Lifetime achievement award honour for Super Star Rajesh Khanna at IIFA 2009

Lifetime achievement award honour for Rajesh Khanna at IIFA 2009

Often termed as the first superstar of Hindi cinema, actor turned politician Super Star Rajesh Khanna will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Videocon IIFA Weekend, which will be held at The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel from June 11 to 13, 2009 in Macau.


Each year, IIFA 2009 honours a member of the Indian Film Fraternity with the Lifetime Achievement Award who has made innumerable contributions to Indian cinema, our sources reveal, keeping this in mind, the IIFA Advisory Board and the IIFA Management have zeroed down on Super Star Rajesh Khanna’s name for the tenth IIFA to be held at Macao.

Super Star Rajesh Khanna’s rise to stardom is considered phenomenal. One can recollect, from 1969 to 2009 (till date), the Super Star Rajesh Khanna phenomenon swept Indian cinema off its feet and the hysteria he generated was unlike anything seen before in Indian Cinema. Super Star Rajesh Khanna made his Bollywood debut with the 1966 film Aakhri Khat, followed by Raaz and Baharon Ke Sapne. But his act in films like Aurat, Khamoshi and Aradhana cemented his status as the new super talent par excellence in the Indian film industry. In 1983, Super Star Rajesh Khanna displayed a spectacular performance with his role in Avtaar. After establishing his mega star status, blockbuster films followed one after another, and women all over the country swooned over him and the men aped him.

Kaka as he is popularly known as, is still adored and fondly remembered by the masses and songs from his popular films are still loved even today. The previous recipients of this award were Lata Mangeshkar (2000), Waheeda Rehman (2001), Yash Chopra (2002), Dev Anand (2003), Yash Johar (2004), V.K. Murthy (2005), Asha Parekh (2006), Dharmendra (2007) and Mumtaz (2008).

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNwEWSw8xLw

Rajesh Khanna: The first superstar

LEGENDS

Rajesh Khanna: The first superstar



RajiV Vijayakar follows the trail of actor Rajesh Khanna the highs, the lows and everything else in between.

They are the living legends, the superstars who took Hindi cinema to towering heights long before NRI markets opened, with their mesmerising mix of looks, persona, talent and charisma. This time we look at Rajesh Khanna, labelled by the Indian media and his PR machinery as the ‘First Superstar Of Hindi Cinema’ or simply, ‘The Phenomenon’.

Born Jatin, the young orphan was adopted by a doting and wealthy couple named Khanna. And though he stayed in a lower middle-class apartment in downtown Mumbai, he became the first struggler to do the rounds of producers in his own imported MG sports car — an industry first: his foster-parents, albeit apprehensively, had allowed him to try his hand at acting.

It was somewhere in late 1966 and early 1967 that two films called Raaz and Aakhri Khat released — and flopped. The common hero was called Rajesh Khanna and the films a part of his prize for winning the All-India United Producers’ Talent Competition.

Khanna had a rudimentary theatrical experience, and despite these flops, on the strength of his talent and that mysterious charisma, he had been signed by biggies Shakti Samanta, Raj Khosla, Asit Sen, A Subba Rao and finally B R Chopra. And so it was that when destiny engineered the back-to-back releases of these five films within the last three months of 1969.

Leading the parade was Shakti Samanta’s Aradhana, the musical sensation that clinched Khanna’s long link with the filmmaker and Sharmila Tagore, and Khosla’s Do Raaste that set off the much more successful Mumtaz-Rajesh Khanna pair.

And if Aradhana consolidated his friendship with associate music director R D Burman and Do Raaste with Laxmikant-Pyarelal, both films established the bond with Kishore Kumar and lyricist Anand Bakshi, with all of them becoming the bulwark of the star’s solidly-musical reputation.

A lot has been written and said even now about his music sense. If Laxmikant-Pyarelal and R D Burman dominated his music, Kalyanji-Anandji, S D Burman, Shankar Jaikishan and so many other composers also gave him instant but enduring chartbusters. And film-lore has it that all of this was not explained by these humongous music talents and melody-savvy filmmakers alone. Khanna would listen to a song, ruminate on it (without a physical copy with him) and would clear it only if he still recalled it easily days later!

But what stood out was the emergence of a young sensation who commanded unprecedented hysteria. If men turned wannabe Khannas and imitated his hairstyle, his guru-kurta and also his stock mannerisms, girls swooned at his sight, wrote letters in blood and went ballistic over the bent head, the crinkling of his eyes and that dreamy smile.

And perhaps the adage “It never rains but it pours” was created for Kaka, as he was affectionately named.

Through the successive hits that followed (for five years, if you ignored the occasional exceptions) Rajesh Khanna could do no wrong.

His girlfriend and early support system Anju Mahendroo was the first to get the taste of the flipside of his superstardom and the accoutrements that Khanna willingly allowed — opportunistic hangers-on, ego-boosting acolytes and a coterie that alienated true well-wishers and friends. In a shocking development, Khanna dumped her and married Dimple Bobby Kapadia weeks before the release of her debut film Bobby in 1973.

But if 1969 was the year that made the Phenomenon, 1973 proved a watershed. The marriage soon went on the rocks, and the couple split, but not before two kids, now known as Twinkle and Rinke Khanna, and endless acrimony happened. Simultaneously, rival lover-boy Rishi Kapoor arrived as Dimple’s Bobby co-star, as did the man who by his sheer force of persona and disciplined professionalism proved to be Khanna’s nemesis —
Amitabh Bachchan. Khanna’s commercial downfall came as swiftly as a thunderbolt despite his continued hits and evergreen chartbusters.

As a star he continued doling out the occasional hit all the way to the 80s, and as always never shirked from experiment. If his peak saw him take up Khamoshi, Anand, Aap Ki Kasam and Aakraman, he still dared to essay a psychopath in Red Rose, a philanderer in Dhanwan and a politician in Aaj Ka MLA Ram Avtar.

The magic, however, had waned. Even a political career proved uneventful and he turned producer officially with two films that went nowhere. Khanna tried his hands playing screen father, made friends with his estranged wife and even tried acting in a tele-film and in a serial or two. He publicly admitted to the mistakes he had made in the first heady flush of stardom, but the desperation (as proved by his recent skin-flick Wafaa) and ego-centric inaccessibility remained.

But Khanna is not so much about the wrongs he did but about his awesome achievements that form a historic chapter in Indian cinema. As Mumtaz puts it, “I think no one has seen the success the guy has seen in his time.”

Kaka's Aashirwad to be his museum

Remember Rajesh Khanna’s sea-facing bungalow Aashirwad on Carter Road, Bandra west? Rajesh Khanna



The residence of the 70s’ superstar is a landmark that GenNow just zips past in its fast cars and superbikes without a second glance. The actor himself, despite a messy attempt at making a comeback this year with the disatrous film Wafaa, is in the wilderness for close to 25 years. But, the buzz is that Aashirwad is being readied by ‘Kaka’ to be the ‘Rajesh Khanna Museum’ very soon.

The former superstar is in the news this week for turning out to be a higher taxpayer the last financial year at Rs 6.87 crore than Bollywood’s current heartthrobs Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Rs 4.7cr), Kareena Kapoor (Rs 3.6cr) and even one-time arch rival Amitabh Bachchan (Rs 1.25cr). This is a mystery, given Kaka’s dubious history with the tax man, that is explained by a close friend who said Kaka is worth over Rs 100 crore because he has sizeable assets in the form of property in Mumbai and Chennai, some of which he sold recently.

But what is more interesting is that Aashirwad, which at one time was reported to be attached by the IT Department because Kaka had defaulted on his taxes, is likely to be converted into a museum. Time was when this bungalow was the nerve centre of Bollywood. Filmmaker Subhash Ghai says, “I have seen legendary filmmakers like Shakti Samanta and Manmohan Desai be a part of Khanna’s coterie here.’’ Apparently renovation is on at Aashirwad and people speculate that Kaka’s son-in-law Akshay Kumar will inherit this property someday.

The former actor, who has a battery of cars, shelves of trophies of his hits films, artefacts and several other valuables inside Aashirwad that are meticulously maintained by a retinue of servants, told BT from Delhi, “Yes, I’m planning to open India’s first star museum here. By the grace of the Almighty, my daughters Twinkle and Rinke are married, settled and have huge houses themselves. They don’t need my property.’’ Then, with some of his old flamboyance, he added, “Aashirwad is the home of the first superstar of Bollywood, and I would like it to remain that way. Of course, my daughters will take the final decision because it will be their inheritance in the future.’’

Link from :

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/Kakas-Aashirwad-to-be-his-museum/articleshow/4409553.cms#write

Legendary producer-director Shakti Samanta passes away

By V Manohar | 10:30 | 11/Apr/2009 |0Comment(s) |








Legendary producer-director Shakti Samanta passes away

Mumbai, April 10: Noted filmmaker Shakti Samanta, who made superhit movies for Super Star Rajesh Khanna died here on Thursday ( 09-04-2009) after a brief illness.

He was 83 and is survived by wife, two sons and two grandsons.

"He passed away at around 5 pm at his suburban Santacruz residence. He was recovering from a stroke which he suffered over two months ago," a family member told reporters.

"Samanta was discharged two weeks ago from Jaslok Hospital where he was treated for two months. He was slightly paralysed and was recovering slowly," Ashim Samanta, son of the filmmaker, told reporters.

"However, his health deteriorated today," said Ashim, also a film director.

Samanta's funeral would be held at Santacruz crematorium at 11 am on 10-4-2009, the family member said.

The Shakthi Samanta-Super Star Rajesh Khanna pair was responsible for some of Bollywood's memorable classics like Aradhana - 1969, Kati Patang - 1970, Amar Prem - 1971, Anuraag - 1972, Ajanabee - 1974, Mehbooba - 1976, Anurodh - 1977, Ayash - 1982, Awaaz - 1984, Alag Alag - 1985 & Dushman - 1990. All movies with Super Star Rajesh Khanna is super hit for ever.

'Samanta magic' with Rajesh Khanna didn't work with Bachchan


Samanta, a former president of Indian Motion Pictures Association of India (IMPAA), directed 43 feature films, including 37 Hindi and 6 Bengali films.


Shakti Samanta directed his first feature film, 'Bahu' in 1954. After the success of his next few films like 'Inspector' (1956), 'Sheroo' (1956), 'Detective' (1957), Samanta started his own film production house.

Apart from his movies, the director is remembered for introducing actress Sharmila Tagore in Kashmir Ki Kali , who went on to form a legendary pair with Samanta's blue-eyed boy Super Star Rajesh Khanna.

Samantha was never cheap. There is something to be said for a filmmaker who helmed movies which in many ways defined the core character of Hindi cinema in the 1960s and 70s. Apart from everything else Samantha will be remembered for creating all of Super Star Rajesh Khanna’s films Super Hit from Aradhana to Dushman which were all super hit.Quite easily one of the last giant names of that period, Samatha’s passing ought to mean a great loss for bollywood cinema.

Of sobs and tears - Haathi Mere Saathi : 1971

The first time I cried at the movies was during Haathi Mere Saathi. Rajesh Khanna's elephant had died. I could not believe an elephant could die, either in real life, or in the movies. I felt it was unfair that someone had written in the elephant's death so easily. Baw.

In my defence I was ten. I am now four times that age and I am still crying at the movies.

Hindustan Times
dt. 20-3-2009.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=CinemaSectionPage&id=2415bd3a-cfa5-4a4e-bd66-6e5bf0356704&Headline=Of+sobs+and+tears