Who was Rajesh Khanna's first love?

Who was Rajesh Khanna's first love? The name of Anju Mahendru ji will come out of the mouths of most people. I knew that too. But in the biography of Rajesh Khanna written by writer Yasir Usman, a very interesting story of his childhood has been told. 

These were the days when Rajesh Khanna was in his teens. A girl named Surekha lived in the same building in which Kaka ji's house was. Then Kaka would have been 11 or 12 years old. And that girl named Surekha will be 15-16 years old. That is, he was older than her.

One day Kaka was riding his new bicycle in the compound of his building. After much persuasion from his parents, he bought the bicycle which was newly launched in the market at that time. Since the bike was brand new, it worked well. He was also riding the bike at a high speed. 

Suddenly, Kaka's balance deteriorated and he fell hard. He was injured on his knee. For a moment, I couldn't understand what had happened to him. But when he saw his knee, he began to cry. Blood was oozing out.

Hearing her cries, a girl came running. He had a bottle of antiseptic and some cotton in his hands. When Kaka saw her, he recognized that she was the same girl who often saw him playing in the building compound. She knew his name. Surekha. On seeing her, he stopped crying. 

Years later, talking to film journalist and author Bunny Reuben about the incident, Kaka said that he had fallen in love with someone for the first time that day.

After cleaning Kaka's wound that day, Surekha tore a little cloth from an old saree and bandaged his knee. And while tying the bandage, Surekha's face came very close to Kaka's face. Before Kaka could understand anything, Surekha kissed his lips. A long kiss. And then everything went black. It was the first such experience of my life. It was etched on their minds forever.

 
When he returned home, his mood had changed. He couldn't take his eyes off her. Then as soon as Kaka got a chance, he went to his roof. A place where he often sat alone. And where no one else was. On that day, Kaka went to the roof and Kaka closed his eyes and recalled the whole incident. How did Surekha kiss him? And how did it feel at the time?

 
After that day, the closeness between Surekha and Kaka increased. They used to meet often. He spent time playing games with his friends. Sometimes they went to the cinema. One such day, he went to watch a matinee show with his friends. 

Recalling that day, Rajesh Khanna had said that he only remembered that he was sitting next to Surekha in the hall from darkness. They held each other's hands. There was something else that happened that day that I am not writing at the moment. You can understand.

He was so young at the time that he didn't understand what it was all about. But he loved meeting her and spending time with her. Kaka used to talk to Surekha about his home, his parents and even his school. And there was a phase when he could not talk to Surekha, he used to get restless. As soon as he returned from school, he used to drop his bag at home and go to meet Surekha. 

One such afternoon, when Kaka returned from school to meet Surekha, he saw that Surekha's house was locked.

It felt very strange. He asked a woman sitting nearby why Surekha's house was locked. Where have these people gone? The answer that the woman gave to Kaka, he was not at all ready for her. The woman told her uncle that her parents had taken her to their village to get Surekha married. After that, I never saw my uncle again. The grief of separation from Surekha continued to haunt Kaka for many days.

Years after Surekha's departure, more girls came into Kaka's life. But no one could take his place. To Bunny Reuben, Kaka had said, "I can never forget the impact Surekha had on me."So this was the story of Rajesh Khanna's first love Surekha. 

For this, we should thank the writer Yasir Usman Sahab for introducing this untold and unheard aspect of Kakaji's life to his fans through his book.