Who is Anita Advani, woman claiming to be Rajesh Khanna's wife as Bombay HC dismisses her plea?

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea filed by actor Anita Advani seeking recognition of her alleged relationship with late Bollywood superstar Rajesh Khanna as a marriage.

A single bench of Justice Sharmila Deshmukh dismissed the appeal filed by Advani challenging an order passed by the Dindoshi sessions court in Mumbai in 2017 rejecting her civil suit seeking similar relief after Khanna’s death in July 2012.

A detailed copy of the HC order dismissing the appeal was not yet available.

Advani had claimed she was in a live-in relationship with Khanna for several years till she was evicted from his bungalow ‘Aashirwad’ in the metropolis in 2012 by his estranged wife Dimple Kapadia, also a veteran actor, daughter Twinkle Khanna and son-in-law Akshay Kumar.

In 2013, Advani filed a complaint before a magistrate under provisions of the Domestic Violence Act (DVA) against Kapadia, the Bollywood couple’s daughters Twinkle and Rinkie and their son-in-law and superstar Akshay Kumar.

Advani claimed she was evicted from Khanna’s suburban bungalow after his death and sought monthly maintenance and a three-bed room flat in Bandra, an upscale area in Mumbai.

In 2015, the HC quashed Advani’s complaint and allowed the pleas filed by Kapadia, her daughters and Akshay Kumar , seeking its dismissal.

Quashing the proceedings, the HC had then observed that Advani’s relation with Khanna was not of the nature of a marriage and hence she cannot seek relief under provisions of the DVA.

The court had further held that all family members of the late filmstar cannot be roped into the legal proceedings as Advani never lived with them.

What Anita Advani said in an interview

In an interview with Meri Saheli, Anita said, “We got married privately, but in the film industry, no one talks about such things openly. Everyone says ‘we’re friends’ or ‘we’re in a relationship’ or something else. But it was already reported in the media that I was with him, so neither of us felt the need to go and publicly announce that we were married. We never felt that need.”

Advani added, “We had a small temple in our home. I had a mangal sutra made, gold with black beads. He made me wear it. Then he applied sindoor and said, ‘From today, you are my responsibility.’ That’s how our wedding happened one night, just like that.”

On Dimple Kapadia

“Yes, I came into his life before Dimple Kapadia. But we didn’t get married at the time because I was so young. Eventually, I went back to Jaipur.”

Who is Anita Advani?

Anita Advani is a former actress, known for films like Daasi (1981), Aao Pyaar Karen (1983) and Saazish (1988). She only had a brief acting career. She is reportedly the niece of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.

With added inputs from agencies