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| Rajesh Khanna | |
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| Born | Jatin Khanna December 29, 1942 Amritsar, Punjab, India |
| Other name(s) | Kaka |
| Spouse(s) | Dimple Kapadia (1973 – 1984) |
Rajesh Khanna (Hindi: राजेश खन्ना; Punjabi: ਰਾਜੇਸ਼ ਖੰਨਾ) (born Jatin Khanna on 29 December 1942 in Amritsar) is an Indian Bollywood thespian and laureate of the Dada Saheb Phalke Legend Golden Actor Award and the IIFA 2009 Life Time Achievement Award. He also served a five year tenure as MP in the Indian parliament (1991–1996). He is also known as Kaka or affectionately called RK by his fans.
Khanna was born in Amritsar on 29 December 1942.
In the late 1960s, Khanna dated Anju Mahendru. The couple eventually drifted apart, and split in the early-1970s. He married Dimple Kapadia, a Gujarati, in 1973 and has two daughters from the marriage.[1] Khanna and Dimple Kapadia separated in 1984, as his schedule kept him away much of the time and she became interested in pursuing an acting career. After the separation, he was romantically involved with Tina Munim for a period of time. Following a few years of separation, the relationship between Kapadia and Khanna blossomed once again, and remained that of close friends. Their elder daughter Twinkle Khanna, an interior decorator and also a former Hindi film actress, is married to actor Akshay Kumar and younger daughter Rinke Khanna, also an Indian actress is married to an entrepreneur Sameer Saran.[2]
Rajesh Khanna joined the film industry after winning an All India Talent Contest through a nation-wide selection procedure. He made his film debut in the 1966 film Aakhri khat, followed by Raaz opposite heroine Babita, but neither was a major success. He was noticed for his performance in his next film Baharon Ke Sapne which was followed by box office successes like Aurat (1967), Khamoshi, and Aradhana (1969). It was Aradhana that catapulted him to instant fame and established him as the new superstar. In that film, Rajesh Khanna was cast in a double role (father and son)opposite Sharmila Tagore and Farida Jalal. The film also saw the resurgence of R.D.Burman and Kishore Kumar, who eventually became the official playback voice of Rajesh Khanna.
Established as a popular protagonist, he appeared in many romantic, melodramatic and social films, often appearing with the same actresses - such as Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz, Hema Malini and Asha Parekh.
Rajesh Khanna touched a raw nerve with the audiences. Whether it was the cancer-afflicted man in Anand, or the jealousy-driven husband in Aap Ki Kasam, from the animal lover in Haathi Mere Saathi to the blind but suave lover in Mere Jeevan Saathi, from the silent lover in Amar Prem or the tragic protagonist in Namak Haraam, Khanna had powerful scripts written with especially him in mind.
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 own blood.[1] So popular was Khanna that even actor Mehmood parodied his popularity in his hit film 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.
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 the director Shakti Samanta had to shoot their scenes separately and then join the scenes together. Needless to say this was the the most popular song of its generation and went on to become the biggest attraction of the movie aradhana.
Music remained one of the biggest attractions of all Rajesh Khanna films, and most of the best scores for his films were composed by S.D Burman R.D. Burman and Laxmikant-Pyarelal. The trio of Rajesh Khanna, Kishore Kumar and R. D. Burman went on to make several hits, including Amar Prem, Mere Jeevan Saathi, Aap Ki Kasam, Kati Patang, Namak Haraam, among others.
Rajesh Khanna had 30 consecutive hits between 1969 to 1973, which is still an unbreakable record in Indian film. His success began to diminish in terms of box office results of his films in the mid 1970s (1976-79).
Post-1976, Khanna had a string of box office flops, including Naukri and Mehbooba. Media reports in the late seventies suggested that success had perhaps caused Khanna to be complacent, often turning up late for shoots and throwing tantrums, as well as having a whole entourage of sycophants accompany him for his shoots. This behaviour coupled with the changing trend from romantic and social movies to action oriented multi-star films in the late-1970s and early-1980s caused the decline of Khanna's career in terms of box office ratings to some extent. However, he continued basically in solo hero social sober household meaningful films during multistar masala films' era.[1]
Khanna met with more success in challenging roles with critically acclaimed box office hits such as Amardeep, Thodisi Bewafaii, Dard, Dhanwaan, Avtaar, Agar Tum Na Hote, Souten, and Red Rose (1979 onwards to the end of the 80s). He also performed in few multistar films with central characters such as Kudrat, Rajpoot, Dharam Aur Kanoon, and Ashanti. He shared a very close relationship with R.D. Burman and Kishore Kumar. The trio were very close friends and have worked together in more than thirty films. Several actors who were part of the cast of most of his films included Sujith Kumar, Prem Chopra, Madan Puri, Asrani, Bindu, Vijay Arora and A. K. Hangal, who remained part of his "team" until the late eighties.
From the early nineties onward he stopped acting and served as M.P. of New Delhi Constituency from 1991 to 1996. During that period, he returned to acting, appearing in Khudai (1994). He made a comeback as a NRI in Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999), and Kyaa Dil Ne Kahaa (2002). In September 2007, he officially announced his planned return to the big screen, signing a contract for several new films, including some TV serials.
He is a life member of the International Film And Television Research Centre, the International Film And Television Club and the Asian Academy of Film & Television. In 2001 and 2002, Rajesh played major roles 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[citation needed], and is currently in the process of creating his own music channel "R.K. Music Channel"[citation needed]. He also endorsed Star se Superstar tak - a talent hunt programme in 2007[citation needed] and donated a Gold Trophy of Rs. 1 crore with Priyanka Chopra.[citation needed] In its Silver Jubilee Episode on 14-15 March 2008, K for Kishore aired a Rajesh Khanna special. He signed a TV serial with Creative Eye Banner (Dhiraj Kumar) in 2007[citation needed], and in 2008 performed in a T.V. serial, Bhabhima, with Leena Ganguly as his co-star. His successful TV serial Raghukul Reet Sada Chali Aayi began in November 2008 and ended in September 2009.[3]
In 2009, on his 67th birthday [[Shemaroo Entertainment] released his films and a song collection titled Screen Legends-Rajesh Khanna-the Original Superstar.
Between 1991 and 1996, Rajesh Khanna was a member of Parliament for the Congress Party, from the New Delhi constituency. He has since been a political activist for the Congress Party.
Rajesh Khanna has been conferred with Rashtriya Gaurav Award by the Central Govt. of India.
  | BFJA Awards 1972 - 69th & 70th Annual Hero Honda BFJA Awards 2007 |
| | BFJA Awards 1973 - 69th & 70th Annual Hero Honda BFJA Awards 2007 |
| | BFJA Awards 1975 - 69th & 70th Annual Hero Honda BFJA Awards 2007 |
| | BFJA Awards 1987 - 69th & 70th Annual Hero Honda BFJA Awards 2007 |
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