Rajesh Khanna was offered Bigg Boss. When he decided to appear on the show, the channel refused him? Ali Peter John, Rajesh’s close friend and journalist, spoke to Rediff in 2012 about his relationship with Bigg Boss producers. Read also: Sharmila Tagore saved Farida Jalal when Rajesh Khanna refused to rehearse romance moment.
Ali claimed, “Bigg Boss producers called me to schedule a meeting with him in the house. He said, “Nahin, nahin, Rajesh Khanna aise show thodi karega (Rajesh Khanna won’t work in such shows).” He refused despite my persuasion. Colors TV, the Bigg Boss producer, offered him ₹3.5 crore each episode, but he declined.
“A few days later, he called me to say he wanted to do the show, but Colors had lost interest. I asked him what happened two-and-a-half months before his death. If the renowned poet Ghalib could die of excessive drinking, why can’t I? said he.
Rajesh Khanna’s friend said the renowned actor ‘was clever in his investments’ and had several assets even though he was unemployed in the same interview. Ali recalled Rajesh ‘lived like a king’ after’renovating his complete home’ to seem like a palace. Twinkle and Rinke Khanna, daughters of Rakesh and Dimple Kapadia, “wanted to convert the house into a Rajesh Khanna museum,” he said.
Rajesh was born in December 1942 and died in July 2012. He was one of India’s greatest actors. He received India’s third-highest civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan, posthumously in 2013. He appeared in Do Raaste, Bandhan (1969), Sachaa Jhutha (1970), Dushmun (1971), Apna Desh (1972), Roti (1974), Aap Ki Kasam (1974), and Prem Kahani (1975), among others.
