{"id":607269,"date":"2026-04-14T23:47:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T23:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/607269\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T23:47:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T23:47:09","slug":"rajesh-khanna-couldnt-digest-his-failure-started-drinking-heavily-during-amitabh-bachchans-rise-to-superstardom-prem-chopra-hindi-movie-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/607269\/","title":{"rendered":"Rajesh Khanna couldn\u2019t digest his failure, started drinking heavily during Amitabh Bachchan\u2019s rise to superstardom: Prem Chopra | Hindi Movie News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RajeshVeteran actor Prem Chopra has opened up about witnessing the highs and lows of superstardom from close quarters, recalling how the transition phase of Rajesh Khanna during the rise of Amitabh Bachchan was far from easy. Speaking about the phase when Rajesh Khanna\u2019s career slowed down, Prem Chopra admitted that while the superstar never explicitly spoke about it, his struggles were evident. Veteran actor Prem Chopra<\/a> has opened up about witnessing the highs and lows of superstardom from close quarters, recalling how the transition phase of Rajesh Khanna<\/a> during the rise of Amitabh Bachchan<\/a> was far from easy.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s difficult for him to digest that failure\u2019<\/p>\n

Speaking about the phase when Rajesh Khanna\u2019s career slowed down, Prem Chopra admitted that while the superstar never explicitly spoke about it, his struggles were evident. \u201cHe didn\u2019t discuss it, but I could feel what was going on. It\u2019s difficult for him to digest that failure… to accept this position when he was already a top star, a superstar,\u201d he told Vickey Lalwani.He further pointed out how such phases often take a toll on actors. \u201cHe was drinking earlier too, but then he started drinking heavily. This happens everywhere\u2014when such things happen, an actor either drinks more or something goes wrong because they can\u2019t tolerate what they were and what they are now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018The difference between him and Amitabh Bachchan is…\u2019<\/p>\n

Drawing a comparison, Prem Chopra highlighted what set Amitabh Bachchan apart. \u201cThe difference between him and Amitabh Bachchan is that Amitabh has accepted, \u2018I am not the hero of the picture.\u2019 He doesn\u2019t take the film on his shoulders. It\u2019s the character he is doing, and his character is outstanding. Every film is doing so well.\u201dHe added that Bachchan\u2019s ability to adapt is what kept him relevant. \u201cHe is doing very central characters and has become very popular because of this.\u201d <\/p>\n

Watch<\/p>\n

When Dimple Kapadia emotionally blackmailed Rajesh Khanna to take her in ‘Jai Shiv Shankar’ post their separation <\/p>\n

\u2018He walked to Yash Chopra\u2019s house asking for work\u2019<\/p>\n

Recalling Bachchan\u2019s struggling days, the actor shared a striking anecdote. \u201cHe himself has said he lost a lot of money, property and all that. But once he got into it, there was no looking back. He walked from his house to Yash Chopra\u2019s house for a role when he had no work. He went and said, \u2018I want work.\u2019\u201d Praising his discipline, he added, \u201cHe is a very hardworking actor. When he comes on set, he comes before time and works on the character he is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Veteran actor Prem Chopra has opened up about witnessing the highs and lows of superstardom from close quarters,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[8344,295453,295448,64,63,134,344,166308,295450,295449,58259,295451,295447,295452],"class_list":{"0":"post-607269","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-amitabh-bachchan","9":"tag-amitabh-bachchan-adapted-to-change","10":"tag-amitabh-bachchan-rise-to-stardom","11":"tag-au","12":"tag-australia","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-movies","15":"tag-prem-chopra","16":"tag-prem-chopra-amitabh-bachchan","17":"tag-prem-chopra-rajesh-khanna","18":"tag-rajesh-khanna","19":"tag-rajesh-khanna-amitabh-bachchan","20":"tag-rajesh-khanna-failing-stardom","21":"tag-rajesh-khanna-started-drinking-heavily"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}