When Dimple Kapadia Described Her Marriage With Rajesh Khanna As 'Traumatic': 'I Was Too Young To...'

Dimple Kapadia was just 15 years old when she married Rajesh Khanna, who was nearly twice her age and the biggest superstar in India at the time. The couple soon had two daughters, but their marriage was short-lived, leading to a separation without a formal divorce. For Dimple, the experience was “traumatic.”

In a 1994 interview with Pritish Nandy, Dimple candidly discussed her tumultuous marriage to Rajesh and why it ultimately failed. “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 mean I have never been able to understand stars and their behavior pattern at all because I am not one myself. It’s very difficult for me to… I couldn’t understand it. I just couldn’t understand it.”

When asked if she recalled this period of her life clearly, Dimple affirmed it was “very clear.” Upon being questioned whether it was traumatic, she simply responded, “Yes, it was.” Rajesh Khanna was at the zenith of his career when he married Dimple, but as his stardom began to wane, he struggled with his fading fame, which took a toll on their marriage as well.

In anothef candid conversation, Dimple Kapadia revealed her youthful naivety when she fell in love with Rajesh Khanna. She genuinely believed that he would serenade her with songs, just like he did in his films. When reality didn’t match her cinematic dreams, she was left “shattered.”

Recalling her innocence, Dimple shared, “I swear I am not lying, because I was so young. And there was such an impact of the movies. So, when we reached the mountains and there was no song, no gust of wind, I was in a bad state because my dream was shattered. I seriously believed it. I mean, how dumb can you get? But well, that was me,” she said during a talk at FICCI FLO Jaipur Chapter a few years ago.

Dimple married Rajesh in March 1973, when she was just 16. The couple had met only a month before their wedding and decided to tie the knot. They welcomed two daughters, Twinkle Khanna and Rinke Khanna. However, Dimple and Rajesh separated in 1982.