Rajesh Khanna, the legendary Bollywood actor perhaps best known as the romantic hero in 1970s passed away today at the age of 69. The yesteryear actor was suffering from kidney problem for quite some time. He was being treated at Mumbai’s Leelavati Hospital and was discharged on Tuesday.
As per the Mumbai reports, Rajesh Khanna died at his residence in Bandra with his family and doctors by his side. His elder son-in-law Akshay Kumar, who was shooting abroad also returned to be at his side.
Rajesh Khanna acted in 163 films out of which he played the male lead roles in 106 films. He won 3 Filmfare Awards as Best Actor, 4 BFJA Awards again as Best Actor (Hindi) and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. The actor was referred to as the ‘First Superstar’ of Hindi Cinema.
Born at Amritsar, Punjab on 29th December 1942, he entered into film industry in 1966 with ‘Aakhri Khat’ and shot to fame with films like ‘Aaradhana’, ‘Baharon Ke Sapne’, ‘Raaz’, ‘Ittefaq’, etc. Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz shared great on-screen chemistry and delivered 8 hit films. The romantic hero had a huge female fanfare across India. Rajesh Khanna reminds us the evergreen song ‘Mere Sapnon Ki Rani Kab Ayegi Toh’ from ‘Aaradhana’. Mumtaz, Sharmila Tagore, Asha Parekh, Hema Malini and Zeenat Aman are few top actresses who paired with him in most of his films.
Rajesh Khanna’s films are mostly musical hits and several songs in his films were crooned by Kishore Kumar. To name a few ‘Aaradhana’, ‘Kati Patang’, ‘Amar Prem’, ‘Mere Jeevan Saathi’, ‘Aap Ki Kasam’, ‘Namak Haraam’, ‘Hum Dono’, etc., have earned him immense popularity.
Rajesh Khanna married Dimple Kapadia in 1973 and has 2 daughters Twinkle and Rinkie from marriage. Later the couple got separated in 1984. His elder daughter Twinkle married action hero Akshay Kumar while younger daughter Rinkie married London based businessman Samir Saran.
Bollywood and politicians mourned at Rajesh Khanna’s death. Ragalahari prays for the actor’s soul to rest in peace in the feet of Almighty.
[Image Source=rajeshkhanna.net]
