Over 25 years in the industry, Sanjeev Kumar & Rajesh Khanna never visited each other at their homes. However, in November 1985, when Sanjeev Kumar breathed his last, Rajesh Khanna visited to pay his respects, his eyes brimming with tears, write authors Hanif Zaveri & Sumant Batra in their book, An Actor’s Actor: An Authorised Biography of Sanjeev Kumar. An edited excerpt:

While both Sanjeev and Rajesh hailed from the INT, it was the language that had separated them. Sanjeev mainly performed in Gujarati plays, while Kaka performed in Hindi. Due to the paucity of Gujarati theatre artists of Sanjeev’s calibre in Bombay, directors were eager to work with him. Rajesh Khanna, on the other hand, was one of many Hindi-speaking actors desperate for a break. At one time, while Sanjeev was acting in five different plays simultaneously, Rajesh barely had one. Reduced to playing small roles, like that of a doorman in V.K. Sharma’s Mere Desh Ke Gaon, Kaka had watched from the sidelines as Sanjeev walked away with meatier roles and awards. It took numerous attempts for Rajesh Khanna to finally lay his hands on a college festival award for his role in Aur Diya Bujh Jaye. When he won this award, he organized a party to celebrate, and invited Sanjeev Kumar. The latter did not bother to even respond to the invitation, let alone show up.

Notably, although Sanjeev received offers for film roles before Rajesh Khanna did, he had also been struggling for longer. It had taken Sanjeev five years to make the move from theatre to cinema, while Kaka was on stage for barely two years before shifting to the silver screen, according to the director Ramesh Talwar.

Perhaps the two came from worlds so far apart that they could never reconcile their differences. A dishevelled Hari in his ragged kurta pyjamas might have seemed to Rajesh Khanna the very antithesis to the glamorous world of cinema they both were aspiring to enter. Rajesh Khanna, meanwhile, flitting between auditions in his expensive car, would have presented the picture of privilege to the struggling Sanjeev Kumar.

While still a stage actor, Rajesh Khanna was a reticent man, only interacting with his fellow actor Anju Mahendru. He would come to meet her while she was working in B.S. Thapa’s Mehenga Sauda, but remained aloof from all the other actors present on set, including Sanjeev Kumar. Many assumed that his attitude implied an arrogant belief that he was made for bigger, better things than the Hindi stage.

Anju Mahendru, meanwhile, was good friends with Sanjeev Kumar as well. Rajesh Khanna was often suspicious of their friendship, their easy camaraderie making him believe that they shared a romantic relationship. Although Anju tried to convince him of the contrary, he continued to harbour his suspicions. Sanjeev Kumar had often warned Anju to steer clear of Rajesh Khanna, clearly a man given to jealous fits of passion. He did not believe it would be possible for her to find a stable life with such a fickle man.

In 1969, setting personal differences aside, Rajesh Khanna and Sanjeev Kumar came together to work with G.P. Sippy for Bandhan. Anju Mahendru also acted in the film. Despite the friction, however, they behaved professionally and the movie was completed without any untoward incidents. As time passed, Rajesh Khanna delivered hit after hit, and soon came to be known as the first superstar of Hindi cinema. Sanjeev had made considerable strides as well and was offered roles in numerous critically acclaimed movies. Known for his sensitive, visceral portrayals, he came to play a variety of roles, while Rajesh Khanna carved a niche for himself in the romantic genre.

Towards the end of the 1960s, Hrishikesh Mukherjee had started planning his ambitious project Anand (1970) with N.C. Sippy. Based on Raj Kapoor and Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s friendship, the film was initially slated to star Kishore Kumar and Mehmood. The title role would go to Kishore Kumar, while Mehmood would play Babu Moshai. Unfortunately, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Kishore Kumar had a tiff and fell out. Consequently, Kishore left the film and Mehmood followed his friend, although he was unaware of what had transpired. In his biography Mehmood: A Man of Many Moods, Mehmood says:

If I had known what had happened with Hrishi-da at that time, I would have spoken to Kishore and sorted the matter.

When Rajesh Khanna heard of Anand, he approached the director for the titular role. Delighted at the opportunity to cast the superstar, N.C. Sippy and Hrishikesh Mukherjee readily agreed.

The role of Babu Moshai was still available and Mukherjee decided to approach Sanjeev Kumar, who had already worked with him in Satyakam (1969) and Aashirwad (1968). Sanjeev, as always, spotted the potential of the script and agreed to do the film. Unfortunately, when Rajesh Khanna was informed of Sanjeev’s casting, he grew insecure about his role. Although he had the titular role, the development of Babu Moshai’s character was crucial to the plotline. Khanna did not want to share the limelight with Sanjeev. Ultimately, Amitabh Bachchan was cast in the role that Mukherjee had reserved for Sanjeev. This was the first of the two times that Sanjeev Kumar lost a role to Bachchan; the second being for Rajshri Productions’ acclaimed project Saudagar (1973).

As Anju Mahendru remembers, Rajesh Khanna always remained insecure about his acting prowess in comparison to Sanjeev’s. Every time she went to meet Sanjeev, Rajesh would get upset. Sagar Sarhadi remembers this as well. Almost everyone knew the two actors could not stand each other.

The writer duo Salim-Javed was very close to Rajesh Khanna, having written a screenplay for his film Haathi Mere Saathi (1971). Salim Khan and Rajesh Khanna would meet every day at Aashirwad, Khanna’s Carter Road residence. On one occasion, when Salim met Rajesh, he was sitting on the bonnet of his car, holding a film magazine. He asked Khan if he had indeed hailed Sanjeev Kumar as one of the best actors of his time in an interview featured therein. A straightforward man, Salim replied that he had. Visibly upset, Rajesh Khanna asked him if he thought Sanjeev was the better actor. Taken aback, Salim Khan explained that his praise for Sanjeev Kumar had been in the context of a specific role, and if he was interviewed about Rajesh Khanna’s role, he would have appropriate praise for him as well. Rajesh Khanna was not to be comforted. Brooding, he took off for another shoot, leaving Khan dumbfounded. The incident stayed with Salim Khan for a long time. Chintamani quotes him, saying that Kaka was extremely insecure and possessive. Later, when Salim-Javed started working with other actors, he took it as a betrayal of sorts. As Chintamani writes: “By now, Khanna’s insecurity had started taking a toll on him. As a person who by nature was highly insecure and continually sought positive reinforcement, he had surrounded himself yes-men . . .”

Since a palpable tension existed between Sanjeev and Rajesh, very few film-makers were keen on taking on the task of working with them together. However, J. Om Prakash made the surprising choice to cast them both in his directorial debut, Aap Ki Kasam (1974), a remake of the Malayalam film Vazhve Mayam (1970).

For the lead role, Rajesh Khanna was his first choice. He was a star who could pull huge crowds to the theatre, and following the success of Anand, audiences knew him as a capable actor as well. Having decided to cast him, Om Prakash made a small change to the script-an ending similar to that in Anand. Armed with his script, Om Prakash met Khanna and narrated the film to him. Aware of Om Prakash’s impressive track record, Rajesh Khanna accepted the role eagerly. He was then informed that Sanjeev Kumar would be cast as the second lead. He seemed acquiescent, and Om Prakash went to meet Sanjeev Kumar.

By this time, Sanjeev had started playing lead roles in acclaimed films like Khilona (1970), and Om Prakash was worried he would not accept the role. Upon meeting Sanjeev Kumar, however, Om Prakash was impressed with his humility. Before he narrated the script to him, he warned him that he wanted to cast him in the second lead. Sanjeev agreed to the role. Om Prakash signed him on for two other films as well, Aakraman (1975) and Aandhi (1975). According to one of Kumar’s friends, Sanjeev supposedly signed the film seeing it as an opportunity to sort out his differences with Khanna. Om Prakash was determined to complete his film on time.

He went through every detail with his technicians to ensure that the shoots ran smoothly and with minimal interruptions. The first shoot was held at Mehboob Studios. Prakash decided to begin shooting with the most crucial and tricky scene-where Rajesh Khanna was to slap Sanjeev Kumar. Om Prakash wanted to see whether the actors would be able to work together. Before he started the shoot, he warned the cast and crew that while he was open to suggestions, he would not tolerate interference or indiscipline on his sets. He explained the scene in detail to both actors together, then ordered the cameras to roll. The scene was shot without a hitch, and the actors shared the stage effortlessly. Although a first-time director, Om Prakash handled the shoot so well that Sanjeev Kumar later congratulated him for it.

Om Prakash remembered Sanjeev Kumar as a flawless actor — fluent in Hindi despite being Gujarati, with proper diction and dialogue delivery. The only problem with Kumar was his perpetual tardiness. Prakash got so used to Sanjeev being late that, to save time, he would complete scenes with other actors before Sanjeev arrived.

The climax of the film was shot with Rajesh Khanna’s character dying in Sanjeev Kumar’s lap. Khanna was sure he would walk away with the laurels for the scene as the dying hero, but Sanjeev’s dialogues were so powerful that they stole the show. His screen presence, coupled with the haunting song ‘Zindagi Ke Safar Mein’ enchanted the audiences.

Aap Ki Kasam was completed in ten months and released within a year. It was a superhit at the box office, and Prakash worked with Khanna and Kumar again in Aakraman. Unfortunately, Aakraman did not do very well. Although Sanjeev claimed that he had no problem working with Khanna, putting his craft before petty rivalries, this was the last film in which they would work together. Long after this, Prakash worked with Sanjeev Kumar again for Apnapan (1977). His memories of the actor were summed up best, according to the film-maker himself, by the song ‘Aadmi Musafir Hai’.

Over twenty-five years in the industry, Sanjeev Kumar and Rajesh Khanna never visited each other at their homes. However, in November 1985, when Sanjeev Kumar breathed his last, Rajesh Khanna visited to pay his respects, his eyes brimming with tears.

Excerpted with permission from An Actor’s Actor: An Authorized Biography of Sanjeev Kumar by Hanif Zaveri & Sumant Batra, Rupa, Rs 599