19.7.12

Rajesh Khanna : 1942 - 2012


Rajesh Khanna, the man hailed as the first superstar of Hindi cinema, passed away at his Bandra residence on Wednesday afternoon. He was 69. His estranged wife Dimple, daughters Twinkle and Rinke, and son-in-law Akshay Kumar were by his side when the end came.
Kaka, as he was fondly called, was battling lung cancer for long now. He was admitted to Lilavati Hospital first after complaining of fatigue on April 1. Though he was discharged three days later, Khanna was readmitted on June 23 and spent two weeks in the hospital. He was hospitalised for the third time on July 14 when his blood pressure dropped alarmingly.
As the news of his demise spread, colleagues from the film industry began arriving at his bungalow 'Aashirwaad' that was shrouded in white. The road leading up to his home was cordoned off and police were deployed to control crowds. A large portrait of Khanna was placed outside Ashirwaad for his fans to pay their last respects. 

Beginning with Aradhana in 1969, Khanna lined up a row of 15 solo-hits up till 1972, which is still an unbroken record in Indian film history
Andaaz , Do Raaste , Bandhan , Doli , Khamoshi ,Ittefaq ,Safar , Kati Patang , The Train , Sachaa Jhutha
Aan Milo Sajna , 
Mehboob Ki Mehndi , Dushman , Anand


Born Jatin Khanna in Amritsar on Dec 29, 1942
A talent hunt find. He was one of eight finalists in the 1965 All India Talent Contest organised by United Producers and Filmfare 
Debut in 1966 in Aakhri Khat, India’s entry for the Oscar’s in 1967. Raaz was first film he signed for.
180 films: Holds record for most number of authorbacked lead hero films – 106 solo hero films and only 22 two hero films
Highest paid Indian actor in 1970-79 and shared the highest paid actor tag with Amitabh Bachchan in the 1980-87 period
Married Dimple Kapadia in March 1973, 6 months before her debut film Bobby. 
They have two daughters, Twinkle & Rinke
Political life : Congress MP representing the New Delhi constituency from 1992 to 1996

1 comment:

Rahul said...

I am reminded of my college days when my friends were great fans of Rajesh Khanna. One girl wanted to be the secretary of Rajesh Khanna.