Rajesh Khanna, a legendary actor, received the love and support of millions of fans throughout his prime. Rajesh Khanna, often known as "Kaka," was incredibly well-liked, broadly appealing, and famous. For his followers to treasure, he left behind a ton of excellent work and many happy memories.
Rajesh Khanna, a seasoned actor who passed away in Mumbai at the age of 69, was largely regarded as the first Bollywood superstar. Rajesh Khanna had been a heartthrob for millions of people for many years thanks to his three Filmfare awards.
Why is Rajesh Khanna known as India’s first and last superstar?
Actor Rajesh Khanna continues to be a role model in a time when Bollywood appears unable to shake the "nepotism" curse. Today, the idea of a young man with an unusual appearance succeeding in a national talent search and breaking into the industry sounds fantastical.
Khanna, however, achieved his goal and rose to fame as Bollywood's "first superstar." not only this, Rajesh was called Kaka in the film industry and there was a phrase - ‘Upar Aaka aur Niche kaka’ used for him. He was compared to a god by his fans.
There are other reasons also that why he known as ‘superstar’. Rajesh Khanna has croissant the popularity and records of a trio of 70s and 80s that is Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, and Dev Anand.
Adding a feather to his hat, Khanna has also surpassed the fame of Gentleman Kapoor aka Shashi Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar, Bharat Kumar aka Manoj Kumar, He-man aka Dharmendra, Shammi Kapoor, Feroz Khan, Sanjeev Kumar, Vinod Khanna, Sunil Dutt and many other huge artists during that period. Khanna’s four-decade-long career saw many ups and downs as he struggled to stay relevant after a smashing first few years.
Here Are Lesser-Known Facts About Kaka aka Rajesh Khanna
He was the highest-paid actor in Hindi cinema throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Khanna made his debut in 1966 with Aakhri Khat which was India's first official Oscar Entry in 1967.
In 2005, he was honoured with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award on the 50th anniversary of the Filmfare Awards.
His accolades include four BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards, and in 2013, he was posthumously awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian honour.
Rajesh Khanna was one of eight finalists from more than 10,000 contestants in the 1965 All India Talent Contest, organised by United Producers and Filmfare, along with other FTII students Subhash Ghai and Dheeraj Kumar.
The Indian Prime Minister renamed a road in his honour and honoured him with a stamp, statue, and other tributes.
Rajesh Khanna: The Untold Story of India's First Superstar, written by Yasser Usman, was released by Penguin Books in 2014.
His real name was Jatin Khanna. On his uncle's advice, he changed his name from Jatin to Rajesh Khanna for his foray into Bollywood and that remained with him forever.
Known as Kaka, Rajesh Khanna is said to have lived his life in the most wholesome way.
Rajesh Khanna had the largest fan base imaginable. He used to receive blood letters from girls. Whenever he made an appearance in public, supporters would swarm him. His cars used to be covered in the lipstick smudges of crazed admirers. There are rumours of women being married to his image.
The actor was reportedly dating actress Anju Mahendru for around seven years. They broke up in 1972 since, apparently, Mahendru wasn't ready for marriage. Soon after, Rajesh married Dimple Kapadia.
A short video of the wedding of Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia was shown in theatres across the country at that time before the film started.
In the book ‘The Untold Story of India’s First Superstar’ written on Rajesh Khanna, Yasir Usman says- “There was an elderly woman from Bengal. I asked her what was Rajesh Khanna for her? She said you would not understand. When we used to go to see the film, we and he used to have a date.”
Pran and Rajesh Khanna were the highest-paid artists in the era of ‘60s and ‘70s and during that time producers didn’t cast the duo together in order to avoid the hike in the cost of production.
Rajesh Khanna has shared big screens with many great artists of that time and one among them is Raj Kumar. They performed together in films like Maryada, Kudrat, and Dharam Kanta.
It has also been noted that Rajesh Khanna has never shared the big screens with other big stars, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar.
Rajesh Khanna is considered the first superstar as he surpasses the craze and records of other talented and popular actors like Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, and Dev Anand. Rajesh Khanna was of another order as after his film Aradhana has carved a niche in the industry.
After the blockbuster film Aradhana in 1969, Rajesh Khanna has counted among the 17 consecutive hit films in his kitty between 1969 and 1971, by adding the two hero films Marayada and Andaz to the 15 straight solo hits he gave from 1969 to 1971.
It has baan 50 years, and has been said that it is an unbreakable record of the artist and nobody is near about him. And if his 18th film, Badnam Farishte (Guest Appearance), also hit the box office then he would have 27 consecutive hit films.
S. No. | Movie Title | Release Date |
| Bandhan | 11 July 1969 |
| Aradhana | 27 September 1969 |
| Ittefaq | 4 October 1969 |
| Do Raste | 5 December 1969 |
| Doli | 23 January 1970 |
| The Train | 10 April 1970 |
| Sachaa Jhutha | 1 May 1970 |
| Safar | 1 October 1970 |
| Aan Milo Sajna | 24 December 1970 |
| Kati Patang | 29 January 1971 |
| Mehboob Ki Mehndi | 19 February 1971 |
| Anand | 12 March 1971 |
| Andaz | 30 April 1971 |
| Haathi Mere Saathi | 1 May 1971 |
| Chhoti Bahu | 22 May 1971 |
| Maryada | 28 May 1971 |
| Dushman | 7 January 1972 |
If his 18th film Badnam Farishte in which he gave his guest appearance didn't get flopped then he would have 26 consecutive hit films in his career.
After another consecutive hits, his tenth film Maalik gets flopped. And all these 9 films were released in 1972. So, he would have 10 hit films in his kitty in 1972, if Maalik doesn’t get flopped.
Here is list:
Dushman
Amar Prem
Apna Desh
Mere Jeevan Saathi
Dil Daulat Duniya
Bawarchi
Joroo Ka Ghulam
Shehzada
Anuraag
Moreover, he quickly completed 47 films from 1966 to 1975, including 36 Golden Jubilee Hits (of which 21 were platinum) and 4 Silver Jubilee Hits, surpassing his predecessors Dev-Dilip-Raj, Shammi Kapoor, and silver jubilee star- Rajendra Kumar in terms of extreme popularity with viewers and critics, quality of performances, variety of roles, and films.
It has been said that Rajesh Khanna was a romantic hero, but he proved wrong after working in the films Ittefaq, Do Raaste, Amar Prem, Bawarchi and Khamoshi. These were the non-romantic films and Rajesh Khanna epitomised that versatility of his age in his entire persona, on and off-screen.
Rajesh Khan competed with himself from 1969 to 1972, as around 4 to 5 films were released in a year, and due to the golden jubilee and platinum, his films clashed with each other. But people still watch his every film and the craze has made him one of the most popular and finest actors.
Nobody knew or cared who he was before the 1969 premiere of Aradhana. However, after watching the movie, viewers become curious about this multifaceted actor. He'd developed into a "phenomenon." Through his superb and effortless portrayal of the father and the boy, he had gone far beyond the parameters of the movie.
Rajesh Khanna is still the heartthrob of many. Though Kaka is no longer with us, his aura and craze have remained with the people.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) made a Documentary film about him called 'Bombay Superstar in 1974’. And during that time, it was a great achievement that the BBC approached him.
He has passed through the period when fans called him ‘Golden Jodi’. With songs like "Kuch to log kahenge" and "Ye Shaam Mastani," Rajesh Khanna, Kishore Kumar, and RD Burman created magic in 32 films and helped usher in the golden age of Hindi film music.
Rajesh Khanna was seen in his first television ad for Havells fans, which was also his last appearance on screen. Though he hasn’t promoted the brand in the ad, he speaks the truth about his life and journey. The Havells fans commercial from their campaign 'Fans are forever' features the 69-year-old actor going down the memory lane, remembering how his fans used to follow him everywhere when he was a superstar.
It has been more than 50 years since the film ‘Amar Prem’ was released. The dialogue ‘Pushpa I Hate Tears’ is seen being said by Rajesh to Sharmila Tagore and is still remembered by the people. In fact, many TV shows and movies have this dialogue.
Raj Kapoor’s iconic trendsetting movie, ‘Bobby’ has the lead pair, Rishi Kapoor and a young Dimple Kapadia, who became a rage. The movie also set the tone for Rishi Kapoor’s long and successful career as a romantic hero.
But Rishi was not Raj's first choice. He wanted to cast Rajesh Khanna but could not afford Rajesh Khanna as he was the highest-paid actor. And during that time Raj Kapoor's films Mera Naam Joker and Kal Aaj Aur Kal flopped. Kapoor put his own money into the film and also mortgaged his house. The film took 6 years to complete and was a big loss, so he cast his son Rishi in the film.
The last film made under RK Films was directed by the late Rishi Kapoor, titled Aa Ab Laut Chalen in 1999 which starred Rajesh Khanna along with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Akshaye Khanna in the lead roles.
In the early 70s, it was reported all over that there was a brewing rivalry between the two superstars. But it went wrong when Amitabh Bachchan gave the IIFA award to Rajesh Khanna and even spoke that whatever he is today, it is because of Khanna. And during that time, the controversy shuts down. He also attended the last rites of Khanna with his full family.
Amitabh Bachchan rose to fame with the film Bombay to Goa. But do you know that in the film, the driver and the conductor in Bombay to Goa were named Rajesh and Khanna, respectively.
Khanna’s film Aavishkar, which was released in 1974, received mixed reviews and did well among the critics. But for that very film, Rajesh Khanna bagged the Best Actor Award.
Kishore Kumar’s voice totally fit Rajesh Khanna’s vocals but not only this, Mohammed Rafi and Mukesh also lent their voice to the songs of Rajesh Khanna's films.
The songs by Mohammed Rafi are :
Akele Hai Chale Aao | Raaz (1967)
Itna To Yaad Hai Mujhe by Mohammed Rafi - Lata Mangeshkar | Mehboob Ki Mehndi
Yeh Jo Chilman Hai Dushman hai Hamari
Chhup Gaye Saare Nazaare by Mohammed Rafi | Do Raaste
Now, coming to the songs by Mukesh, here's the list:
Kahin Door Jab Din Dhal Jaye by Mukesh | Anand
Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli by Mukesh | Anand
Phool Ahista Phenko by Mukesh | Prem Kahani
Zuban Pe Dard Bhari Dastan by Mukesh | Maryada
Jis Gali Mein Tera Ghar by Mukesh | Kati Patang
Maine Tere Liye by Mukesh | Anand
Rajesh Khanna was nominated fourteen times for the Filmfare Award and twenty-five times for the Bengal Film Journalist Award. He received the Filmfare Award thrice and the Bengal Film Journalist Award four times in a total of ninety-nine nominations for both awards. Rajesh Khanna was nominated for the All India Critics Award ten times and received the award seven times.
He was the first superstar of Indian cinema and he has blessed us with numerous movies that are still right in our hearts and memories. Not only fans, but another Romance king has praised the ‘Prince of Hearts’ Rajesh Khanna that he is the only star and we are blessed that he was a part of our film industry.
He made us cry in Anand and made us fall in love with him in Amar Prem. Rajesh Khanna mesmerised the young, the old, women and men alike, and people still continue to watch his films. Kaka is and always will stay in our hearts!