R. Balki: Rajesh Khanna Wanted To Work With Me

R. Balki, on the third death anniversary of Rajesh Khanna, revealed that the late veteran actor wanted to work with him. Interestingly, the last advertisement in which the Anand actor worked was directed by Balki. Soon after the commercial, the health of the Aradhana star deteriorated and he became bed-ridden. He passed away on July 18, 2002 at the age of 69.

Balki said, “When the concept of the ad on fan happened, I was clear in my mind that it had to be Rajesh Khanna. I saw all his films during that time to know more about his gestures and I was absolutely hypnotised by this man.....We met on the sets and Rajesh Khanna said ‘I want to work with you. Why don’t you write something for me?”.

On the contrary the Paa director was never a Rajesh Khanna fan. He said, “I was never a fan of Rajesh Khanna. I never grew up watching his films. I was an Amitabh Bachchan fan… But I used to find him (Khanna) an incredibly handsome guy”.