My OperaSuper Star Rajesh Khanna - Biography
Tuesday, December 17, 2013 9:20:43 AM
KAKA
Born: Jatin Khanna on 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012, Amritsar, Punjab, India) was a Bollywood actor, film producer and politician. He was referred to as the "Real & Only Super Star" and the "Original Super Star" of Indian Cinema. He starred in 15 consecutive solo hit films in the period 1969-71. In 1974, BBC made a film on him, titled Bombay Super Star. Super Star Khanna is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian Cinema.
He married Dimple Kapadia in March 1973, 8 months before Dimple's debut film Bobby was released and had two daughters from the marriage. Their elder daughter Twinkle Khanna is married to actor Akshay Kumar, while they also have a younger daughter Rinke Khanna.
He appeared in a total of 180 films - 163 feature films and 17 short films. He was the solo lead hero in 106 films. He won three Filmfare Best Actor Awards and was nominated for the same fourteen times. He received the most BFJA AAWARDS FOR BEST ACTOR (HINDI) – four times and nominated 25 times. In 1991, he was awarded the Filmfare Special Award for completing 25 years in the industry, and for appearing as the single lead hero in more films than any other male actor in Hindi films within 25 years of his debut. In 2005, he was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. He made his debut in 1966 with Aakhri Khat and rose to prominence with his performances in films like Raaz, Baharon Ke Sapne, Ittefaq and Aradhana. He had 35 Golden Jubilee Hits (which means the films ran for more than 50 weeks in theatres across India) in the period 1967–1975, three more in 76–78 and 35 more in the period 1979–1991. He also had 22 silver jubilee hits (that is films ran in theatres for more than 25 weeks) in the period 1966–1991. He was the highest paid Indian actor from 1970–87 where Amitabh Bachchan shared the same tag with Super Star Rajesh Khanna from 1980–87. He was also a Lok Sabha member of the Indian National Congress from New Delhi constituency from 1992 to 1996.
After being critically ill, Super Star Rajesh Khanna died on 18 July 2012. Super Star Rajesh Khanna has been posthumously awarded India's third highest civilian honour Padma Bhushan. On April 30, 2013 he was officially bestowed with the title The First Superstar of Indian cinema at Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards. A postage stamp, bearing his face, was released by India Post to honour him on 3 May 2013. On his first death anniversary, a bronze statue of Super Star Rajesh Khanna was unveiled at Bandra Bandstand, Mumbai.
EARLY LIFE :
Born on 29 December 1942, in Amristar in Punjab, as Jatin Khanna, Super Star Rajesh Khanna was adopted and raised by foster parents – Chunni Lal Khanna and Leela Wati Khanna, who were relatives of his biological parents after his father had migrated from pre-partitioned Pakistan to Gali Tiwarian in the city of Amritsar. His biological parents were Lala Hiranand and Chandrani Rajesh Khanna and Lala worked as headmaster of the MC High School in Burewala (in present day Pakistan), Vehari District, Punjab, Pakistan. Super Star Rajesh Khanna lived in Saraswati Niwas in Thakurdwar near Girgaon, Mumbai and attended St. Sabastain’s Goan High School there, along with his friend Ravi Kapoor, who later took the stage name Jeetendra, and whose mothers were friends. Super Star Rajesh Khanna gradually started taking interest in theatre and did a lot of stage and theatre plays in his school and college days and won many prizes in the inter college drama competitions. In 1962 Super Star Rajesh Khanna played a wounded dumb soldier in the play 'Andha Yug' and impressed with his performance the chief guest suggested him to get into films soon. Super Star Rajesh Khanna became a rare newcomer who struggled in his own MG Sports Car to get work in theatre and films in the early sixties. Super Star Rajesh Khanna did his first two years of Bachelor of Arts in Nowrosjee Wadia College in Pune from 1959 to 1961. Both friends later studied in K.C. College, Mumbai. Rajesh Khanna also tutored Jeetendra for his first film audition. Super Star Rajesh Khanna's uncle KK Talwar changed Khanna's first name to Rajesh when Super Star Rajesh Khanna decided to join films. His friends and his wife called him Kaka.
EARLY CAREER (1966 –1975) :
Super Star Rajesh Khanna was one of eight finalists in the 1965 All India Talent Contest organised by United Producers and Filmfare from more than ten thousand contestants. Subsequently, Super Star Rajesh Khanna won the contest. He made his film debut in the 1966 film Aakhri Khat directed by Chetan Anand, followed by Raaz directed by Ravindra Dave both of which were a part of his predetermined prize for winning the All-India United Producers’ Talent Competition. G.P. Sippy and Nasir Hussain were the first to sign Super Star Rajesh Khanna after he won the contest. Aakhri Khat was India’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 40th Oscar Academy Awards in 1967. Super Star Rajesh Khanna in an interview to Hindu newspaper said,"Though “Aakhri Khat” is my first film, I received my first break as a leading actor in Ravindra Dave's, “Raaz” in 1967. My heroine was Babita, already a popular actress then. Though I had lots of confidence, I was shy in facing the camera initially. In my first three shots, I had to perform with stress on my body language and dialogue delivery. Though I was right with my dialogues, my movements were not up to the mark. Ravindra Dave explained me my scenes and movements very clearly correcting my way of walking". Being under contract with United Producers, he got projects like Aurat, Doli and Ittefaq. He was then noticed for his performances in films like Baharon Ke Sapne, Aurat (1967), Doli, Aradhana and Ittefaq. In case of Bahraon Ke Sapne, the response from the public in 1st week of run forced the film's ending to be changed from a tragic one to happeier one from the 2nd week. Later Waheeda Rehman suggested Asit Sen to take Super Star Rajesh Khanna for the lead role in Khamoshi. Through Aradhana he rose to "instant national fame" and film critics referred to him as the first superstar of India. In that film, Super Star Rajesh Khanna was cast in a double role (father and son) opposite Sharmila Tagore and Farida Jalal. The film also saw the resurgence of Kishore Kumar, who eventually became the official playback voice of Rajesh Khanna. The Kishore Kumar - Rajesh Khanna combination worked miracles and it was almost impossible to see them as separate identities. They became a singer-actor duo and together they gave many songs till 1991. Then in year 1971, Haathi Mere Saathi became the biggest hit and also became the biggest grosser ever till then. Super Star Rajesh Khanna is also credited with giving Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar their first chance to become screenplay writers by offering them work in Haathi Mere Saathi. Javed Akhthar accepted in an interview "One day, he went to Salimsaab and said that Mr. Devar had given him a huge signing amount with which he could complete the payment for his bungalow Aashirwad. But the film's script was far from being satisfactory. He told us that if we could set right the script, he would make sure we got both money and credit." Super Star Rajesh Khanna bought Rajendra Kumar's bunglow named Dimple in Carter Road for 31 lakhs in 1970 and renamed it as Ashirwaad.
Super Star Rajesh Khanna acted alongside Mumtaz in eight successful films. They were neighbours and got along very well, which translated onto the screen. Mumtaz was quoted as saying "I would pull his leg and tease him about his fan following. Whenever Rajesh entered a hotel in Madras, there was a queue of 600 girls waiting to see him at midnight. As a result, even I would get some importance, as people would ask for my autograph as well. He was very generous with his associates, and would party a lot."
During the peak of his career he would be mobbed during public appearances. Fans kissed his car, which would be covered with lipstick marks, and lined the road, cheering and chanting his name. Female fans sent him letters written in their blood. There used to be a line of cars of his producers and hysterical fans outside his bungalow every day. Actor Mehmood parodied him in Bombay to Goa where the driver and conductor of the bus were called 'Rajesh' and 'Khanna'. Even today, he remains the favourite of mimicry artists, who copy his trademark style and dialogue delivery. During the filming of Amar Prem there was a scene that needed to be filmed at Howrah Bridge with a boat carrying Super Star Rajesh Khanna with Sharmila moving under the bridge. The authorities ruled this scene out as they realised that if the public found out that the hero of the film would be there, it may create problems on the bridge itself, and that it might collapse due to the amount of people trying to get a glimpse of their favourite actor. Film critic Monojit Lahiri remembers “Girls married themselves to photographs of Super Star Rajesh Khanna, cutting their fingers and applying the blood as sindoor. Super Star Rajesh Khanna was God, there has never been such hysteria.”
Several songs sung by Kishore Kumar in the 1970s were based on Rajesh Khanna. During the filming of the song 'Mere Sapnon Ki Rani' in Aradhana, Sharmila Tagore was shooting for a Satyajit Ray film and director Shakti Samanta had to shoot their scenes separately and then join the scenes together. In the 1970s, his chemistry with Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz, Asha Parekh, Zeenat Aman and Hema Malini were also popular with audiences.
The BBC made a film on him, titled Bombay Superstar, in 1974, the shooting for which began the same time when he got married and his film Daag premiered. In the video it can be noticed that Super Star Rajesh Khanna was shooting for Aap Ki Kasam. A textbook prescribed by the Mumbai University contained an essay, 'The Charisma of Rajesh Khanna!'.
Sharmila Tagore said in interview to The Indian Express that "women came out in droves to see Kaka. They would stand in queues outside the studios to catch a glimpse, they would marry his photographs, they would pull at his clothes. Delhi girls were crazier for him than Mumbai girls. He needed police protection when he was in public. I have never seen anything like this before and since."
Music remained one of the biggest attractions of all Super Star Rajesh Khanna films throughout his career. Many of the musical scores for Super Star Rajesh Khanna's films were composed by Sachin Dev Burman, R.D. Burman and Laxmikant - Pyarelal. The trio of Super Star Rajesh Khanna, Kishore Kumar and R.D. Burman went on to make a number of popular films, including Kati Patang, Amar Prem, Shehzada, Apna Desh, Mere Jeevan Saathi, Aap Ki Kasam, Ajnabee, Namak Haraam, Maha Chor, Karm, Phir Wohi Raat, Aanchal, Kudrat, Ashanti, Agar Tum Na Hote, Awaaz, Hum Dono and Alag Alag.
Super Star Rajesh Khanna had 15 consecutive solo hit films between 1969 to 1971. Those 15 solo lead hero films were Aradhana, Doli, Bandhan, Ittefaq, Do Raaste, Khamoshi, Safar, The Train, Kati Patang, Sachaa Jhutha, Aan Milo Sajna, Mehboob Ki Mehendi, Dushmun, Anand and Haathi Mere Saathi.
Super Star Rajesh Khanna considered Guru Dutt, Meena Kumari and Geeta Bali as his idols. Khanna dislosed in an interview," My inspirations include, Dilip Kumar's dedication and intensity, Raj Kapoor's spontaneity, Dev Anand's style and Shammi Kapoor's rhythm."
1976 – 1978 :
Between 1976 and 1978, Super Star Rajesh Khanna acted in 5 box office hits and in nine films that were not commercially successful. Seven of the unsuccessful films were critically acclaimed and have achieved strong cult status over the years among the viewers and these films included Mehbooba, Bundal Baaz, Tyaag, Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein, Naukri, Chakravyuha and Janta Hawaldar which were directed by Shakti Samanta, Shammi Kapoor, Din Dayal Sharma, Meraj, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee and Mehmood Ali, respectively. Super Star Rajesh Khanna persuaded Samanta to cast his sister-in-law Simple Kapadia opposite him in Anurodh. Films starring Super Star Rajesh Khanna and directed by Shakti Samanta tended to be commercially successful, but Mehbooba was an exception. The change from romantic and social movies to action oriented multi-starrers caused the decline of Super Star Rajesh Khanna's career in terms of box office ratings to some extent. The declaration of emergency in India had angered the masses and this helped films having the lead character revolting against corruption becoming successes. Actor Joy Mukherjee made Chhailla Babu, a suspense thriller in 1977, which became the only successful film of his as a director and the unexpected success of the Chhailla Babu gave a boost to the career of Super Star Rajesh Khanna. However, Super Star Rajesh Khanna continued basically in solo hero social sober household meaningful films during this era and played a variety of characters in films of various genres. During this phase too he had box office hits like Maha Chor, Chhailla Babu, Anurodh, Karm and Bhola Bhala.
1979 – 1991 :
After 1978, Super Star Rajesh Khanna starred in critically acclaimed commercially successful films such as Amar Deep, Phir Wohi Raat, Bandish, Thodisi Bewafaii, Dard, Kudrat, Dhanwan, Ashanti (1982 film), Avtaar, Agar Tum Na Hote, Souten, Jaanwar, Asha Jyoti, Awaaz, Naya Kadam, Hum Dono, Babu, Aaj Ka M.L.A. Ram Avtar, Shatru, Insaaf Main Karoonga, Anokha Rishta, Nazrana, Angaarey, Adhikar, Amrit, Awam (from 1979 – 1991). Director Bharathiraja decided to remake his 1978 Tamil box office hit film "Sigappu Rojakkal" in Hindi with Khanna playing the role of a psychopath. Kamal Haasan who played the same role in Tamil won South Filmfare Best Actor Award for his portrayal. But the Hindi movie was seen as controversial by traditional and orthodox Hindi moviegoers and was not a commercial success, although Super Star Super Star Rajesh Khanna's performance has been rated later higher by critics than the original.
Tina Munim and Super Star Rajesh Khanna became the leading on and off screen couple of the 1980’s with hits like Fiffty Fiffty, Suraag – The Clue, Souten, Aakhir Kyun, Bewafai, Insaaf Main Karoonga and Adhikar. Ram Awatar Agnihotri wrote that Tina Munim showed the first sparks of the dedicated actress she would become in the films "Alag Alag" and "Adhikar", both with Super Star Rajesh Khanna. His on screen pair with Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Padmini Kolhapure and Poonam Dhillon was also popular in the eighties He also acted in the Marathi hit film "Sundara Satarkar" in 1981.
Super Star Rajesh Khanna performed in successful multi-star films including Rajput, Dharm Aur Qanoon, Paapi Pet Ka Sawaal Hai, Zamana, Dil-E-Nadaan and Ghar Ka Chiraag. He did three movies with Jeetendra: Roti (appearing in a song), Dharam Kanta, Nishaan, and Maqsad. In 1984, Maqsad was the second - highest ranked film in terms of box office results, earning 8.5 crores. In Aaj Ka M.L.A. Ram Avtar, Khanna played the character of a corrupt politician. Viewers praised his role in the film.[98] In 1985 he produced Alag Alag. As per Guardian UK, he had 11 releases as solo lead hero in 11 films in the year 1985 and eight of them were hits. Before joining politics, one of his last films as the lead hero was Swarg released in 1990. David Dhanwan regards Swarg as his favourite directorial venture.
He worked in films of different genres: tragedy in Babu as a rickshaw puller, thriller in Red Rose as a psycopath, political adventure in Awam, fantasy in Bundalbaaz and Jaanwar, crime in Phir Wohi Raat and Angaarey, suspense in Chakravyuha and Iteefaq, comedy in Joru Ka Ghulam, Bawarchi, Hum Dono and Masterji, action in Ashanti and Zamana, and family dramas addressing different issues in Aanchal, Amrit and Agar Tum Na Hote and films addressing issues of social concerns Avtaar, Naya Kadam, Akhir Kyun?. He did films of different themes like like reincarnation theme in Kudrat, spiritualism in Maalik, immaturity while falling in love like in Anokha Rishta, Nazrana and Dil-E-Nadan. He played a variety of characters as the lead hero: a postman in Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein, a lawyer who proves that his senior has committed a rape 25 years earlier in Kudrat, a politician in Aaj Ka MLA Ram Avtaar, a young musician forced by fate to marry two women in Asha Jyoti, a professional advocate in Awaaz, a fisherman in Prem Bandhan, a patriot in Prem Kahani, as a righteous farmer in Bandhan and as a Muslim who falls in love with a prostitute's daughter in Mehboob Ki Mehendi.
He shared a close relationship with R.D. Burman and Kishore Kumar. The trio were friends and have worked together in thirty two films. Kishore Kumar had even credited Super Star Rajesh Khanna for his resurgence, so much so that he sang for Alag Alag, the first film produced by Super Star Rajesh Khanna without charging anything. In 1985 Pancham found himself being sidelined after failure of few films but Super Star Rajesh Khanna was among the few who continued to stand by him. Super Star Rajesh Khanna and Pancham worked together even after the death of Kishore in the films Jai Shiv Shankar, the unreleased film Police Ke Peechhe Police (both produced by Super Star Rajesh Khanna ) and Sautela Bhai. Super Star Rajesh Khanna even helped Leena Chandavarkar Gangully and Amit Kumar in completing Mamta Ki Chhaon Mein, the last film directed by Kishore Kumar who died before the completion of the film.
Pyarelal of Laxmikant - Pyarelal duo quoted in an interview that “Super Star Rajesh Khanna was lucky for us and we were lucky for him too. From the 1969 Do Raaste to the 1986 Amrit, we gave hits together both as films and as music scores.... When we went on our first overseas concert tour in 1984, he came and danced to three songs. He was very particular about his music and would take a tape home if he could not assess a song. He would then give his feedback after a day or two. But if he liked a song at the sitting, he would loudly shout “Wah! Wah!” in appreciation…. It was God’s blessing that we came up with such a vast range of hit songs for him, including in his home productions Roti and films like Chhailla Babu, Chakravyuha, Fiffty Fiffty, Amar Deep and Anurodh. Incidentally, he had a stake in Mehboob Ki Mehndi too. He had great interest in music and a terrific sense of melody too. His music is dominated by Pancham (R.D.Burman) and us and we accepted Shakti Samanta’s Anurodh only because Super Star Rajesh Khanna had some misunderstanding with Pancham then and did not want to work with him." Super Star Rajesh Khanna would always request music directors to fit in Kishore Kumar wherever possible. In fact, Kishore da was very reluctant to sing "Waada Tera Waada" in Dushman and suggested Laxmikant Pyarelal to get it sung by Mohd. Rafi. Then Laxmikant made Kishore da meet Super Star Rajesh Khanna and Super Star Rajesh Khanna winked at Laxmikant and told Kishore da that in that case the song should be scrapped. On hearing this Kishore immediately agreed to sing it by himself for Super Star Rajesh Khanna.
Actors who were part of the cast of most of his films include Ashok Kumar, Sujit Kumar, Prem Chopra, Madan Puri, Asrani, Bindu, Vijay Arora, Roopesh Kumar, Dina Pathak and A. K. Hangal, who remained part of his " working team" since the start until the late eighties. The lyricist whom he preferred for his movies was Anand Bakshi. Films by Shakti Samanta with Super Star Rajesh Khanna in the lead, music by Pancham and lyrics by Anand Bakshi had people swooning over. The films Samanta directed without Super Star Rajesh Khanna in the eighties were duds. His other close friends from the film industry include Raj Babbar, J. Om Prakash, Prem Chopra, D. Rama Naidu and Jeetendra.
Celebrities of the post 2000 era, like Madhur Bhandarkar, say that they take at least three or four turns in Carter Road even today only to see Super Star Rajesh Khanna. The younger generation stars like Imran Khan still regard Super Star Rajesh Khanna as someone who would take the top slot as the most romantic hero of all time. Shahrukh Khan idolises Super Star Rajesh Khanna and has opined,"Super Star Rajesh Khanna you can’t touch". Anupam Kher said "Kishore Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, S.D. Burman, R.D. Burman, Super Star Rajesh Khanna, Smita Patil changed the face of Indian cinema. They’re remembered by the films that they do." Actor Tom Alter confessed “I still dream of being Super Star Rajesh Khanna. For me, in the early 1970s, he was the only hero – romantic to the core, not larger than life, so Indian and real – he was my hero; the reason I came into films and he still is.” Actor Irrfan Khan stated in an interview, "The kind of craze witnessed by Super Star Rajesh Khanna has not been duplicated by anyone. He was the biggest and the most real star Bollywood has produced. I'd say stardom is that feeling of being possessed by your idol; you are so overwhelmed with euphoria you lose touch with reality." The trend of wearing guru kurtas and belt on shirts became famous in seventies and eighties because of Super Star Rajesh Khanna. Javed Akhtar told in an interview about his experience about Super Star Rajesh Khanna's stardom "Bangalore used to have a state lottery and the government asked him to draw the lucky number. They organised it in a stadium. I was with him as we were discussing some scripts. I don't know if I will experience that again, the sound of 50,000 people gasping (when they saw him). He was like Caesar. It was unbelievable".
LATER CAREER (1991–2012) :
From the early nineties, while serving as Congress M.P. from 1991 to 1996, he returned to acting, playing the lead in Khudai in 1994, which was about a father and son both falling in love for the same woman. After 1992, he appeared in only 10 films and declined most film offers. He made a comeback as a NRI in Aa Ab Laut Chalen in 1999, and Kyaa Dil Ne Kahaa in 2002 and played the solo lead in films Sautela Bhai in 1996, Pyar Zindagi Hai in 2001, Jaana: Let us Fall in Love in 2006, Wafaa in 2008 and Riyasaat in 2013. He did 4 television serials in the period 2000 – 2009.
TELEVISION :
Super Star Rajesh Khanna was a life member of the International Film And Television Research Centre, the International Film And Television Club and the Asian Academy of Film & Television. He was the Guest Faculty of 'Specialised Cinema Courses At Asian School Of Media Studies'. On 10 April 1999 Super Star Rajesh Khanna inaugurated the live concert of S.P. Balasubramanyam held at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad as a tribute to Pancham. In 2001 and 2002, Rajesh played the lead in two television serials: Aapne Parai (B4U & DD Metro) and Ittefaq (Zee TV). He performed in a video album based on Tagore's songs (Rabindra Sangeet) without payment. He also endorsed Star se Superstar tak – a talent hunt programme in 2007 and donated a Gold Trophy of Rs.1 crore. In its Silver Jubilee Episode on 14 – 15 March 2008, K for Kishore aired a Super Star Rajesh Khanna special. He signed on to star in a TV serial with Creative Eye Banner (Dhiraj Kumar) in 2007, and in 2008 performed in a TV serial, Bhabhima, with Leena Chandavarkar Ganguly as his co-star. His successful TV serial Raghukul Reet Sada Chali Aayi began in November 2008 and ended in September 2009. Super Star Rajesh Khanna cited the lack of good roles for actors like him in the films as the reason for him not appearing much in films after 2001. He said in an interview on being queried about his decision to do TV serials, "The reach of TV is much more than cinema today and one episode of my serial is likely to be watched by more people than a super-hit film". In 2009, on his 67th birthday, Shemaroo Entertainment released his films and a song collection titled Screen Legends Super Star Rajesh Super Star Rajesh Khanna - the Original Superstar. In May 2012, Havells, the fan making company endorsed Super Star Rajesh Khanna as Brand Ambassador for their new ad campaign featuring him in solo advertisements.
POLITICAL & BUSINESS CAREER :
At the insistence of Rajiv Gandhi, he started campaigning for Congress since 1984. In the election for New Delhi seat in the 1991 Lok Sabha election, Super Star Rajesh Khanna lost to L.K. Advani by a narrow margin of 1589 votes after which Super Star Rajesh Khanna stood on the ground at the counting station insisting that he had been cheated of a win. As controversey erupted Advani had to vacate the constituency and a by-election took place and Super Star Rajesh Khanna won the same seat in 1992 by defeating Shatrughan Sinha by 25,000 votes. Super Star Rajesh Khanna was a member of Parliament for the Indian National Congress, from the New Delhi constituency, where he won the 1992 by-election, retaining his seat until the 1996 after which he was not interested in active politics. When Super Star Rajesh Khanna was MP, he did not accept new acting assignements but only acted in the film Khudai(1994). After leaving parliament, he was a political activist for the INC and campaigned for the party till the 2012 Punjab election.
Super Star Rajesh Khanna and a group of foreign investors bought land in Shirdi on which they planned to build a religious resort for disciples of Sai Baba of Shirdi.
PERSONAL LIFE :
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Super Star Rajesh Khanna fell in love with the then fashion designer and actress Anju Mahendru. They were in a relationship for seven years. Mahendru states that the couple did not speak to each other for 17 years after the break-up. Later Super Star Rajesh Khanna married the budding actress Dimple Kapadia in March 1973, before Kapadia's debut film Bobby released in November of that year. They have two daughters from the marriage; Twinkle and Rinke. Super Star Rajesh Khanna and Kapadia separated in 1984 but did not complete the divorce proceedings. In the eighties Tina Munim was romantically involved with Super Star Rajesh Khanna while working with Khanna in 11 movies from 1980-87. Munim had been a fan of Super Star Rajesh Khanna since her school days. According to website Bollywood Mantra reporter, relation with Tina ended in 1987 when Super Star Rajesh Khanna refused to marry her as their marriage would have bad impact on his daughters. Super Star Rajesh Khanna and Kapadia however maintained an amicable relationship where they both were seen together at parties and family functions together. Kapadia also campaigned for Super Star Rajesh Khanna's election and worked in his film Jai Shiv Shankar (1990).
Super Star Rajesh Khanna's elder daughter Twinkle Khanna, an interior decorator and a former film actress, is married to actor Akshay Kumar while his younger daughter Rinke Khanna, also a former Hindi film actress, is married to a London-based investment banker Samir Saran. On 17 July 2012, a woman named Anita Advani claimed that she had been Khanna's live-in partner, and sent a legal notice to his family members asking for compensation. The family denied the claims.
AWARDS :
Super Star Rajesh Khanna won four Best Actor Awards in the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, and received 25 nominations. He won three Filmfare Best Actor Awards, one Filmfare Special Guest Actor Award in 1973, and received a Filmfare Special Award in 1991, after 25 years in the Hindi film industry. He received the Filmfare Life Time Achievement Award at the 50th anniversary Filmfare award ceremony in 2005.
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Born: Jatin Khanna on 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012, Amritsar, Punjab, India) was a Bollywood actor, film producer and politician. He was referred to as the "Real & Only Super Star" and the "Original Super Star" of Indian Cinema. He starred in 15 consecutive solo hit films in the period 1969-71. In 1974, BBC made a film on him, titled Bombay Super Star. Super Star Khanna is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian Cinema.
He married Dimple Kapadia in March 1973, 8 months before Dimple's debut film Bobby was released and had two daughters from the marriage. Their elder daughter Twinkle Khanna is married to actor Akshay Kumar, while they also have a younger daughter Rinke Khanna.
He appeared in a total of 180 films - 163 feature films and 17 short films. He was the solo lead hero in 106 films. He won three Filmfare Best Actor Awards and was nominated for the same fourteen times. He received the most BFJA AAWARDS FOR BEST ACTOR (HINDI) – four times and nominated 25 times. In 1991, he was awarded the Filmfare Special Award for completing 25 years in the industry, and for appearing as the single lead hero in more films than any other male actor in Hindi films within 25 years of his debut. In 2005, he was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. He made his debut in 1966 with Aakhri Khat and rose to prominence with his performances in films like Raaz, Baharon Ke Sapne, Ittefaq and Aradhana. He had 35 Golden Jubilee Hits (which means the films ran for more than 50 weeks in theatres across India) in the period 1967–1975, three more in 76–78 and 35 more in the period 1979–1991. He also had 22 silver jubilee hits (that is films ran in theatres for more than 25 weeks) in the period 1966–1991. He was the highest paid Indian actor from 1970–87 where Amitabh Bachchan shared the same tag with Super Star Rajesh Khanna from 1980–87. He was also a Lok Sabha member of the Indian National Congress from New Delhi constituency from 1992 to 1996.
After being critically ill, Super Star Rajesh Khanna died on 18 July 2012. Super Star Rajesh Khanna has been posthumously awarded India's third highest civilian honour Padma Bhushan. On April 30, 2013 he was officially bestowed with the title The First Superstar of Indian cinema at Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards. A postage stamp, bearing his face, was released by India Post to honour him on 3 May 2013. On his first death anniversary, a bronze statue of Super Star Rajesh Khanna was unveiled at Bandra Bandstand, Mumbai.
EARLY LIFE :
Born on 29 December 1942, in Amristar in Punjab, as Jatin Khanna, Super Star Rajesh Khanna was adopted and raised by foster parents – Chunni Lal Khanna and Leela Wati Khanna, who were relatives of his biological parents after his father had migrated from pre-partitioned Pakistan to Gali Tiwarian in the city of Amritsar. His biological parents were Lala Hiranand and Chandrani Rajesh Khanna and Lala worked as headmaster of the MC High School in Burewala (in present day Pakistan), Vehari District, Punjab, Pakistan. Super Star Rajesh Khanna lived in Saraswati Niwas in Thakurdwar near Girgaon, Mumbai and attended St. Sabastain’s Goan High School there, along with his friend Ravi Kapoor, who later took the stage name Jeetendra, and whose mothers were friends. Super Star Rajesh Khanna gradually started taking interest in theatre and did a lot of stage and theatre plays in his school and college days and won many prizes in the inter college drama competitions. In 1962 Super Star Rajesh Khanna played a wounded dumb soldier in the play 'Andha Yug' and impressed with his performance the chief guest suggested him to get into films soon. Super Star Rajesh Khanna became a rare newcomer who struggled in his own MG Sports Car to get work in theatre and films in the early sixties. Super Star Rajesh Khanna did his first two years of Bachelor of Arts in Nowrosjee Wadia College in Pune from 1959 to 1961. Both friends later studied in K.C. College, Mumbai. Rajesh Khanna also tutored Jeetendra for his first film audition. Super Star Rajesh Khanna's uncle KK Talwar changed Khanna's first name to Rajesh when Super Star Rajesh Khanna decided to join films. His friends and his wife called him Kaka.
EARLY CAREER (1966 –1975) :
Super Star Rajesh Khanna was one of eight finalists in the 1965 All India Talent Contest organised by United Producers and Filmfare from more than ten thousand contestants. Subsequently, Super Star Rajesh Khanna won the contest. He made his film debut in the 1966 film Aakhri Khat directed by Chetan Anand, followed by Raaz directed by Ravindra Dave both of which were a part of his predetermined prize for winning the All-India United Producers’ Talent Competition. G.P. Sippy and Nasir Hussain were the first to sign Super Star Rajesh Khanna after he won the contest. Aakhri Khat was India’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 40th Oscar Academy Awards in 1967. Super Star Rajesh Khanna in an interview to Hindu newspaper said,"Though “Aakhri Khat” is my first film, I received my first break as a leading actor in Ravindra Dave's, “Raaz” in 1967. My heroine was Babita, already a popular actress then. Though I had lots of confidence, I was shy in facing the camera initially. In my first three shots, I had to perform with stress on my body language and dialogue delivery. Though I was right with my dialogues, my movements were not up to the mark. Ravindra Dave explained me my scenes and movements very clearly correcting my way of walking". Being under contract with United Producers, he got projects like Aurat, Doli and Ittefaq. He was then noticed for his performances in films like Baharon Ke Sapne, Aurat (1967), Doli, Aradhana and Ittefaq. In case of Bahraon Ke Sapne, the response from the public in 1st week of run forced the film's ending to be changed from a tragic one to happeier one from the 2nd week. Later Waheeda Rehman suggested Asit Sen to take Super Star Rajesh Khanna for the lead role in Khamoshi. Through Aradhana he rose to "instant national fame" and film critics referred to him as the first superstar of India. In that film, Super Star Rajesh Khanna was cast in a double role (father and son) opposite Sharmila Tagore and Farida Jalal. The film also saw the resurgence of Kishore Kumar, who eventually became the official playback voice of Rajesh Khanna. The Kishore Kumar - Rajesh Khanna combination worked miracles and it was almost impossible to see them as separate identities. They became a singer-actor duo and together they gave many songs till 1991. Then in year 1971, Haathi Mere Saathi became the biggest hit and also became the biggest grosser ever till then. Super Star Rajesh Khanna is also credited with giving Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar their first chance to become screenplay writers by offering them work in Haathi Mere Saathi. Javed Akhthar accepted in an interview "One day, he went to Salimsaab and said that Mr. Devar had given him a huge signing amount with which he could complete the payment for his bungalow Aashirwad. But the film's script was far from being satisfactory. He told us that if we could set right the script, he would make sure we got both money and credit." Super Star Rajesh Khanna bought Rajendra Kumar's bunglow named Dimple in Carter Road for 31 lakhs in 1970 and renamed it as Ashirwaad.
Super Star Rajesh Khanna acted alongside Mumtaz in eight successful films. They were neighbours and got along very well, which translated onto the screen. Mumtaz was quoted as saying "I would pull his leg and tease him about his fan following. Whenever Rajesh entered a hotel in Madras, there was a queue of 600 girls waiting to see him at midnight. As a result, even I would get some importance, as people would ask for my autograph as well. He was very generous with his associates, and would party a lot."
During the peak of his career he would be mobbed during public appearances. Fans kissed his car, which would be covered with lipstick marks, and lined the road, cheering and chanting his name. Female fans sent him letters written in their blood. There used to be a line of cars of his producers and hysterical fans outside his bungalow every day. Actor Mehmood parodied him in Bombay to Goa where the driver and conductor of the bus were called 'Rajesh' and 'Khanna'. Even today, he remains the favourite of mimicry artists, who copy his trademark style and dialogue delivery. During the filming of Amar Prem there was a scene that needed to be filmed at Howrah Bridge with a boat carrying Super Star Rajesh Khanna with Sharmila moving under the bridge. The authorities ruled this scene out as they realised that if the public found out that the hero of the film would be there, it may create problems on the bridge itself, and that it might collapse due to the amount of people trying to get a glimpse of their favourite actor. Film critic Monojit Lahiri remembers “Girls married themselves to photographs of Super Star Rajesh Khanna, cutting their fingers and applying the blood as sindoor. Super Star Rajesh Khanna was God, there has never been such hysteria.”
Several songs sung by Kishore Kumar in the 1970s were based on Rajesh Khanna. During the filming of the song 'Mere Sapnon Ki Rani' in Aradhana, Sharmila Tagore was shooting for a Satyajit Ray film and director Shakti Samanta had to shoot their scenes separately and then join the scenes together. In the 1970s, his chemistry with Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz, Asha Parekh, Zeenat Aman and Hema Malini were also popular with audiences.
The BBC made a film on him, titled Bombay Superstar, in 1974, the shooting for which began the same time when he got married and his film Daag premiered. In the video it can be noticed that Super Star Rajesh Khanna was shooting for Aap Ki Kasam. A textbook prescribed by the Mumbai University contained an essay, 'The Charisma of Rajesh Khanna!'.
Sharmila Tagore said in interview to The Indian Express that "women came out in droves to see Kaka. They would stand in queues outside the studios to catch a glimpse, they would marry his photographs, they would pull at his clothes. Delhi girls were crazier for him than Mumbai girls. He needed police protection when he was in public. I have never seen anything like this before and since."
Music remained one of the biggest attractions of all Super Star Rajesh Khanna films throughout his career. Many of the musical scores for Super Star Rajesh Khanna's films were composed by Sachin Dev Burman, R.D. Burman and Laxmikant - Pyarelal. The trio of Super Star Rajesh Khanna, Kishore Kumar and R.D. Burman went on to make a number of popular films, including Kati Patang, Amar Prem, Shehzada, Apna Desh, Mere Jeevan Saathi, Aap Ki Kasam, Ajnabee, Namak Haraam, Maha Chor, Karm, Phir Wohi Raat, Aanchal, Kudrat, Ashanti, Agar Tum Na Hote, Awaaz, Hum Dono and Alag Alag.
Super Star Rajesh Khanna had 15 consecutive solo hit films between 1969 to 1971. Those 15 solo lead hero films were Aradhana, Doli, Bandhan, Ittefaq, Do Raaste, Khamoshi, Safar, The Train, Kati Patang, Sachaa Jhutha, Aan Milo Sajna, Mehboob Ki Mehendi, Dushmun, Anand and Haathi Mere Saathi.
Super Star Rajesh Khanna considered Guru Dutt, Meena Kumari and Geeta Bali as his idols. Khanna dislosed in an interview," My inspirations include, Dilip Kumar's dedication and intensity, Raj Kapoor's spontaneity, Dev Anand's style and Shammi Kapoor's rhythm."
1976 – 1978 :
Between 1976 and 1978, Super Star Rajesh Khanna acted in 5 box office hits and in nine films that were not commercially successful. Seven of the unsuccessful films were critically acclaimed and have achieved strong cult status over the years among the viewers and these films included Mehbooba, Bundal Baaz, Tyaag, Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein, Naukri, Chakravyuha and Janta Hawaldar which were directed by Shakti Samanta, Shammi Kapoor, Din Dayal Sharma, Meraj, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee and Mehmood Ali, respectively. Super Star Rajesh Khanna persuaded Samanta to cast his sister-in-law Simple Kapadia opposite him in Anurodh. Films starring Super Star Rajesh Khanna and directed by Shakti Samanta tended to be commercially successful, but Mehbooba was an exception. The change from romantic and social movies to action oriented multi-starrers caused the decline of Super Star Rajesh Khanna's career in terms of box office ratings to some extent. The declaration of emergency in India had angered the masses and this helped films having the lead character revolting against corruption becoming successes. Actor Joy Mukherjee made Chhailla Babu, a suspense thriller in 1977, which became the only successful film of his as a director and the unexpected success of the Chhailla Babu gave a boost to the career of Super Star Rajesh Khanna. However, Super Star Rajesh Khanna continued basically in solo hero social sober household meaningful films during this era and played a variety of characters in films of various genres. During this phase too he had box office hits like Maha Chor, Chhailla Babu, Anurodh, Karm and Bhola Bhala.
1979 – 1991 :
After 1978, Super Star Rajesh Khanna starred in critically acclaimed commercially successful films such as Amar Deep, Phir Wohi Raat, Bandish, Thodisi Bewafaii, Dard, Kudrat, Dhanwan, Ashanti (1982 film), Avtaar, Agar Tum Na Hote, Souten, Jaanwar, Asha Jyoti, Awaaz, Naya Kadam, Hum Dono, Babu, Aaj Ka M.L.A. Ram Avtar, Shatru, Insaaf Main Karoonga, Anokha Rishta, Nazrana, Angaarey, Adhikar, Amrit, Awam (from 1979 – 1991). Director Bharathiraja decided to remake his 1978 Tamil box office hit film "Sigappu Rojakkal" in Hindi with Khanna playing the role of a psychopath. Kamal Haasan who played the same role in Tamil won South Filmfare Best Actor Award for his portrayal. But the Hindi movie was seen as controversial by traditional and orthodox Hindi moviegoers and was not a commercial success, although Super Star Super Star Rajesh Khanna's performance has been rated later higher by critics than the original.
Tina Munim and Super Star Rajesh Khanna became the leading on and off screen couple of the 1980’s with hits like Fiffty Fiffty, Suraag – The Clue, Souten, Aakhir Kyun, Bewafai, Insaaf Main Karoonga and Adhikar. Ram Awatar Agnihotri wrote that Tina Munim showed the first sparks of the dedicated actress she would become in the films "Alag Alag" and "Adhikar", both with Super Star Rajesh Khanna. His on screen pair with Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Padmini Kolhapure and Poonam Dhillon was also popular in the eighties He also acted in the Marathi hit film "Sundara Satarkar" in 1981.
Super Star Rajesh Khanna performed in successful multi-star films including Rajput, Dharm Aur Qanoon, Paapi Pet Ka Sawaal Hai, Zamana, Dil-E-Nadaan and Ghar Ka Chiraag. He did three movies with Jeetendra: Roti (appearing in a song), Dharam Kanta, Nishaan, and Maqsad. In 1984, Maqsad was the second - highest ranked film in terms of box office results, earning 8.5 crores. In Aaj Ka M.L.A. Ram Avtar, Khanna played the character of a corrupt politician. Viewers praised his role in the film.[98] In 1985 he produced Alag Alag. As per Guardian UK, he had 11 releases as solo lead hero in 11 films in the year 1985 and eight of them were hits. Before joining politics, one of his last films as the lead hero was Swarg released in 1990. David Dhanwan regards Swarg as his favourite directorial venture.
He worked in films of different genres: tragedy in Babu as a rickshaw puller, thriller in Red Rose as a psycopath, political adventure in Awam, fantasy in Bundalbaaz and Jaanwar, crime in Phir Wohi Raat and Angaarey, suspense in Chakravyuha and Iteefaq, comedy in Joru Ka Ghulam, Bawarchi, Hum Dono and Masterji, action in Ashanti and Zamana, and family dramas addressing different issues in Aanchal, Amrit and Agar Tum Na Hote and films addressing issues of social concerns Avtaar, Naya Kadam, Akhir Kyun?. He did films of different themes like like reincarnation theme in Kudrat, spiritualism in Maalik, immaturity while falling in love like in Anokha Rishta, Nazrana and Dil-E-Nadan. He played a variety of characters as the lead hero: a postman in Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein, a lawyer who proves that his senior has committed a rape 25 years earlier in Kudrat, a politician in Aaj Ka MLA Ram Avtaar, a young musician forced by fate to marry two women in Asha Jyoti, a professional advocate in Awaaz, a fisherman in Prem Bandhan, a patriot in Prem Kahani, as a righteous farmer in Bandhan and as a Muslim who falls in love with a prostitute's daughter in Mehboob Ki Mehendi.
He shared a close relationship with R.D. Burman and Kishore Kumar. The trio were friends and have worked together in thirty two films. Kishore Kumar had even credited Super Star Rajesh Khanna for his resurgence, so much so that he sang for Alag Alag, the first film produced by Super Star Rajesh Khanna without charging anything. In 1985 Pancham found himself being sidelined after failure of few films but Super Star Rajesh Khanna was among the few who continued to stand by him. Super Star Rajesh Khanna and Pancham worked together even after the death of Kishore in the films Jai Shiv Shankar, the unreleased film Police Ke Peechhe Police (both produced by Super Star Rajesh Khanna ) and Sautela Bhai. Super Star Rajesh Khanna even helped Leena Chandavarkar Gangully and Amit Kumar in completing Mamta Ki Chhaon Mein, the last film directed by Kishore Kumar who died before the completion of the film.
Pyarelal of Laxmikant - Pyarelal duo quoted in an interview that “Super Star Rajesh Khanna was lucky for us and we were lucky for him too. From the 1969 Do Raaste to the 1986 Amrit, we gave hits together both as films and as music scores.... When we went on our first overseas concert tour in 1984, he came and danced to three songs. He was very particular about his music and would take a tape home if he could not assess a song. He would then give his feedback after a day or two. But if he liked a song at the sitting, he would loudly shout “Wah! Wah!” in appreciation…. It was God’s blessing that we came up with such a vast range of hit songs for him, including in his home productions Roti and films like Chhailla Babu, Chakravyuha, Fiffty Fiffty, Amar Deep and Anurodh. Incidentally, he had a stake in Mehboob Ki Mehndi too. He had great interest in music and a terrific sense of melody too. His music is dominated by Pancham (R.D.Burman) and us and we accepted Shakti Samanta’s Anurodh only because Super Star Rajesh Khanna had some misunderstanding with Pancham then and did not want to work with him." Super Star Rajesh Khanna would always request music directors to fit in Kishore Kumar wherever possible. In fact, Kishore da was very reluctant to sing "Waada Tera Waada" in Dushman and suggested Laxmikant Pyarelal to get it sung by Mohd. Rafi. Then Laxmikant made Kishore da meet Super Star Rajesh Khanna and Super Star Rajesh Khanna winked at Laxmikant and told Kishore da that in that case the song should be scrapped. On hearing this Kishore immediately agreed to sing it by himself for Super Star Rajesh Khanna.
Actors who were part of the cast of most of his films include Ashok Kumar, Sujit Kumar, Prem Chopra, Madan Puri, Asrani, Bindu, Vijay Arora, Roopesh Kumar, Dina Pathak and A. K. Hangal, who remained part of his " working team" since the start until the late eighties. The lyricist whom he preferred for his movies was Anand Bakshi. Films by Shakti Samanta with Super Star Rajesh Khanna in the lead, music by Pancham and lyrics by Anand Bakshi had people swooning over. The films Samanta directed without Super Star Rajesh Khanna in the eighties were duds. His other close friends from the film industry include Raj Babbar, J. Om Prakash, Prem Chopra, D. Rama Naidu and Jeetendra.
Celebrities of the post 2000 era, like Madhur Bhandarkar, say that they take at least three or four turns in Carter Road even today only to see Super Star Rajesh Khanna. The younger generation stars like Imran Khan still regard Super Star Rajesh Khanna as someone who would take the top slot as the most romantic hero of all time. Shahrukh Khan idolises Super Star Rajesh Khanna and has opined,"Super Star Rajesh Khanna you can’t touch". Anupam Kher said "Kishore Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, S.D. Burman, R.D. Burman, Super Star Rajesh Khanna, Smita Patil changed the face of Indian cinema. They’re remembered by the films that they do." Actor Tom Alter confessed “I still dream of being Super Star Rajesh Khanna. For me, in the early 1970s, he was the only hero – romantic to the core, not larger than life, so Indian and real – he was my hero; the reason I came into films and he still is.” Actor Irrfan Khan stated in an interview, "The kind of craze witnessed by Super Star Rajesh Khanna has not been duplicated by anyone. He was the biggest and the most real star Bollywood has produced. I'd say stardom is that feeling of being possessed by your idol; you are so overwhelmed with euphoria you lose touch with reality." The trend of wearing guru kurtas and belt on shirts became famous in seventies and eighties because of Super Star Rajesh Khanna. Javed Akhtar told in an interview about his experience about Super Star Rajesh Khanna's stardom "Bangalore used to have a state lottery and the government asked him to draw the lucky number. They organised it in a stadium. I was with him as we were discussing some scripts. I don't know if I will experience that again, the sound of 50,000 people gasping (when they saw him). He was like Caesar. It was unbelievable".
LATER CAREER (1991–2012) :
From the early nineties, while serving as Congress M.P. from 1991 to 1996, he returned to acting, playing the lead in Khudai in 1994, which was about a father and son both falling in love for the same woman. After 1992, he appeared in only 10 films and declined most film offers. He made a comeback as a NRI in Aa Ab Laut Chalen in 1999, and Kyaa Dil Ne Kahaa in 2002 and played the solo lead in films Sautela Bhai in 1996, Pyar Zindagi Hai in 2001, Jaana: Let us Fall in Love in 2006, Wafaa in 2008 and Riyasaat in 2013. He did 4 television serials in the period 2000 – 2009.
TELEVISION :
Super Star Rajesh Khanna was a life member of the International Film And Television Research Centre, the International Film And Television Club and the Asian Academy of Film & Television. He was the Guest Faculty of 'Specialised Cinema Courses At Asian School Of Media Studies'. On 10 April 1999 Super Star Rajesh Khanna inaugurated the live concert of S.P. Balasubramanyam held at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad as a tribute to Pancham. In 2001 and 2002, Rajesh played the lead in two television serials: Aapne Parai (B4U & DD Metro) and Ittefaq (Zee TV). He performed in a video album based on Tagore's songs (Rabindra Sangeet) without payment. He also endorsed Star se Superstar tak – a talent hunt programme in 2007 and donated a Gold Trophy of Rs.1 crore. In its Silver Jubilee Episode on 14 – 15 March 2008, K for Kishore aired a Super Star Rajesh Khanna special. He signed on to star in a TV serial with Creative Eye Banner (Dhiraj Kumar) in 2007, and in 2008 performed in a TV serial, Bhabhima, with Leena Chandavarkar Ganguly as his co-star. His successful TV serial Raghukul Reet Sada Chali Aayi began in November 2008 and ended in September 2009. Super Star Rajesh Khanna cited the lack of good roles for actors like him in the films as the reason for him not appearing much in films after 2001. He said in an interview on being queried about his decision to do TV serials, "The reach of TV is much more than cinema today and one episode of my serial is likely to be watched by more people than a super-hit film". In 2009, on his 67th birthday, Shemaroo Entertainment released his films and a song collection titled Screen Legends Super Star Rajesh Super Star Rajesh Khanna - the Original Superstar. In May 2012, Havells, the fan making company endorsed Super Star Rajesh Khanna as Brand Ambassador for their new ad campaign featuring him in solo advertisements.
POLITICAL & BUSINESS CAREER :
At the insistence of Rajiv Gandhi, he started campaigning for Congress since 1984. In the election for New Delhi seat in the 1991 Lok Sabha election, Super Star Rajesh Khanna lost to L.K. Advani by a narrow margin of 1589 votes after which Super Star Rajesh Khanna stood on the ground at the counting station insisting that he had been cheated of a win. As controversey erupted Advani had to vacate the constituency and a by-election took place and Super Star Rajesh Khanna won the same seat in 1992 by defeating Shatrughan Sinha by 25,000 votes. Super Star Rajesh Khanna was a member of Parliament for the Indian National Congress, from the New Delhi constituency, where he won the 1992 by-election, retaining his seat until the 1996 after which he was not interested in active politics. When Super Star Rajesh Khanna was MP, he did not accept new acting assignements but only acted in the film Khudai(1994). After leaving parliament, he was a political activist for the INC and campaigned for the party till the 2012 Punjab election.
Super Star Rajesh Khanna and a group of foreign investors bought land in Shirdi on which they planned to build a religious resort for disciples of Sai Baba of Shirdi.
PERSONAL LIFE :
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Super Star Rajesh Khanna fell in love with the then fashion designer and actress Anju Mahendru. They were in a relationship for seven years. Mahendru states that the couple did not speak to each other for 17 years after the break-up. Later Super Star Rajesh Khanna married the budding actress Dimple Kapadia in March 1973, before Kapadia's debut film Bobby released in November of that year. They have two daughters from the marriage; Twinkle and Rinke. Super Star Rajesh Khanna and Kapadia separated in 1984 but did not complete the divorce proceedings. In the eighties Tina Munim was romantically involved with Super Star Rajesh Khanna while working with Khanna in 11 movies from 1980-87. Munim had been a fan of Super Star Rajesh Khanna since her school days. According to website Bollywood Mantra reporter, relation with Tina ended in 1987 when Super Star Rajesh Khanna refused to marry her as their marriage would have bad impact on his daughters. Super Star Rajesh Khanna and Kapadia however maintained an amicable relationship where they both were seen together at parties and family functions together. Kapadia also campaigned for Super Star Rajesh Khanna's election and worked in his film Jai Shiv Shankar (1990).
Super Star Rajesh Khanna's elder daughter Twinkle Khanna, an interior decorator and a former film actress, is married to actor Akshay Kumar while his younger daughter Rinke Khanna, also a former Hindi film actress, is married to a London-based investment banker Samir Saran. On 17 July 2012, a woman named Anita Advani claimed that she had been Khanna's live-in partner, and sent a legal notice to his family members asking for compensation. The family denied the claims.
AWARDS :
Super Star Rajesh Khanna won four Best Actor Awards in the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, and received 25 nominations. He won three Filmfare Best Actor Awards, one Filmfare Special Guest Actor Award in 1973, and received a Filmfare Special Award in 1991, after 25 years in the Hindi film industry. He received the Filmfare Life Time Achievement Award at the 50th anniversary Filmfare award ceremony in 2005.
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