Last updated on July 19th, 2023 at 04:38 pm
An Indian actor, film producer, and politician who worked in Hindi films, Rajesh Khanna was. He is referred to as the “First Superstar of Hindi cinema”; he starred in a record 15 solo hero successful films between 1969 and 1971. He was one of the highest-paid actors in Hindi cinema throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
He was posthumously awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honor, in 2013. His accolades include 4 BFJA Awards and 5 Filmfare Awards. Khanna made his debut in 1966 with Aakhri Khat, which was India’s first official Oscar Entry in 1967. He was honored with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 on the 50th anniversary of the Filmfare Awards. Between 1992 and 1996, he was a Member of Parliament in the 10th Lok Sabha from the New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency.
He was elected in the 1992 New Delhi by-election as an Indian National Congress candidate. He married Dimple Kapadia eight months before her debut film Bobby was released, in March 1973. The couple had two daughters together. Their elder daughter, Twinkle Khanna, is an actress who is married to actor Akshay Kumar. They also have a younger daughter, Rinke Khanna.
Fascinating facts about Rajesh Khanna:-
– Jatin Khanna, who was born on 29 December 1942 in Amritsar (Punjab) to a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family, is better known by his stage name, Rajesh Khanna. He was adopted and raised by his biological parents’ relatives, Chunnilal Khanna and Leelawati Khanna.
– The chief guest’s suggestion that Khanna gets into films soon was impressed with his performance in the play Andha Yug in 1962. Khanna, who once struggled to get work in theatre and films in the early 1960s, became a rare newcomer who had his own MG sports car.
– More than 10,000 contestants competed in the 1965 All India Talent Contest, organized by United Producers and Filmfare, Rajesh Khanna was one of eight finalists. Other FTII students, Subhash Ghai and Dheeraj Kumar were also finalists.
– He won the All-India United Producers’ Talent Competition, which gave him his film debut in the 1966 film Aakhri Khat, directed by Chetan Anand, followed by Raaz, directed by Ravindra Dave. After Rajesh Khanna won the contest, Sippy and Nasir Hussain were the first to sign him.
– He acted in Haathi Mere Saathi in 1971, which became the highest-grossing film that year and the biggest grosser ever till then.
– Between 1969 and 1971, Rajesh Khanna had 15 consecutive solo hit films. Aradhana, Doli, Bandhan, Ittefaq, Do Raaste, Khamoshi, Safar, The Train, Kati Patang, Sachaa Jhutha, Aan Milo Sajna, Mehboob Ki Mehendi, Choti Bahu, Anand, and Haathi Mere Saathi were some of his most well-known films. He had 17 consecutive hit films as the lead hero from 1969 to 1971, including 15 solo hero films and 2 non-solo hero films: Andaz and Maryada.
– He started campaigning for Congress after 1984 at the insistence of Rajiv Gandhi. However, in the election for the New Delhi seat in the 1991 Lok Sabha election, Khanna lost to L.K. Advani. Khanna stood on the grounds at the counting station insisting that he had been cheated of a win, after which Advani won by a narrow margin of 1589 votes.
– After winning the 1992 by-election from the New Delhi constituency, Rajesh Khanna was a member of Parliament for the Indian National Congress until 1996, when he lost interest in active politics.
– He has won four Best Actor Awards in the Bengal Film Journalists’ Association Awards and has received 25 nominations. He won three Filmfare Best Actor Awards, one Filmfare Special Guest Actor Award in 1973, and one Filmfare Special Award in 1991.
– Khanna passed away on 18 July 2012, after a period of illness.
