Veteran actor Tej Sapru has opened up about a memorable incident involving Rajesh Khanna, revealing that the Hindi cinema legend once unexpectedly abused him on a film set. He also clarified that Rajesh later apologised and made amends. Sapru described Khanna as a man of contradictions, someone who could be arrogant at the peak of his stardom, yet one of the most generous people he had ever known.Sapru, whose career spans more than four decades and over 300 films, said the episode left him deeply hurt because of the immense respect he had always held for India’s first superstar.Talking about Rajesh Khanna’s personality, Sapru said fame often changes not only stars but also the people around them.“Rajesh Khanna had arrogance. It happens when you’re at the peak of your career. More than you, it’s often the people around you whose heads get turned. That happens. But at the same time, I have never seen a more generous man than him,” he said on the Rediff Podcast.Sapru then recalled an incident from the shoot of one of their films in Kashmir. “There was an incident when we were working together. I suddenly heard someone abusing me from behind. I turned around and saw that it was Kaka ji (Rajesh Khanna).”Without revealing exactly what led to the outburst, Sapru said Khanna was with one of the film’s actresses when the incident took place. The actor admitted the incident affected him deeply because he had always admired Rajesh Khanna and respected him as a senior.Explaining why the incident upset him so much, Sapru added, “His first film was with Sapru saab (my father D.K. Sapru). I have immense respect for him. Not just for him—for anyone senior to me or anyone who has worked with my father. Whether they are a bigger actor or a smaller one, I never sit on a chair until they are seated. Even after giving him so much respect, I don’t know what happened that he abused me from behind. I was very upset.”The following day, the team was shooting a chase sequence in the snow. Still upset over the previous day’s incident, Sapru deliberately chose not to greet the superstar.“That was the first day I didn’t wish him. I sat on my chair with one leg crossed over the other.”After the shot, Rajesh Khanna walked up to him.“He came up to me and said, ‘Hey, tall boy… forget it.’” Sapru replied, “Sir, you abused me without any reason. You were the one who had told me we were just having fun.” According to the actor, Khanna immediately tried to patch things up. “He said, ‘It happened. Forget it. Come.’ Then he asked me to come to his hotel with him.”Although Sapru was staying at a different hotel, he accepted Khanna’s invitation after finishing work. “I told him, ‘Sir, I’ll come to your hotel. I’m staying somewhere else. I usually freshen up in the evening because I don’t even have a proper washroom in my room.’ From there, he took me along, and we spent the whole night eating and drinking together. He realised that what he had said was wrong.”Sapru said the incident never affected their relationship. In fact, after Rajesh Khanna’s career slowed down, he made it a point to visit the actor regularly.“When his downfall came, he had an office in Khar. If not every week, then at least once every 10 days, I would go and meet him. His favourite whisky at the time was Red Label, and I always took a bottle with me.”Looking back at Rajesh Khanna’s career, Sapru said he believed the superstar’s arrogance may have contributed to his decline, especially when compared with contemporaries like Dharmendra and Jeetendra.“I think his downfall came earlier because of that arrogance, especially when compared to Dharam ji (Dharmendra) and Jeetu ji (Jeetendra). That’s how I felt.”Despite that observation, Sapru was emphatic that no other actor has enjoyed the kind of stardom Rajesh Khanna did.“But as a star, I have never seen anyone with the kind of following he had.”
