MUMBAI, July 18: Bollywood’s original superstar Rajesh Khanna, who charmed his way into the hearts of millions of swooning female fans in the 1960s and 70s, died here today.
69-year-old Khanna, who shot to superstardom with the 1969 hit ‘Aradhana’ opposite Sharmila Tagore, passed away at his home, two days after being discharged from Lilawati hospital. He had been ailing since April.
Though a romantic hero, Khanna essayed a variety of roles with ease in his illustrious career spanning four decades. His portrayal as a cancer patient in the Hrishikesh Mukherjee-film ‘Anand’(1971) in which he got the better of Amitabh Bachchan left many teary eyed.
Nicknamed “Kaka” by his adoring fans, he is survived by estranged actress wife Dimple Kapadia and daughters Twinkle and Rinkie, all of whom were by his side when his end came.
Khanna’s family as also Lilawati Hospital authorities were tightlipped about the nature of the actor’s illness.
“We cannot tell you about the nature of Khanna’s illness….Please get in touch with his family,” a spokesman for Lilawati who identified himself only as Dr Trivedi told.
According to sources close to the family, the cremation will take place tomorrow.
Vijay, a close friend of Khanna who had been interacting with the media since his illness, said, “Kaka’s food intake had gone down over the last few days making him very weak.”
The news of Khanna’s death this afternoon spread like wildfire and hundreds of teary-eyed fans descended at his bungalow ‘Ashirwad’ in Bandra.
“My father-in-law is no more. He has gone to a nice and heavenly place. I am happy that he has gone there and hope that everyone will pray for him,” his actor son-in-law Akshay Kumar told waiting reporters and fans outside ‘Ashirwad’.
Several Bollywood celebrities including actors Rishi Kapoor, Prem Chopra and film maker Sahid Khan visited Khanna’s home to pay homage to the actor.
The veteran actor, who lived a secluded life of late, recently appeared for a commercial, his face and eyes sunken. His real fans were shocked to see him a pale shadow of his former self.
During his illustrious career Khanna gave 15 consecutive solo superhits between 1969 and 1972 including “Aradhana”, “Haathi Mere Saathi”, “Anand” and “Amar Prem”.
Debuting with ‘Akhri Khat’ which he bagged after winning a talent contest in 1965, Khanna went on to star in over 180 films.
He carved a niche for himself in Bollywood dominated in those days by the troika of Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor and the likes of Shammi Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar.
However, it was ‘Aradhana’ in 1969 opposite Sharmila that catapulted him to superstardom overnight.
His disarming smile and twinkling eyes made him the darling of millions. Female fans lined the streets he took, covered his car with kisses leaving lipstick marks, married his photographs and wrote love letters to him in blood while young men would sport his hairstyle.
Khanna won three Filmfare Best Actor Awards and was nominated for it 14 times. He was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.
The commercial success of his films declined during 1976–78. After 1978, Khanna starred in critically acclaimed films such as “Amado”, “Phir Wohi Raat”, “Dard”, “Dhanwan”, “Avtaar” and “Agar Tum Na Hote”.
If Khanna’s rise to fame was meteoric, so was his fall from stardom. By the late 80s his charm at the box office had waned but it did not affect his personal charisma. He held a Lok Sabha seat from New Delhi constituency as a Congressman from 1992 to 1996.
The actor, who married Dimple Kapadia, 15 years younger to him, in 1973, split with her in 1984 but the couple never divorced. Kapadia was constantly at Khanna’s side during his illness.
Born as Jatin Khanna on December 29, 1942, Khanna was adopted and raised by foster parents. He began taking interest in acting while in school and performed in a number of plays. It was his uncle who changed Khanna’s first name to Rajesh.
A pall of gloom descended on the film industry with Khanna’s death with artists calling it the end of an era in Bollywood.
Saira Banu, who missed a chance of working with Khanna during his stardom days, said the actor was very humble.
“I was supposed to work with him in ‘Choti Bahu’ but I could not because I was ill. I shot with him for two days and found that he was very charming, humble and a shy person. May his soul rest in peace,” Banu said.
His contemporary Manoj Kumar was planning to meet Khanna.
“I had called Dimple but she told me not to come as Rajesh Khanna was not in a position to talk…I miss him a lot and I have shared some of the best memories with him.”
Veteran actress Vyjayanthimala said, “His death is a big loss to the industry. It’s my bad luck that I didn’t have the chance to work with him because he came much later. I remember when he came to Chennai for some film shoot the college girls went crazy to catch a glimpse of him when he was going to his studio.” Superstar Shah Rukh Khan said Khanna’s smile will be missed forever.
“To live with intention and walk to the edge. Play with abandon, choose with no regret. Smile and made us do the same. Sir, you defined our era. Whenever life felt tough u made us feel how love could change it all. RIP,” SRK tweeted. (PTI)
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