Mumbai, July 18, 2012
Superstar who turned romance, and even death, into high art
Bollywood’s first superstar Rajesh Khanna passed away on Wednesday at his Bandra residence after a prolonged illness. File photo
A rose, a candle, a couplet. Rajesh Khanna, Hindi
cinema’s first real superstar who passed away in Mumbai following a prolonged
illness on Wednesday, used these props freely and easily to capture for the
first time in Indian cinema a romance that was both adult and modern.
He was made less by the characters he played or the
lines penned by dialogue writers than his idiosyncratic mannerisms — the
drawls, the pauses, the sudden sparkle in his eyes, the fresh and easy smile,
and the playful tilt of the head. Even when stricken with cancer, or
‘lymphosarcoma of the intestine — as Anand, a character he played in the film
of the same name, was — that tilt and smile barely faltered.
To understand what Rajesh Khanna was or how he
altered the persona of the film hero, it is important to stress what he was
not. He was not a loveable tramp like Raj Kapoor, nor a tragedy king like Dilip
Kumar. He did not trade on his masculinity like Dharmendra and rarely, if ever,
played the hero with shades of grey as Dev Anand liked to do. He was the stuff
of soft romance, his characters often earnest and virtuous, his performances
enhanced by a face that was a fortune and a style of acting that used eyes,
lips, hands, and vocal chords to great effect.
Women, who were driven to distraction by his
carefree and non-threatening charm, swooned over him in droves. As Sharmila
Tagore, his co-star in many films, observed, the hysteria around his stardom
reached feverish pitches with women marrying his photographs and pulling at his
clothes. In the mid-Seventies, three women slit their wrists during the
screening of Aap ki Kasam in old Delhi.
He got his break in cinema in Chetan Anand’s Aakhri
Khat in 1966 as a result of winning a talent competition.
This was followed by Ravindra Dave’s Raaz,
opposite Babita, which he regarded as his first major break. But it was only a
couple of years later, when he made bold to play almost a second fiddle to
Sharmila Tagore in Shakti Samanta’s Aradhana, that a star was born.
Despite being a heroine-oriented film, the mix of S.D. Burman’s mesmerising
music and Kishore Kumar’s voice, brought Rajesh Khanna into his own. The song “Mere
sapno ki rani” became a youth anthem of the ‘60s and is still remembered
for its memorable train sequence. Ironically it was entirely canned with Rajesh
Khanna shot in a jeep in Darjeeling and Sharmila Tagore, pictured in a train,
filmed in Bombay’s Nataraj studio.
The two would go on to forge a successful
partnership in other films such as Safar and Amar Prem. He also
had a fine run with Mumtaz, doing eight films with her, and in the bargain
helping her to graduate from a B-grade movie actress to the top league.
Affectionately called Kaka, he charmed and yodelled
his way through a series of films such as Do Raaste, Roti, Kati
Patang, Bawarchi and Anand. His success was all the more
remarkable as it came at a time when the industry was still singing hosannas to
the peerless Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand. But with a record 15
consecutive superhits, there was no questioning his quick and undisputed ascent
to superstardom.
In truth, he must owe at least a small portion of
his success to Kishore Kumar’s songs such as “Mere sapno ki rani”, “Roop
tera mastana” and “Karvate badalte rahe saari raat hum.”. After the
success of Haathi Mere Saathi, Salim-Javed who had penned the film, offered to
refashion Khanna’s image as an Angry Young Man. He declined. And his loss was
Amitabh Bachchan’s gain.
Khanna’s decline came as rapidly as his rise. After
a decade of ruling the box office, his position was usurped by Bachchan, who
had acted with him in Anand. Rajesh Khanna was not getting any younger
and the cinema fans of the 1980s and 1990s seemed ready for a more volatile and
rebellious hero. After attempts to romance the much younger Jayaprada and
Sridevi in Awaaz and Masterji flopped miserably, he took on a
semi-comic role in Maqsad. He tried to stay in the hunt with
multi-starrers, but with the exception of Avtar, a weepy saga remembered more
for its bhajan “Chalo bulava aaya hai,” success eluded him.
His personal life, which included a broken marriage
with Dimple Kapadia, was chequered. And unlike Bachchan, he was unable to
refashion himself to remain relevant in Bollywood once he reached the middle
age. It was only somewhat recently that he did his first commercial, a
television advertisement for a fan manufacturer. With the popular song “Yeh
Shaam Mastani” in the background and an old, almost infirm Rajesh Khanna in
the foreground, it was an attempt to evoke nostalgia.
The advertisement was greeted with mixed reactions,
with many fans preferring to remember him as the man he was at the height of
his powers, the charmer who successfully serenaded and seduced the best
actresses on screen. But it was a reminder that Rajesh Khanna, despite his
flirtation with politics and his stint as a Congress Lok Sabha MP between 1992
and 1996, always yearned to be under the arc-lights. That was his true place,
even if he found it difficult to accept that stardom, like life itself, is a
transient thing.
Rajesh Khanna, actor, died in Mumbai on 18 July
2012, aged 69. He was born in Amritsar on 29 December 1942. He is survived by
two daughters, Twinkle and Rinke.
IANS adds
Fondly known as Kaka, Khanna worked in about 160
films including. Here is his filmography:
1960s
—1966 “Akhri khat“
—1967 “Raaz“
—1967 “Baharo Ke sapne“
—1967 “Woman“
—1968 “Shrimanji“
—1969 “Khamoshi“
—1969 “Doli“
—1969 “Bandhan“
—1969 “Aradhana“
—1969 “Ittefaq“
—1969 “Do Raaste“
1970s
—1970 “Safar“
—1970 “Kati Patang“
—1970 “The Train’
—1970 “Sachaa Jhutha“
—1970 “Aan Milo Sajana“
—1971 “Mehboob Ki Mehandi“
—1971 “Maryada“
—1971 “Guddi“
—1971 “Dushman“
—1971 “Andaz“
—1971 “Anand“
—1971 “Haathi Mere Saathi“
—1971 “Choti Bahu“
—1972 “Shehzada“
—1972 “Mere Jeevan Saathi“
—1972 “Malik“
—1972 “Dil Daulat Duniya“
—1972 “Bawarchi“
—1972 “Apna Desh“
—1972 “Anuraag“
—1972 “Amar Prem“
—1972 “Joroo Ka Ghulam“
—1973 “Daag: A Poem of Love“
—1973 “Raja Rani“
—1973 “Bombay Superstar“
—1973 “Namak Haraam“
—1974 “Badhti Ka Naam Dadhi“
—1974 “Aap Ki Kasam“
—1974 “Prem Nagar“
—1974 “Ajanabee“
—1974 “Avishkaar“
—1974 “Roti“
—1975 “Prem Kahani“
—1975 “Aakraman“
—1976 “Maha Chor“
—1976 “Ginny Aur Johny“
—1976 “Bundal Baaz“
—1976 “Mehbooba“
—1977 “Tinku“
—1977 “Karm“
—1977 “Chalta Purza“
—1977 “Anurodh“
—1977 “Tyaag“
—1977 “Aaina“
—1977 “Chhailla Babu“
—1977 “Hatyara“
—1977 “Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein“
—1977 “Aashiq Hoon Baharon Ka“
—1978 “Chakravyuha”
—1978 “Bhola Bhala“
—1978 “Naukri“
—1979 “Muqabla“
—1979 “Janta Hawaldar“
—1979 “Bebus“
—1979 “Amar Deep“
—1979 “Prem Bandhan“
1980s
—1980 “Bandish“
—1980 “Red Rose“
—1980 “Phir Wohi Raat“
—1980 “Aanchal“
—1981 “Bharosa“
—1981 “Dushman Dost“
—1981 “Kudrat“
—1981 “Sundara Satarkar“
—1981 “Dhanwan“
—1981 “Dard“
—1981 “Fiffty Fiffty“
—1982 “Rajput“
—1982 “Ashanti“
—1982 “Dil—E—Nadaan“
—1982 “Dharam Kanta“
—1982 “Ayaash“
—1982 “Jaanwar“
—1983 “Avtaar“
—1983 “Souten“
—1983 “Agar Tum Na Hote“
—1984 “Asha Jyoti“
—1984 “Dharam Aur Qanoon“
—1984 “Awaaz“
—1985 “Zamana“
—1985 “Hum Dono“
—1985 “Masterji“
—1985 “Bewafai“
—1985 “Aakhir Kyon?”
—1985 “Alag Alag
—1985 “Babu“
—1985 “Awara Baap“
—1986 “Angaaray“
—1986 “Amrit“
—1986 “Anokha Rishta“
—1987 “Sitapur Ki Geeta“
—1987 “Nazrana“
—1988 “Vijay“
—1989 “Main Tera Dushman“
—1989 “Ghar Ka Chiraag“
1990s
—1990 “Jai Shiv Shankar“
—1990 “Dushman“
—1990 “Swarg“
—1991 “Ghar Parivaar“
__1991 “Begunaah“
—1994 “Khudai“
—1999 “Aa Ab Laut Chalen“
2000—2008
—2001 “Pyaar Zindagi Hai“
—2002 “Kyaa Dil Ne Kahaa“
—2008 “Wafaa“
As Producer:
—1985 “Alag Alag”
—1989 “Police Ke Peeche Police”
—1990 “Jai Shiv Shankar”
Keywords: Rajesh Khanna death, Bollywood superstar
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