The sordid saga of lovers Anita Advani and Rajesh Khanna has taken a perverse twist, as lurid details of their 33-year-long affair come to light. Earlier this month, Advani moved the Magistrate's Court at Bandra with a Domestic Violence complaint, a follow-up to her legal notice to Khanna's family sent in June, which was first reported by Mid-Day.
The complaint names Dimple Kapadia, Twinkle Rajiv Bhatia (Twinkle Khanna), Rinki Saran (Rinki Khanna), and Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (Akshay Kumar) as respondents. It appears that Khanna pursued Anita right from the time they were first introduced, when Anita was just 13 years old. "Rajesh Khanna had suddenly grabbed and kissed the complainant (Anita). She was too young to understand as she was still a minor and in awe of Rajesh Khanna," the complaint reads. Later, he sexually assaulted her.
According to the complaint, Rajesh Khanna urged Advani to keep their relationship a secret, as it would seriously affect his reputation. Advani was smitten by Rajesh Khanna, and agreed. She later moved to Jaipur to complete her education, and tried to put her past behind her, but was unable to. Years later, after returning to Mumbai, she confronted Rajesh Khanna and demanded to know why he had abused her. Khanna asked her to forgive him and got into a relationship with her.
The complaint states that, in 2000, at a party, Rajesh Khanna and Advani publicly hugged and kissed quite passionately. Rajesh Khanna promised to make the relationship public and Advani clung on to it and rejected marriage proposals. The actor would pour his heart out to Advani and the two lived together, even after Rajesh Khanna told her that a divorce from Kapadia was not possible. Advani also claims to be in possession of pictures and videos of "very private moments" at Aashirwad. She dressed up as Rajesh Khanna wished and fasted during karva chauth for him, too.
Shortly after leaving his post as Member of Parliament, Rajesh Khanna helped Advani move to a large flat which he had bought in New Delhi. Anita Advani also claims it was she who convinced Mr Khanna to renovate Aashirwad, and supervised the exercise. Advani has annexed copies of bills from the renovation work to her complaint to back her claim.
What does Anita Advani want?
Anita Advani has now approached the court seeking a permanent perpetual protection order under the Domestic Violence Act. She has also contended that she was in a 'domestic relationship' with Khanna in a 'shared household'. She has sought police protection from Rinki, Twinkle, Akshay and Dimple. She has also sought free ingress and egress to Aashirwad, the palatial bungalow which Mr Khanna called home.
She has also urged the court to prevent them from alienating (selling off) any of Mr Khanna's properties without the court's permission. Advani also wants to use Aashirwad as a 'permanent residence' and convert it into a museum. At the time of Mr Khanna's death, Advani had told Mid-Day, "He had wanted the bungalow to be converted into a museum, as a tribute to him."
Advani claims that Mr Khanna's net worth is around Rs 500 crore. The property he owns includes several flats and offices and Aashirwad, which is worth Rs 200 crore. This is apart from his several bank accounts, jewellery and shares. Advani has demanded maintenance worth Rs 10 lakh a month to help her maintain the lifestyle she was used to while living with Mr Khanna.
The case is slated to come up for hearing at the Metropolitan Court on Tuesday.
How Dimple, Twinkle, took unconscious Kaka's thumb impressions
Advani's complaint has also alleged that on June 22 this year, while Khanna lay critically ill in hospital, Dimple and Twinkle arrived with an advocate, identified as Javed Hashmi, along with two doctors and two officials from the registrar's office. They also brought with them seven or eight security guards.
While Rajesh Khanna lay in delirium, with swollen limbs and an intravenous drip, they urged him to sign some papers for an 'urgent legal matter'. When this failed, they allegedly obtained his thumb impressions on some papers. In her complaint, Advani narrates how she attempted to film the whole incident on her mobile phone, but was asked to leave by Dimple. She was also threatened and told to delete the pictures and video she'd taken. Despite the ensuing quarrel and scuffle, she managed to retain some pictures.
