Poonam Dhillon reveals she was warned of Rajesh Khanna's temperament and starry behaviour: 'He always treated me like a kid'

Poonam Dhillon worked with many iconic actors during her prime in the film industry, including Rajesh Khanna, and she never encountered the legendary star’s rumoured difficult behavior. She began her career in Bollywood with the 1978 film 'Trishul', featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, and Sanjeev Kumar.

After the success of 'Trishul' and 'Noorie' the following year, Dhillon got the chance to act alongside Rajesh Khanna in 'Red Rose'.A Different Side of Rajesh KhannaIn a conversation with ANI, the actress shared memories of working with Rajesh Khanna, fondly called 'Kaka.' She revealed that before filming, she was warned about his "temperament" and "starry behaviour," but her own experience proved otherwise, showing a different side of the legendary actor."By the time I had done my second, third film, people were warning me that he's (Rajesh Khanna) very temperamental, he can get very difficult to work with. But honestly, I didn't face even one day of any temperamental, starry behaviour from him," said Poonam Dhillon.Challenging Role and GuidanceIn the film, Poonam portrayed a saleswoman opposite Rajesh Khanna’s character, a disturbed psychopath. Reflecting on her early career, Dhillon described this role as particularly demanding given her limited experience.

She also shared that Khanna offered valuable guidance during certain scenes, helping her deliver a stronger performance."My first film (with Rajesh Khanna), 'Red Rose', was a very difficult role for an inexperienced actor. And, you know, like having a psycho type of Serial killer, schizophrenic kind of a person. He would help me. He would guide me. He would say, do this. Do this breathing. I will push you like this. You fall into the frame like this.

Then look like this. He would give me a little bit of guidance on how to do scenes," said Poonam Dhillon.Continued Collaboration and Protective BondFollowing their initial success, Poonam and Khanna teamed up for several more films, including Dard, Nishaan, Zamana, and Awam. Dhillon fondly remembers Khanna as a guardian-like presence in her career, describing him as a protective figure during his lifetime."After that, of course, I did many other films with him. But we've always had a very, I wouldn't say he was a buddy or a friend because he was so much senior to me. But he was always, I think, because he saw me from a young age, he always treated me like a kid, protective and a guide," said Poonam.