Rajesh Khanna's era

Rajesh Khanna

In the 60s there came an euphoria, a craze, a tidal wave which swept the entire genre of womankind with those naughty crinkling eyes, the stylish shake of the head and the enigmatic smile. It belonged to none other than superstar Rajesh Khanna, who later, with an amazing fan following, went on to create history of sorts in the Indian film industry.

Born in Amritsar, on 29th December 1942, Jatin Khanna (now Rajesh Khanna or `kaka` as he is affectionately called) was the adopted child of his parents and hence pampered right from the start. When the young Jatin expressed the desire to act, he became that rare newcomer who struggled in his own MG sports car! After doing theater, he was selected by the United Producers` Talent Contest.

Though Rajesh Khanna began his film career with inconsequential movies like Akhri Khat (1966) and Raaz (1967), but once Aradhna (1969) was released, he spread a frenzy in the masses that remained unfazed long after.

There was no obvious rationale for the Rajesh Khanna miracle. He didn`t really have the conventional good looks, yet the boy-next-door appeal and the charisma generated through his twinkling eyes and heady smile were enough to ensure the birth of a super-duper star.

He began his rule over the tinsel town when both his films Aradhana and Do Raaste ran simultaneously in the same year (1969), to become golden jubilee hits. A spate of stupendous hits like Safar, Sachcha Jhutha and Kati Patang followed within 1970. He could play the playful or the tragic romantic effortlessly with equal grace.

Khanna put an end to the Shammi Kapoor era, when he consolidated his position as the king of the box office by delivering a hat-trick of hits in 1971, in the form of Andaz, Anand and Amar Prem. Khanna immortalized himself through Anand when he played the poignant role of a determinedly cheerful chatterbox, living under the shadow of a fatal disease.

He was brilliant in Bawarchi (1972), Namak Haram (1973) Daag and Aan Milo Sajna (1973). Prem Nagar (1974) Aap Ki Kasam (1974) and Mehbooba (1976) also won him accolades.

With an appetite for creating headlines, he created a furore in the media by marrying the nubile Bobby girl Dimple Kapadia, overnight by separating from his longtime girlfriend Anju Mahendru. All the media focus was on him and anything that he did made hot news.

But then "Change happeneth to them all". The success by now had seemingly gone to his head, and thereafter, he was on the decline - both professionally and personally. Post-1974, though he starred in many movies, his era started to end with the onslaught of the new angry young man Amitabh Bachchan, who brought aggression and fire to the screen as against the romantic Rajesh with mannerisms that now looked jaded and repetitive. This was also followed by the split in his marriage with Dimple.

In a desperate attempt to regain his past glory he even tried pairing up with younger heroines like Sridevi, Padmini Kolhapure, Tina Munim who even happened to be his love interest for a long time, but all in vain. With a mix of flops and occasional hits like Thodi si Bewafai (1980), Agar Tum Na Hote (1983) Avtaar (1983), Souten (1983), he managed to survive.

But after that, he was seen less and less. He was appreciated in his final comeback vehicle Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999) due to his subtle and polished performance. Meanwhile, both his daughters Twinkle and Rinkie Khanna too joined Bollywood.

He recast his career as a politician and won an election from a Delhi constituency to become an Member of Parliament. But later, his defeat in the next election disillusioned him further and recently he made a comeback in one of the serials on television, to reach a wider audience. Years may have passed, blockbusters may have happened, the film galaxy may have produced several other stars, but those who have seen him in his heydays still believe that there was or there still is no one like him.!!

http://www.santabanta.com/cinema.asp?pid=1278

Rajesh Khanna - The phenomenon - I

Second innings (1981-1990) :

After his low phase, Rajesh starred in several films with Mumtaz and Tina Munim, and rose to success again.

His best films with Mumtaz are Sachaa Jhutha (1970), Apna Desh (1972), Aap Ki Kasam (1974) and Aaina (1977).

Rajesh found love again in Tina Munim, and even produced a film called Alag Alag, starring the two of them. Some of their other hit films were Souten (1983), Aakhiri Kyun (1985) and Bewafai (1989).

But this relationship did not last either, and Tina left for California to finish her education. When she returned, she married industrialist Anil Ambani.

When the audience cried with Anand

Dinesh Raheja

Frank Capra's immortal observation: tragedy is not when the actor cries; tragedy is when the audience cries, perfectly fits Anand. It is a film that keeps its protagonists dry-eyed but makes the stoniest blink with emotion.

In 1970, the year of Anand, another film about a bravely dying protagonist Love Story (Ryan O'Neal, Ali McGraw), stormed the world. Perhaps it was just cosmically ordained that at that time the world would be in the mood for a
collective, cathartic cry.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Anand, of course, famously laced the tears with laughter. Anand is memorable not only for affording us the chance to see two superstars Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan strike sparks off each other, but also because it presented, in the form of Anand (played by Khanna), an unforgettable character who can laugh in the face of death. Who, in his dying, imparts rare insights into the art of living.

CREDITS
Producers Director Music Director Stars
Rupam Chitra Hrishikesh Mukherjee Salil Chowdhary Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan


Sure, as a character, Anand feels somewhat overidealised, but who can resist him? The first time we see Anand, he storms into Dr Bhasker Banerjee's (Amitabh Bachchan) life with the energy of a rap star on speed. Chatterbox Anand is aware he is suffering from a terminal disease lymphosarcoma ("Aadmi Vivid Bharati par announce kar sakta hai," he jokes about the long-winded name), that has left him only a few months to live, but he is still determined to eschew tears and spread love and good cheer for the rest of his life.

This is saved from being melodramatic or corny by the conviction with which Anand abides by his personal philosophy of life -- Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahin (life should be grand rather than long).

Anand with his ceaseless banter lightens up the doc. The good doctor is a committed professional who leads a comfortable bourgeois Babu existence (which includes lounging in dhotis when at home), but is troubled by the poverty he has to encounter while treating his patients. Anand is the guest-cum-patient of their common friend Dr Prakash (Ramesh Deo), but decides to move in with Banerjee, whom he fondly calls Babu Moshai.

The extrovert-introvert push and pull results in Banerjee unfastening his pent-up emotions and finding true friendship as well the love of his life Renu (Sumita Sanyal).

Besides Babu Moshai, the endearing Anand's sunny temperament touches the lives of Dr Prakash, his wife (Seema, who starts considering him her brother), the hospital matron (Lalita Pawar, who treats him like a son) and Renu. In fact, Anand's affection is new age and universal which leads him to repeatedly strike up friendships with strangers on the road.

All these interactions are played out under the looming shadow of death. When his sister asks for blessings, a hapless Anand says, "Tujhe kya ashirwad doon, bahen? Yeh bhi toh nahin keh sakta meri umar tujhe lag jaaye [How do I bless you? I can't even pledge that my life span should be added to yours]."

Mukherjee balances Anand's bursts of positivity by affording us glimpses into his inner anguish. But Banerjee decides that Anand's live-for-the-moment determination is his strength and does not probe deep.

The film moves towards Anand's death, and the character's last scene is one of the most lump-in-the-throat
evoking scenes ever filmed in Hindi cinema. Anand has already tape-recorded some theatrical lines from one of his many jocular sojourns after Banerjee had recorded a poem. On Anand's deathbed, Banerjee runs to get some desperate last-minute remedy. Anand asks for the spool to be played and passes away to the sound of his friend's voice.

When a distraught Banerjee returns, he is greeted by his friend's death but his voice eerily floats through the tape recorder: "Zindagi aur maut uparwale ke haath mein hai, Jahanpanah. Hum sab rangmanch ki kathputliyan hain jinki dor uparwale ki ungliyon se bandhi hui hai. Kab kaun uthega koi nahin bata sakta. Ha ha ha." (We are all puppets in the hands of the supreme being who holds the strings of our lives. We will never know which string he will pull next).

These rather stagy, portentous lines leave a tremendous impact because they are interwoven into the screenplay with striking intelligence.

Watching Anand leaves you nostalgic for Hrishikesh Mukherjee's typically literate, realm of moviemaking. Characters recite poetry and live in hermetically-sealed genially civilized worlds.

Mukherji is ably aided by Gulzar who writes some deathless dialogue. The songs are picturised with a pleasantly unhurried rhythm. The crown jewel is indubitably Zindagi kaisi hai paheli shot next to a seemingly horizonless sea and a limitless sky into which a bunch of balloons disappear in tandem with the lines: Ek din sapno ka rahi chala jaaye sapno ke aage kahan.
Kahin door jab din dhal jaaye
Of course, there are minor quibbles -- Anand seems surrounded by an inexhaustible supply of exceedingly nice people. There is no major attention paid to creating carefully calibrated images. I guess Mukherjee's strength is in his simplicity and directness. Famous songs from Anand
Song Singers
Kahin door jab din dhal jaaye
Mukesh
Maine tere liye hi Mukesh
Zindagi kaisi hai paheli Manna Dey
Na jiya laage na Lata Mangeshkar


The Bachchan versus Khanna debate, of course, is a minefield whenever their two films together are discussed. While Bachchan was better in Namak Haram and though he is heartwarmingly effective here, it is Rajesh Khanna who has the definite edge in Anand.

Sidelights:

*Rajesh Khanna was at the giddy height of his superstardom and Anand added tremendous respect as an actor to his profile. He won Filmfare's Best Actor Award for the film.

*Amitabh won Best Supporting Actor Award but lost Mukherjee's next, Guddi because he had become a known face and the director wanted an unknown actor opposite newcomer Jaya Bhaduri.

*Bengali actress Sumita Sanyal had done Mukherji's Aashirwad before and went on to play the bhabhi in Guddi.

Music:

*Mukherjee intermittently but rewardingly continued mentor Bimal Roy's relationship with Salil Chowdhury.

*Salil's favourite Mukesh made an unusual choice for Rajesh Khanna (another rare Khanna song for Mukesh was Kati Patang's Jis gali mein).

*The often undervalued lyricist Yogesh deserves credit for penning the metaphorical beauty, Kahin door and the

Rajesh Khanna, the phenomenon

Dimple (1973-1980)
In 1973, he married rising star, Dimple Kapadia. Her first film, Bobby, had not been released yet. Dimple was only 16 then, while Rajesh was 31.

Unfortunately, being married to a superstar was not easy. Dimple had to bow down to the pressures of being a star wife, as her life was constantly monitored. She had to now watch what she was wearing, whom she was seen with, whom she should mingle with...

This was also the time when Rajesh's decline began, and Amitabh Bachchan came into the fray. The two did hit films like Anand (pictured here) and Namak Haram together.

By now, Rajesh was drunk with his success, and his attitude was largely the cause of his downfall. He would be very arrogant on the sets. He would turn up late for film shoots, and be constantly surrounded by his 'yes' men.

Rajesh and Dimple had two daughters, Twinkle and Rinke. But soon after, the couple called it quits and headed for a separation.