Overc-ome with emotions after Rajesh Khanna’s death, yesteryear Bollywood star Mumtaz, who acted with him in many hits, on Wednesday said the actor was “very close” to her even though he came across as an introvert to others. Speaking to PTI here, Mumtaz said she was “crying the whole morning”, but was happy that she had met the ailing Khanna — ‘Kaka’ to his fans — in Mumbai last month, when the two discussed their respective battles with cancer.
“He told me that I am a strong person, and that he knew what I had gone through, the chemotherapy sessions. He said he did not feel hungry, and we joked that when lots of food was ordered for him, it was later enjoyed by all, except him,” said Mumtaz who overcame her battle with breast cancer.
Khanna, 69, died on Wedndesday at his ‘Ashirwad’ home in Mumbai’s Bandra area. He was discharged from Lilawati hospital two days back. His family as well as hospital authorities did not specify about his illness. Khanna and Mumtaz acted in 10 films, including memorable ones such as Ap Ki Kas-am, Roti, Apna Desh and Sachcha Jhootha.
Mumtaz said that every film that she and Khanna acted in became a superhit.
She said she had lots of memories of working with Khanna. She recalled that they used to joke about him carrying her on her shoulders for nearly a week in snow while shooting for the closing scenes of the film Roti.
“It was hard work for him, carrying me through snow. I used to joke when we started shooting every day of that week that now you will have to carry 100 kg sack on your shoulders, and he would say that I was not that heavy. But I was never a slim girl,” Mumtaz said.
Veteran actress Sharmila Tagore, who paired in a number of hits with Rajesh Khanna, said no other actor ever had a fan following like the superstar. “He was most certainly the first superstar and with due respect to other actors, nobody created that kind of a craze after him,” Sharmila said.
Recalling that she was a witness to that phase of his career when the actor’s stardom was at its peak in the ’70s, she said wherever she went with him they found long queues of excited fans waiting to have a glimpse of him.