A c h c h h a t o h h u m c h alt e h ain Bollywood’s Original Superstar’s Zindagi Ka Safar Comes To An End

 Once upon a time, there was a Rajesh Khanna. Men aped him. Women worshipped him. And girls married his photographs, smudged his car with lipsticks and waited late night outside hotels hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Once when he had fever, a group of college students spent hours taking turns to put ice water on his forehead in a photograph. 

    In the history of Hindi cinema, nobody has induced fan hysteria like Rajesh Khanna. And nobody has captured the nation's collective mindspace like the actor, who passed away at Ashirwad, his iconic Mumbai residence, on Wednesday. He was 69. The cause of his death has not been officially announced. But doctors treating him at Lilavati hospital hinted at cancer. 
    Once he rode into a nation's heart serenading Sharmila Tagore with Mere sapnon ki raani in Aradhana (1969) and followed it up with another blockbuster Do Raaste a few weeks later, Rajesh Khanna rewrote box-office history. Between the years 1969 and 1972 almost everything he touched turned to gold — 15 consecutive hits of various degrees. No wonder producers chanted: Upar aaka, 
neeche Kaka (God above and Kaka, Khanna's pet name, below). 
    Nobody really knows how an actor of average build, middling height and a face often sprayed with pimples hypnotized India. Maybe, he was the last gasp of innocence when India was getting angry about unemployment and price rise, a hyphen between the simplicity of the years gone by and the uncertainty of the future. Maybe, it was just written. Unable to find a phrase that captured the phenomenon, the industry finally coined a new term: the superstar. 
    He behaved like a superstar too. BBC journalist Jack Pizzey described him as someone with the charisma of Rudolph Valentino and the arrogance of Napoleon. The star had missed his interview appointment five times. 
    The Amritsar-born actor was too big and too swept away by fame to care. Who wouldn't when even street fashion was defined by your personality? The belt slapped over shirt, the roundcollared guru kurta, a smart ploy to hide a growing waistline, all became a rage. And even in those no-sat-TV days, his smile sold toothpaste (Macleans). 
    He was the king of romance; most at home shaking his head and crooning love nothings. Songs were the spine of his movies; he revived Kishore Kumar's singing career in Aradhana. But the actor brought no revolution to the art of celluloid love; he just gently blended the playfulness of Dev Anand with a fraction of Dilip Kumar's intensity; to this he added his own charm and style. 
    Critics loved him too for doing offbeat movies such as Ittefaq and Aavishkar. But the actor knew how to wet a handkerchief too. Few actors have milked tear ducts better than him and fewer have profited more from a broken heart. It is easy to empathize with the smiling cancer patient in Anand or the large-hearted bhadrolok in Amar Prem. There is a style with which he says: "Pushpa, I hate tears." Rajesh's acting was defined by style. But in his later years, the style degenerated into a bundle of mannerisms. Like Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna too became his own parody. 
    Once the action films' angry young man came with Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna's romantic movies (typified by Shakti Samanta films) went out of fashion. A sudden marriage to Dimple Kapadia, almost half his age, got him back in focus. But his attitude issues as an actor — coming late for shooting on sets, ego clashes with other stars — ensured that he lost big banners and good directors once the chips were down. After Mehbooba (1975) flopped, his superstar days were over. 
HEART-STEALING ANDAZ 
    Born Jatin Khanna in Amritsar on Dec 29, 1942 
    Adopted and raised by a wealthy couple, relatives of his biological parents, who lived in Thakurdwar near Girgaon, Mumbai 
    Attended St Sebastian's Goan High School in Girgaon, where he 
studied with actor Jeetendra. Both also studied in Kishinchand Chellaram College, where Khanna was active in theatre 
    In his struggling years in early 1960s, often seen doing rounds of producers in his MG sports car 
    In 1965, won an all-India talent contest with 10,000 participants, beating Vinod Mehra to the title 
    His first released film was Chetan Anand's Aakhri Khat (1966) where hisname appears as Rajesh Khanna 
Aradhana (1969) was his first superhit 
Between 1969 and 1971, he gave 15 consecutive box-office winners, an unbroken record, including Sachaa Jhutha, Safar, Kati Patang, Anand, Haathi Mere Saathi (Bollywood's biggest grosser till then) 
Married 
16-year-old Bobby star, Dimple Kapadia, in 1973. They separated in 1982 
At the premiere of Namak Haram (1973), a 31-yr-old Khanna told director Hrishikesh Mukherjee that his time was up and Amitabh was the superstar of tomorrow 
Gave his last blockbuster, Avtaar, in 1983 
    In his last major role, featured in B-grade film Wafaa (2008), opposite murdered actress Laila Khan 
    Won three Filmfare best actor awards, nominated 14 times. Got Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 Forever superstar 
    But just when critics wrote him off, the actor made a comeback of sorts with Amardeep (1979). Right through the 1980s, he blended the occasional hit (Souten, Maqsad) with the rare blockbuster (Avtaar) and a stream of flops. Joining the Congress in 1991 was a shrewd career move. The same year he contested the Lok Sabha election against BJP leader L K Advani, then on Cloud 9 following his Ayodhya rath yatra, and gave him the fright of his life. The actor lost by only 1,589 votes from the New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency. A few months later, he comfortably won the byelection beating fellow actor Shatrughan Sinha. But in politics, the actor sparkled like a shooting star only to vanish with the same speed. 
    The last two decades were disappointing for the ex-superstar. In 1997, he played a father in RK Productions' Aa Ab Laut Chalein. He also acted in forgettable television serials such as Ittefaq. When an ex-superstar ends up rubbing sun cream on the back of the likes of Laila Khan as he did in Wafaa (2008), you know he isn't doing too well. But then as the superstar might have said, Hum to sab rangmanch ki kathputliyan hain... And for his fans, Rajesh Khanna will always be the only and forever superstar.

    I GOT FAMOUS PURELY 
    BECAUSE I WAS WORKING WITH HIM IN ANAND. PEOPLE ASKED ME, 'HOW IS HE TO LOOK AT? WHAT DOES HE DO?'... THE WORD SUPERSTAR WAS COINED FOR HIM 
AMITABH BACHCHAN

Khanna's bungalow Ashirwad on Carter Road