Yours Truly,Anand

The Rajesh Khanna legend is unique. His record of 15 consecutive solo hits is a filmy factoid.

Daddy,who is Rajesh Khanna uncle? Why doesnt he come home? I remember asking my father as a kid. Naturally,he and others in the room laughed. It took me a few years to forgive the family when realisation dawned that Rajesh Khanna uncle was not a family friend. Other than a brief-handshake a fan boy moment in Kashmir where Khanna was shooting for Aap Ki Kasam my father had never met him. I felt betrayed.

I didnt grow up on his movies but on the legacy of his stardom,the stories about his movies,his songs,his fame: Women used to write letters to him in blood,Women married his picture, When he got married to Dimple,so many women named their dogs by her name and used to hit them. In an interview to me Sharmila Tagore acknowledged that the legend was not unwarranted. Women came out in droves to see Kaka Khanna. They would stand in queues outside studios to catch a glimpse of him,pull at his clothes. Delhi girls were crazier for him than Mumbai girls. He needed police protection. I have never seen anything like that before and since, she said.

The Rajesh Khanna legend is unique. His record of 15 consecutive solo hits is a filmy factoid. The tag of a superstar was coined for him by the film journalist Devyani Chaubal. Dilip Kumar was Tragedy King,Raj Kapoor the Showman,Rajendra Jubilee Kumar,Dev Anand the Evergreen Star but only Rajesh Khanna was the Superstar. A phenomenon.

Every star has an image that becomes his lasting cinema memory. In Khannas case,it was his romantic template tilted head,a twinkle in his eye,rolled wrist,pageboy hairdo, pimply Punjabi face and that baby Im looking at ya smile.

For his male fans,the thumb rule was simple: kill them the ladies softly by following the Rajesh Khanna guidebook to romance. They followed his fashion guru kurtas and belt on shirts. They sang his songs most of them voiced by Kishore Kumar. In fact theres an entire lifespan of a romance only on Khannas songs. First Meeting Mere sapno ki rani,First Date O mere dil ke chain,Courtship Achcha toh hum chalte hain,Commitment Mere dil mein aaj kya hai,Foreplay Roop tera mastana,Intense Love Humein tumse pyaar kitna,Pain/Break up Chingari koi bhadke.

Rajesh Khannas dialogues,especially from Anand and Amar Prem are part of cinema history. Can there be anything more beautiful than Mr Anands philosophy: Zindagi badi honi chahiye,lambi nahin?

In 2009 when he was conferred a Lifetime Achievement Award in Macau,he shared the stage with his Babumoshai Amitabh Bachchan. Khanna gave him a long hug and summed up his career trajectory with a couplet: Yeh mujhe gham nahin zamana badal gaya,zindagi hai tumse yeh guzaarish,tum badal naa jaana.

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Life as we know it,is a little sadder today. But like the superstar sang,Ek din sapno ka raahi,chala jaaye sapno ke aage kahan.

Unforgettable Reels

Raaz 1969: Rajesh Khanna8217;s first break as a lead actor,this suspense thriller had him romancing Babita and in his first double role.

Aradhana 1969: Established him as the nation8217;s heartthrob. Even though he played roles of both father and son,his fans couldn8217;t have enough of him.

Khamoshi 1970: In his roles,as he made a transition from being insane to an intense lover,he won hearts and applauds.

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Kati Patang 1971: His turn as a devoted lover and fun guy,aided by some memorable songs,made his fan following multiply.

Anand 1971: The character of a man,who knows how to keep his humour in the face of adversity and live life to the fullest,sealed his place as a Bollywood icon.

Haathi Mere Saathi 1971: As a hero whose heart bleeds for a helpless elephant,he scored a winner.

Amar Prem 1972: He was back with his popular co-star Sharmila Tagore and gave Hindi cinema one of the most endearing tales of human bonding.

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Bawarchi 1972: As a super efficient cook whose mission in life was to infuse happiness in every bickering household,Khanna was at his best.

Daag 1973: In this super-hit movie,Khanna had two top heroines Tagore and Rakhee vying for his attention. This also helped established then the débutante director Yash Chopra.

Aap Ki Kasam 1974: From being a carefree lover high on bhang to a jealous husband and repentant father,Khanna showed a range of emotions.

Avatar 1983: The year saw him as a tormented husband in Souten,but in Avatar he impressed as man who hits a jackpot despite losing an arm and as a self-respecting father who forsakes his selfish sons.

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Aakhir Kyon? 1985: One of the last movies to capture the charms of Khanna that once made the nation swoon over him.