Shatrughan Sinha recalls fallout with Rajesh Khanna during their Delhi elections: ‘I wanted to apologize but…’

Shatrughan Sinha and Rajesh Khanna

Late actor Rajesh Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha, the two iconic heroes of the '90s, gifted Indian cinema with some of its biggest hits. The two were friends quite good friends, but a rift emerged during after they fought an election against each other Addressing the rivalry, Shatrughan Sinha has recently shared that he regrets it.

Sinha who fought against Rajesh Khanna in the Delhi election recalled in an interview with Zoom that Khanna asked him how could he contest against him. Sinha shared that he even tried to explain this to Rajesh that it was his political party's decision but it wasn't well-received. "I said, ‘I am not contesting against you. It's the political party that decides who contests from where," he reminisced during the interview.

"Rajesh was very upset when I contested against him in a by-election. Honestly, I didn't want to, but couldn't refuse LK Advani ji. I tried explaining this to Rajesh but he did not like it; we didn't speak for quite a long time. However, we did start talking after many years," Sinha further added.

Sinha in the interview then shared that he wanted to go and apologize to Rajesh Khanna when he was in the hospital but sadly, he passed away before the ‘Gola Barud' actor could do that.

While Shatrughan achieved electoral success in his political career, the fallout with Khanna remained a source of regret. "We were close friends, but after the election, he cut off ties with me. Despite my efforts to reconcile, it took a few years before I apologized to him. During a hospitalisation a few years later, both of us were admitted. I frequently mentioned to my daughter Sonakshi that once I was discharged, I would go directly to meet him. Even the doctors treating me there knew how much I missed him. Unfortunately, I couldn't meet him and offer an apology. Sonakshi informed me that Rajesh Khanna uncle had passed away. However, I had already extended my apologies to him well before his demise. When I lost my first election, I thought to myself, ‘Main sirf chunao hi nahin hara, maine dost ko bhi hara hai." Sinha concluded.

For the unversed, Shatrughan and Rajesh have worked together in several film, such as Muqabla (1979), ‘Dushman Dost and Naseeb' (1981), ‘Dil-e-Nadaan' (1982), ‘Maqsad' (1984), and ‘Aaj Kaa MLA Ram Avtar' (1984).