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Rajesh Khanna, Bollywood's first superstar, dies at 69
Bollywood's first superstar Rajesh Khanna breathed his last on July 18 at his residence in Mumbai. He was 69 and is survived by his estranged wife Dimple Kapadia and two daughters Twinkle and Rinke. Film actor Akshay Kumar was his son-in-law. His last rites will be performed on Thursday.
The veteran actor was admitted to Mumbai's Lilavati hospital last week following reports of low blood pressure, but was discharged on Tuesday and was at his Mumbai residence since then.
Earlier on June 24, he was admitted to a hospital following kidney problems.
The actor is hailed as India's first superstar after 15 consecutive solo superhits between 1969 and 1972, a record that remains unbroken.
The Bollywood industry expressed grief at the death of the first superstar of Bollywood. "It is a terrible day for the industry and all of us," actress Saira Banu said.
Sharmila Tagore said, "He was an amazing actor."
Rajesh Khanna's Bollywood journey
His rise to Bollywood superstar reads like a movie script. As a struggling actor in Mumbai, Rajesh Khanna won the All India Talent Contest organised in association with Filmfare, beating over 10,000 contestants.
Though the actor got his first break soon after in Chetan Anand's 'Akhri Khat' in 1966, and followed it up with a few films including Asit Sen's 'Khamoshi', it wasn't until his double role n 'Aradhana' in 1969 opposte Sharmila Tagore that a star was born.
Through the early 1970s films like 'Kati Patang', 'Safar', 'Ittefaq', 'Aan Milo Sajna' and 'Haathi Mere Saathi' consolidated his superstardom. During this phase Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 'Anand' remains one of the actor's most memorable performances. Khanna, music composer RD Burman and singer Kishore Kumar were a team most sought after in the early 70s.
He married actress Dimple while he was still riding his success wave in 1973, but the two separated a few years later.
He was also successfully paired with a string of leading ladies including Sharmila Tagore, Asha Parekh and Mumtaz.
Though Rajesh Khanna's popularity declined with the rise of the angry young man - Amitabh Bachchan - the star continued to deliver hits well into the 1980s with films like 'Souten', 'Dharam Kanta' and 'Maqsad'. He eventually moved on to do older and character roles and enjoyed box-office success with 'Avatar' and 'Swarg'.
In the 1990s the actor took a break from films and joined politics having won the 1992 by elections on a Congress ticket from Delhi.
Though Khanna appeared in a B grade film recently, it was this commercial directed by R Balki that brought him back to the limelight. The commercial recreates an era actually lived by the Bollywood's first superstar who leaves behind a legacy that will continue to inspire generations to come.
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 di 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
Bollywood's first superstar Rajesh Khanna breathed his last on July 18 at his residence in Mumbai. He was 69 and is survived by his estranged wife Dimple Kapadia and two daughters Twinkle and Rinke. Film actor Akshay Kumar was his son-in-law. His last rites will be performed on Thursday.
The veteran actor was admitted to Mumbai's Lilavati hospital last week following reports of low blood pressure, but was discharged on Tuesday and was at his Mumbai residence since then.
Earlier on June 24, he was admitted to a hospital following kidney problems.
The actor is hailed as India's first superstar after 15 consecutive solo superhits between 1969 and 1972, a record that remains unbroken.
The Bollywood industry expressed grief at the death of the first superstar of Bollywood. "It is a terrible day for the industry and all of us," actress Saira Banu said.
Sharmila Tagore said, "He was an amazing actor."
Rajesh Khanna's Bollywood journey
His rise to Bollywood superstar reads like a movie script. As a struggling actor in Mumbai, Rajesh Khanna won the All India Talent Contest organised in association with Filmfare, beating over 10,000 contestants.
Though the actor got his first break soon after in Chetan Anand's 'Akhri Khat' in 1966, and followed it up with a few films including Asit Sen's 'Khamoshi', it wasn't until his double role n 'Aradhana' in 1969 opposte Sharmila Tagore that a star was born.
Through the early 1970s films like 'Kati Patang', 'Safar', 'Ittefaq', 'Aan Milo Sajna' and 'Haathi Mere Saathi' consolidated his superstardom. During this phase Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 'Anand' remains one of the actor's most memorable performances. Khanna, music composer RD Burman and singer Kishore Kumar were a team most sought after in the early 70s.
He married actress Dimple while he was still riding his success wave in 1973, but the two separated a few years later.
He was also successfully paired with a string of leading ladies including Sharmila Tagore, Asha Parekh and Mumtaz.
Though Rajesh Khanna's popularity declined with the rise of the angry young man - Amitabh Bachchan - the star continued to deliver hits well into the 1980s with films like 'Souten', 'Dharam Kanta' and 'Maqsad'. He eventually moved on to do older and character roles and enjoyed box-office success with 'Avatar' and 'Swarg'.
In the 1990s the actor took a break from films and joined politics having won the 1992 by elections on a Congress ticket from Delhi.
Though Khanna appeared in a B grade film recently, it was this commercial directed by R Balki that brought him back to the limelight. The commercial recreates an era actually lived by the Bollywood's first superstar who leaves behind a legacy that will continue to inspire generations to come.
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 di 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
