Anju Mahendru

Anju Mahendru
Anju Mahendru in 2012
Born (1946-01-11) January 11, 1946
Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India (present-day Mumbai, Maharashtra, India)
Occupations
  • Actress
  • Fashion designer
Years active1966–present
Partner(s)Imtiaz Khan (1972–1979)
Rajesh Khanna (1967–1972)[1]
Garfield Sobers (1966–1967)
RelativesMadan Mohan (maternal uncle)

Anju Mahendru (born 11 January 1946[2]) is an Indian actress and former fashion designer. She is best known as Kamini Gupta in Kasautii Zindagii Kay, Neelam in Kohi Apna Sa, Reeva in Kahiin to Hoga and Beeji in Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai.

Personal life

Anju Mahendru's mother is the sister of the music director Madan Mohan.[3]

Mahendru was briefly engaged to West Indies cricketer Garfield Sobers in 1967.[4]

Mahendru and Rajesh Khanna met in 1966 and she dated him till 1972. Khanna later married Dimple Kapadia in March 1973.[5] Mahendru and Rajesh did not speak with each other till 1987. Mahendru dated Imtiaz Khan[1] from 1972 to 1979 but Anju broke off from Imtiaz in 1979.

Mahendru became friends again with Khanna from 1988 and Mahendru remained his close friend till Khanna's death and was by his side when he died. She confessed in an interview that it was because of her immaturity that she frivolously declined Khanna's offer of marriage to her in 1971 and had she accepted marriage she would have remained his wife.[6]

Career

Mahendru started modelling at the age of 13. She was discovered by poet and lyricist Kaifi Azmi who recommended her to Basu Bhattacharya. Basu cast her in Uski Kahani in 1966. Uski Kahani was the debut film for Mahendru as well as the first directorial venture of Basu Bhattacharya. She later went on to act in films such as Jewel Thief, Bandhan, Intaqam and Dastak. She never made it as a leading lady and moved to character roles. She was also featured in Nari Hira's television films featuring up and coming Aditya Pancholi in the mid-1980s.

She made a comeback in the 1990s in television acting in various soaps. She played Trishna's mother-in-law in the TV serial Hamari Betiyoon Ka Vivaah on Zee TV. She acted as Maan's daadi in Geet – Hui Sabse Parayi. She also played the role of Jeevika, Maanvi, and Daboo's daadi in Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai, of Sujatha in StarPlus' Yeh Hai Mohabbatein, and of Gayatri Singh, the grandmother of the female lead, Anami, in Rishton Ka Chakravyuh on StarPlus.

Other popular Hindi TV serials she acted in are Shingora (1986), Swabhimaan (1995), and Kasautii Zindagii Kay (2003).

Filmography

References

  1. ^ a b "Rajesh Khanna's Death Anniversary: Former Partner Anju Mahendroo Remembers 'Kaka ji' With a Throwback Picture | India.com". www.india.com. 17 July 2020. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  2. ^ "सात साल तक राजेश खन्ना के साथ लिव इन में रहीं अंजू, फिर इस वजह से नहीं की काका से शादी". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). 11 January 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  3. ^ "Anju Mahendroo talks about Sanjeev Kumar's illustrious journey". filmfare.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  4. ^ Anubha Sawhney (4 March 2007). "Romancing the maidens". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  5. ^ "The rise and fall of a superstar". 28 May 2011. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  6. ^ Bharati Dubey (20 July 2012). "Anju Mahendru present as Kaka took his final breath". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 9 September 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.