The man, The myth, The Legend: Rajesh Khanna
Rajesh Khanna. A man whose very name evoked all sorts of feelings for women. Who would have thought that one day there would emerge an enigmatic superstar who would take the world of Bollywood by storm?! So this very post comes many days after my last one. Essentially because I was unable to write a topic pertaining to anything and also succumbing to writer's block doesn't help my case either. Well, that is because today,i.e the 18th of July, marks a very important day. Rajesh Khanna breathed his last 9 years ago to this day. Yes, this yesteryear star had a huge impact on my young, impressionable mind 9 years ago.
I distinctly remember the headlines on the morning of 18th July 2012, a horde of emotions riven deep on my face as soon as I read the headline. Bam.. Rajesh Khanna passes away at the age of 69. I still recollect a 12 year old me choking up, unable to hold back my tears. The superstar literally came, saw and conquered. Not just the movie industry but also all of our hearts. But alas, his superstardom was short-lived. "Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahi"(Life is meant to be big and well-lived and not just long and wasteful). Why couldn't he have lived up to his own saying? I think it is my moral obligation to share a slice of my life with how his very presence in movies affected my very being, after all. Kaka was his moniker and his 15 consecutive hits in a span of just two years-1969 to 71 spoke volumes about the level of fanfare and star wattage that he possessed.
But behind this veneer that divorces him from real life, his reel life seldom spoke about his countless affairs and adulation-stricken acts.His highs and lows, his movies, the actresses that he courted were all starkly different but at the same time quite similar to the happy-go-lucky,charming roles that he frequently portrayed in Anand, Kati Patang so on and so forth. In an empty industry such as Bollywood, he rekindled a certain flame into the cinephiles and the common man alike, not just with his unparalleled good looks but also with his many inspiring performances. To commemorate his death anniversary, my brush with this debonair superstar occurred when my dad put on one of his all-time classics-Anand. What a gem of a movie, i must say. Amitabh Bachchan, then still an growing star could definitely not hold a candle to his immense popularity and fan following. Khanna was just on another league. Be it those mesmerizing songs of his movies or simply the fact that his face was a work of art itself(owing to his good looks), he led a life well lived. Although he was no stranger to controversies, he was more in the limelight than any other star of that era. Here's to a great thespian who dominated the film realm for almost 2 decades with ladies being smitten my the mere appearance of him on celluloid or the fact that he was always a very controversial figure. He was a small-town boy whose mass hysteria reached astronomical proportions right from his first film titled 'Aakhri Khat'. Right from the get-go, this suave and oh-so charming delivered hit after hit with just his acting skills at his disposal. After becoming the winner of an All-India talent contest out of 10,000 people and having looks that mere mortals could only dream of possessing, what more could the world ask for?! He was a breath of fresh air in an industry dominated largely by movie-driven politics and nepotism and star kids. Ladies writing letters to him in their blood might not exactly sound like music to our years but have you seen that man??!!
Born on 29th of December 1942, he was bitten by the acting bug from a young age, appearing in stage plays and amateur street theater thereby winning many accolades and awards in inter-collegiate fests and events. The King Midas of Bollywood himself went on to rule the roost with blockbuster potboilers like Anand,Haathi mere Saathi, Aradhana, Raaz. They were not only commercially artistic and viable but also boosted the morale of a star who had taken to alcohol. What started off as a steep rise to success soon led to his downfall. Rife with copious amounts of alcohol, dalliances with various women, this superstar had a great start. Until, 'The Angry Young Man' of Bollywood became the savior. Khanna's reputation declined and so did his mass hysteria. "Pushpa, I hate tears" is still one among his most iconic dialogues that have immortalized him as the standard of excellence. Be it the growing relationship between an elephant and a man in Haathi mere Saathi to a quintessential lover boy in Aradhana or to even a mustachioed gentleman in Daag, the film world was merely an oyster for him to thrive and prosper in.
He achieved a certain recognition that no actor at that time could even hope to come close to. Such was his saga. His profound sayings were all an extension of the reel life as well as the real life character that he was depicting. He married a much younger Dimple Kapadia and later joined the business of politics, hoping to stake a claim. The systematic proliferation of success of a superstar suffered at the hands of many external factors like loneliness, among others. Now you have a man whose very identity was stripped and taken away from him. His good looks faded with time and he found himself at the twilight of his career. Who would've imagined that a prominent actor such as him would fall prey to divorce and his rise and fall was well documented. He was no longer a sought after individual and was left in the lurch. A famous man who was high on talent was now merely high on whiskey and every other beverage he could get his hands on. Why couldn't we embrace his shortcomings as a community that showered crazy amounts of adulation and love?! He was literally a deity that women flung themselves upon. This invincible god faced a tornado of emotions that were hard to grapple with and owing to changing times wherein there was a stark change in moviegoers and subjective tastes with regard to a supply and demand in the movie domain, he was now a nobody. The time of Rajesh Khanna had sadly come to an end. The world shared a love-hate relationship with Rajesh as he was now the cynosure of all adultery and debauchery. His raw talent may have been died nine years ago but his presence will still linger on. The world may have forgotten him but he still lives in the minds of his ardent, fellow fans for all eternity. He is indeed the man, the myth, the legend-Rajesh Khanna. Farewell Mr.dreamboat,Mr.heartthrob.
I distinctly remember the headlines on the morning of 18th July 2012, a horde of emotions riven deep on my face as soon as I read the headline. Bam.. Rajesh Khanna passes away at the age of 69. I still recollect a 12 year old me choking up, unable to hold back my tears. The superstar literally came, saw and conquered. Not just the movie industry but also all of our hearts. But alas, his superstardom was short-lived. "Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahi"(Life is meant to be big and well-lived and not just long and wasteful). Why couldn't he have lived up to his own saying? I think it is my moral obligation to share a slice of my life with how his very presence in movies affected my very being, after all. Kaka was his moniker and his 15 consecutive hits in a span of just two years-1969 to 71 spoke volumes about the level of fanfare and star wattage that he possessed.
But behind this veneer that divorces him from real life, his reel life seldom spoke about his countless affairs and adulation-stricken acts.His highs and lows, his movies, the actresses that he courted were all starkly different but at the same time quite similar to the happy-go-lucky,charming roles that he frequently portrayed in Anand, Kati Patang so on and so forth. In an empty industry such as Bollywood, he rekindled a certain flame into the cinephiles and the common man alike, not just with his unparalleled good looks but also with his many inspiring performances. To commemorate his death anniversary, my brush with this debonair superstar occurred when my dad put on one of his all-time classics-Anand. What a gem of a movie, i must say. Amitabh Bachchan, then still an growing star could definitely not hold a candle to his immense popularity and fan following. Khanna was just on another league. Be it those mesmerizing songs of his movies or simply the fact that his face was a work of art itself(owing to his good looks), he led a life well lived. Although he was no stranger to controversies, he was more in the limelight than any other star of that era. Here's to a great thespian who dominated the film realm for almost 2 decades with ladies being smitten my the mere appearance of him on celluloid or the fact that he was always a very controversial figure. He was a small-town boy whose mass hysteria reached astronomical proportions right from his first film titled 'Aakhri Khat'. Right from the get-go, this suave and oh-so charming delivered hit after hit with just his acting skills at his disposal. After becoming the winner of an All-India talent contest out of 10,000 people and having looks that mere mortals could only dream of possessing, what more could the world ask for?! He was a breath of fresh air in an industry dominated largely by movie-driven politics and nepotism and star kids. Ladies writing letters to him in their blood might not exactly sound like music to our years but have you seen that man??!!
Born on 29th of December 1942, he was bitten by the acting bug from a young age, appearing in stage plays and amateur street theater thereby winning many accolades and awards in inter-collegiate fests and events. The King Midas of Bollywood himself went on to rule the roost with blockbuster potboilers like Anand,Haathi mere Saathi, Aradhana, Raaz. They were not only commercially artistic and viable but also boosted the morale of a star who had taken to alcohol. What started off as a steep rise to success soon led to his downfall. Rife with copious amounts of alcohol, dalliances with various women, this superstar had a great start. Until, 'The Angry Young Man' of Bollywood became the savior. Khanna's reputation declined and so did his mass hysteria. "Pushpa, I hate tears" is still one among his most iconic dialogues that have immortalized him as the standard of excellence. Be it the growing relationship between an elephant and a man in Haathi mere Saathi to a quintessential lover boy in Aradhana or to even a mustachioed gentleman in Daag, the film world was merely an oyster for him to thrive and prosper in.
He achieved a certain recognition that no actor at that time could even hope to come close to. Such was his saga. His profound sayings were all an extension of the reel life as well as the real life character that he was depicting. He married a much younger Dimple Kapadia and later joined the business of politics, hoping to stake a claim. The systematic proliferation of success of a superstar suffered at the hands of many external factors like loneliness, among others. Now you have a man whose very identity was stripped and taken away from him. His good looks faded with time and he found himself at the twilight of his career. Who would've imagined that a prominent actor such as him would fall prey to divorce and his rise and fall was well documented. He was no longer a sought after individual and was left in the lurch. A famous man who was high on talent was now merely high on whiskey and every other beverage he could get his hands on. Why couldn't we embrace his shortcomings as a community that showered crazy amounts of adulation and love?! He was literally a deity that women flung themselves upon. This invincible god faced a tornado of emotions that were hard to grapple with and owing to changing times wherein there was a stark change in moviegoers and subjective tastes with regard to a supply and demand in the movie domain, he was now a nobody. The time of Rajesh Khanna had sadly come to an end. The world shared a love-hate relationship with Rajesh as he was now the cynosure of all adultery and debauchery. His raw talent may have been died nine years ago but his presence will still linger on. The world may have forgotten him but he still lives in the minds of his ardent, fellow fans for all eternity. He is indeed the man, the myth, the legend-Rajesh Khanna. Farewell Mr.dreamboat,Mr.heartthrob.
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