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Rajesh Khanna is dead
Bollywood's
first superstar Rajesh Khanna passed away Wednesday following a
prolonged illness, a family friend said. He was 69.
"He is no more," Vijay Zaveri, a close friend, told IANS.
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New Delhi: From the
dizzying heights of fame to quiet shadows behind the arclights,
Rajesh Khanna's life had a theatrical sweep, almost like one of
his films. Bollywood's original superstar - simply the phenomenon
to some - died in Mumbai Wednesday, leaving behind memories cast
in celluloid of that famous crooked smile and head tilt. He was
only 69.
In an era long before this age of instant connect of mobile phones
and internet, Rajesh Khanna was the man who sparked a frenzy never
seen before and never since, not even by the likes of Amitabh
Bachchan.
His very name spelt magic in the 1970s. He sparked hysteria,
particularly amongst his legions of women fans, who would line the
road for a glimpse, chant his name, cover his car with lipstick
marks and even write him letters in blood. They got married to his
photograph, cut their finger, let the blood flow and applied 'sindoor'.
Truly, "O mere dil ke chain"!
Kaka, as he was popularly known, was one of the highest paid
actors of his time, his record of consecutive solo super hits
still unbroken. Who can forget the years between 1970-1979 when he
starred in mega hits like "Safar", "Kati Patang", "Sachaa Jhutha",
"Aan Milo Sajna", "Anand", "Amar Prem" and "Mere Jeevan Saathi".
Ever the urbane, suave romantic who wooed like few others.
Glory and fame galore came his way with the two 1969 films - "Aradhana"
and "Do Raaste" - where he teamed up with two of his best
co-stars, Sharmila Tagore and Mumtaz, respectively. Both the films
were super hits. Hindi film's first superstar was born.
Between "Aradhana" in 1969 and "Prem Kahani" in 1975, Rajesh
enjoyed god-like status.
It was all about charisma - a certain something that went beyond
the art of acting. He had that unique way of delivering a
dialogue, of crinkling his eyes and that interesting head tilt
that were all his own - and designed to get fans swooning.
Describing the charm of Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh once said: "I got
famous purely because I was working with Rajesh Khanna in 'Anand'.
People asked me questions like, 'How is he to look at? What does
he do?'"
The mega story had a small beginning in Amritsar. Born Jatin Arora
on Dec 29, 1942, he was adopted and raised by foster parents.
He went from being Jatin to Rajesh, thanks to his uncle who
changed his name, when he decided to join films.
In 1965, the journey to filmdom started after he won the All India
Talent Contest organised by United Producers and Filmfare. He made
his debut with "Aakhri Khat" in 1966.
It was a fairly easy road to superstardom after that.
He became the heartthrob of the nation, singing timeless melodies
like "Mere Sapnon Ki Rani..." in "Aradhana", "Zindagi Ek Safar" in
"Andaaz" or "Yeh Shaam Mastani" in "Kati Patang". Singer Kishore
Kumar and composer R.D. Burman were amongst his closest friends.
In his four-decade career, he appeared in about 160 films, of
which 106 had him as the solo lead hero and 22 were two hero
projects.
Rajesh proved his mettle in offbeat films too. He teamed up with
Hrishikesh Mukherjee for the critically acclaimed "Bawarchi" and "Namak
Haram". The quintessential romantic also did the intense "Avishkar",
directed by Basu Bhattacharya.
But then age caught up and the star began fading away.
He moved to television and played the main lead in two serials - "Ittefaque"
and "Apne Paraye" during 2001-02 and also featured in "Raghukul
Reet Sada Chali Aayi" between 2008-09.
The decline to B-grade films was inevitable. There was also the
sorry "Wafa" with Laila Khan, who was found murdered this July.
He dabbled in politics, being Congress MP from the New Delhi
constituency from 1991-1996.
Like the Hollywood legends of yore, the personal life also had a
larger than life dimension.
He fell in love with Dimple Kapadia, who was only 16 and whose
first film "Bobby" was yet to release. She was 15 years younger to
him but the pull was strong and they got married after a
whwhirwind romance in 1973.
It was the stuff of tabloid headlines. They had two daughters
Twinkle and Rinke. The marriage lasted only 11 years.
It was a lonely life for Rajesh after that. He disappeared from
the headlines and appeared to be a shadow of his former self in
his rare public appearances.
But the family came together in his last days. His estranged wife
was the one who took care of him during his illness. Son-in-law
Akshay Kumar was also a great comfort.
Rajesh reappeared in an ad a few months before his death, and once
again became the talk of town - he was clearly unwell but the zest
in his voice was intact as he intoned "Babumoshai" from his much
loved film "Anand".
Like Anand from the film, the man is gone. But the memories will
live on.
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