'There were always 10,000 women outside his bungalow’: Meet Rajesh Khanna's neighbour who made Kaka's female fans jealous, used to…

Rajesh Khanna's immense popularity and fan following remain unmatched. His timeless appeal and iconic status in Indian cinema still captivate audiences, cementing his legacy as one of Bollywood's greatest stars. The madness of his female fans is a unique chapter in Bollywood history as tens of thousands of women used to gather outside his house ‘Ashirwad’ to catch his one glimpse. In an interesting revelation, they all used to get envious of his neighbour, who was none other than Mumtaz.

The yesteryear actress Mumtaz recently opened up about Rajesh Khanna's female fan-following, revealing that they were jealous of her because she got to romance him. She revealed that they would gather in large numbers outside his house, while she could just walk over to Rajesh’s bungalow, which was next door to hers. In a recent interview, Mumtaz recalled the most famous incident involving his car being covered in lipstick by his female fans’ kisses.

“When we’d shoot outdoors, they would make faces at me. They never liked me, they were jealous that I got to romance him. Women don’t like sharing. They were jealous. And it’s not like I had to work hard to catch a glimpse of him. We were neighbours. I used to look out of my window and see 10,000 women outside his house. I would think, ‘Baap re Kaka, yeh toh problem ho gayi hai‘. They would stand there, thousands of them,” she said in an interview with Filmibeat.

Further, she proudly stated not any films with him would get flop. “We didn’t have a single flop, not even one. Distributors would buy our films just because Rajesh and I were in them. But it’s very sad that artistes are forgotten when their films start flopping,” Mumtaz said while adding that he was very ‘sophisticated’, and was very ‘choosy’ about his partners. She revealed that he was in a relationship with Anju Mahendru, and said that Anju wasn’t bothered about his wedding with Dimple Kapadia. 

Meanwhile, Rajesh Khanna, known as the first superstar of India, went on to win numerous awards, including five Filmfare Awards and the Padma Bhushan (posthumously). He served as a Member of Parliament. He passed away on July 18, 2012, leaving his legacy behind with his two daughters—Twinkle Khanna and Rinkie Khanna. He has been honoured with a stamp, a statue, and a road named after him.