'Friends tried to...': When Rajesh Khanna walked in with Hema Malini, this actor was left 'humiliated', not Dharmendra

Superstars Rajesh Khanna and Sanjeev Kumar were rivals in the professional world, but some personal tensions also spilled into their lives, leading to chaos. In the early 1970s, Sanjeev Kumar and Hema Malini's families were thinking about getting the two married but some difficulties arose and the marriage talks were called off. While Sanjeev Kumar's mother did not want a daughter-in-law who was an actress, Hema Malini's mother was adamant that her daughter would continue working in films. Amid these challenges, Rajesh Khanna's one move 'humiliated and hurt' Sanjeev Kumar deeply. 

In An Actor’s Actor: The Authorised Biography of Sanjeev Kumar by Hanif Zaveri and Sumant Batra, there was a mention of an incident where Rajesh Khanna, aware of Hema Malini and Sajeev Kumar's rift, went to further widen it. Once at a social gathering, Sanjeev Kumar was invited with Hema Malini and Rajesh Khanna was invited with Sharmila Tagore as they were shooting for a film together. At this time, Sanjeev Kumar's relationship with Hema Malini was already strained and while Rajesh Khanna was aware of Sanjeev Kumar's presence,  Sanjeev did not know that Rajesh Khanna would be attending. 

Sanjeev Kumar was the first to arrive at this event and was taken by utter surprise when Rajesh Khanna also entered to attend, holding Hema Malini's hand. As per the book, after witnessing this, "Sanjeev was humiliated and hurt. Hema was equally shocked to see him. She had merely accompanied Rajesh Khanna at his insistence and did not know of the animosity that existed between the two. Although she could gauge to some extent the damage she had unwittingly inflicted, she did not dare confront Rajesh Khanna. Sanjeev Kumar stepped down from the stage and joined the audience in a different row, far away from them. None of them spoke to each other during the show."

Sanjeev Kumar and Hema Malini were struggling to keep their relationship afloat but this incident put a major strain on it. The book noted, "Sanjeev’s friends tried to explain to him that Rajesh Khanna had done it on purpose to humiliate him and that Hema was innocent. But Sanjeev took this insult to heart." 

After this episode, Sanjeev Kumar and Hema Malini's relationship ended for good. Hema Malini eventually moved on and married superstar Dharmendra in 1980. Sanjeev Kumar remained unmarried till his death in 1985.

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