Meet actress who refused to play Juhi Chawla's mom-in-law, got married at 15, gave Rs 1000-crore hit with Shah Rukh Khan

Born on June 8, 1957 in Mumbai, Dimple Kapadia was discovered by Raj Kapoor when she was just 14. The legendary actor-director cast her in the teen romantic drama Bobby opposite his son Rishi Kapoor. But before her debut film came out, she married the superstar Rajesh Khanna in March 1973 when she was just 15. Later in the same year, Bobby became a huge blockbuster upon its release in September. By the end of the year, Dimple and Rajesh's first child, a daughter named Twinkle Khanna was born when she was just 16. Kapadia quit Bollywood to focus on her marriage and family, while Khanna continued to act in films.

In 1977, Rajesh and Dimple became parents to their second daughter Rinke Khanna. Five years later, in 1982, they got separated but never filed for divorce. In 1984, Dimple made her comeback to films with Zakhmi Sher. Over the next 10 years, she established herself as one of the top actresses in Bollywood with hits like Saagar, Arjun, Janbaaz, Insaaf, and Krantiveer as well as critically acclaimed films like Rudaali and Lekin.

For the 1995 film Kartavya, Dimple Kapadia refused to play Sanjay Kapoor's mother and Juhi Chawla's mother-in-law. She had given her nod to the Raj Kanwar directorial when Divya Bharti was cast as the female lead. However, after Bharti's untimely death in 1993, she was replaced by Juhi Chawla in the film. As Dimple thought that the age difference between her and Juhi was very little, she walked out of Kartavya and the makers replaced her with Aruna Irani.

As the 2000s began, Dimple became picky and started choosing strong roles suited to her age. Her performances in hits like Dil Chahta Hai, Dabangg, Luck by Chance, Cocktail, and Finding Fanny were highly appreciated. In 2023, Kapadia played Shah Rukh Khan's mentor in the spy thriller Pathaan. The Siddharth Anand directorial marked Shah Rukh's comeback after four years and became a massive blockbuster with gross worldwide earnings of over Rs 1000 crore.

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