, she replied simply, “Yes it was.”
Rajesh Khanna on Coping With Career Setbacks
Rajesh Khanna also addressed his emotional struggles in a 1990 interview with Movie magazine, recalling a moment when he broke down after seven consecutive box-office failures. He said, “One after another, seven films had just flopped in a row. It was raining, pitch-dark and up there alone on my terrace, I lost control. I yelled out, ‘Parvardigar, hum garibon ka itna sakt imtihan na le ki hum tere wajood ko inkar kar de.’” (Oh God, don’t test us poor people so harshly that we begin to question Your very existence.) He added, “Of course, Dimple and my staff came running, thinking that I had gone insane. It was because success hit me so much that I couldn’t take the failure.”
Life After Separation
After their separation, Dimple gradually rebuilt her acting career and earned critical respect. Rajesh Khanna was later briefly linked with actress Tina Munim. Despite living apart for years, the couple never formally ended their marriage. In the same 1994 interview, Dimple was asked if she would ever marry again. She replied, “Yes, I would. I don’t know how I’d be able to adjust because I am so used to being my own person, but sure, I would love to get married again.”
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 29, 2026 08:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).