Much before the Khans and the Bachchans arr-ived, fan frenzy and superstardom were defined by actor Rajesh Khanna. No other actor until then made female fans squeal in excitement, cover an actor’s car with lipstick marks or write a star a love letter in blood.

For a man with such charisma and manic following, his advent into the world of Hindi cinema was the result of a national talent show.
Born Jatin Khanna in Amritsar on December 29, 1942, he was adopted and raised by relatives of his parents. He spent much of his growing up years in Thakurdwar, Girgaum. The largely Mumbai boy studied at St. Sebastian’s Goan High School and took keen interest in theatre along with friend Ravi Kapoor. Kapoor, later went on to become Bollywood’s Jumping Jack, Jeetendra. The two of them attended Kishinchand Chellaram (KC) College at Churchgate and remained friends right through their respective careers. Khanna was selected amongst 10,000 other participants in the All India Talent Contest 1965, and got a chance to work with big names like G.P. Sippy and Nasir Hussain. His film Aakhri Khat, directed by Chetan Anand, was India’s entry for the Best Foreign Lang-uage Film at the 40th Oscar Academy Awards in 1967.
What made him the first superstar was his unparalleled spell of over 20 hit films across just five years. Among these, 15 of them were consecutive solo hits between 1969 and 1971, a feat that still hasn’t been overtaken despite generations of superstars that have followed. In these three years, Khanna starred in blockbusters like Aradhna, Ittefaq, Safar, Kati Patang, Anand, Andaz, Haathi Mere Saathi, Chhoti Bahu, Do Raaste and Khamoshi.
From the late 60s till the peak of his career, Khanna was in a romantic relationship with fashion designer and actress Anju Mahendru. Their liaison lasted a few years till he fell in love with then budding actress Dimple Kapadia. In March 1973, six months before the release of Dimple’s debut film Bobby, Khanna tied the knot with her and had two daughters with her — Twinkle and Rinke.
A great career, a good-looking and loving wife, and beautiful children, Kaka as he is popularly called, had everything going for him. But it was long outdoors schedules and alleged linkups that resulted in them going separate ways. Back then, there were strong rumours about the actor being a wife beater. And this was proved when Dimple made public appearances with swollen eyes and bruises on her body.
Kaka’s eccentric behaviour would allegedly bring the monster out of him. Finally, it was in 1984 when Dimple decided to walk out on him with her daughters. She re-stared her career in films, while Rajesh allegedly started his torrid affair and eventually moved in with newcomer Tina Munim. Their love story too turned out to be short-lived. Munim went abroad to study but returned to marry Dhirubhai Ambani’s younger son Anil.
A sagging career and failed romances made him even more aggressive and lonely. Kaka’s high-handed behaviour was always the talk of the town. He was reported to have had a snobbish attitude towards co-stars and newcomers. His alcoholism and alleged relationships were the reasons the star started fading into oblivion.
In 1992, he became a member of Parliament for the Congress from the New Delhi constituency, where he won the byelection, retaining his seat until the 1996 election. In 2000, he starred in serials like Apne Parai and Ittefaq. From 2008 to 2009, he acted in Raghukul Reet Sada Chali Aayi and was not seen in films or television ever since. He returned in a commercial directed by filmmaker R. Balki for Havell’s fans, that rather poorly punned on the word “fan”.
A large number of his fans over the years wat-ched in disbelief as a scarily gaunt Kaka tilted his head, in his erstwhile trademark style. A series of hospital trips later, Kha-nna succumbed to liver- and kidney-related complications with his closest family members by his side.