MUMBAI: After ruling bollywood for more than five decades, India’s first superstar Rajesh Khanna, fondly known as Kaka passed away today afternoon at his residence in Mumbai.
Aged 69, the icon was admitted to Lilavati hospital last week following reports of low blood pressure, but was discharged on Tuesday and was at his Mumbai residence since then.
As per reports, the last rites will be performed today.
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He is survived by wife Dimple Kapadia and two daughters Twinkle and Rinke.
The actor’s condition had been deteriorating since last three months due to health complications when he stopped eating and had complained of weakness. He was admitted twice to Lilavati Hospital in the past month.
Kaka was known for his super hit songs and music always played a major role in all his films. Some of his evergreen melodies include ‘Mere Sapnon Ki Rani’ (Aradhana), ‘Zindagi Ke Safar Mein’ (Aap Ki Kasam) , ‘Jai Jai Shiv Shankar’ (Aap Ki Kasam), ‘Hum The Jinke Sahare’ (Safar), ‘Zindagi Ka Safar’(Safar), ‘Kora Kagaz Tha Yeh Man Mera’ (Aradhana), ‘Roop Tera Mastana’(Aradhana), ‘Yeh Shaam Mastani’( Kati Patang), ‘Pyaar Deewana Hota Hai, Mastaana Hota Hai’ (Kati Patang), ‘Mere Dil Mein Aaj Kya Hai’ (Daag: A Poem of Love), Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli (Anand), Kahin Door Jab Din Dhal Jaaye (Anand) ‘Chingari koi bhadke’(Amar Prem), ‘Yeh kya hua’ (Amar Prem) and ‘Kuchh toh log kahenge’ (Amar Prem).
The trio of Rajesh Khanna, Kishore Kumar and RD Burman gave popular films like Kati Patang, Amar Prem, Shehzada, Apna Desh, Mere Jeevan Saathi, Aap Ki Kasam, Ajnabee, Namak Haraam, Maha Chor, Karm, Phir Wohi Raat, Aanchal, Kudrat, Ashanti, Agar Tum Na Hote, Awaaz, Hum Dono and Alag Alag. Many of the musical scores for his films were also composed by Sachin Dev Burman and Laxmikant- Pyarelal.
Radioandmusic.com raises a musical toast to this sheer genius:
Talat Aziz – “It has been a truly rough year as so many legends have left us. Rajesh Khanna was one such soul who had the best of music in his films. Some of the greatest melodies have been composed in his era. His combination with R D Burman gave a lot of super hit tracks to his credit like ‘Amar Prem’ and ‘Kati Patang’ amongst others. I remember meeting him once and telling him how much I loved the music in his films, I can still recall how happy he looked when he heard that. He truly was a big star. May god rest his soul. My heartfelt condolences to his family.”
Alka Yagnik – “We all know what a great superstar he was. His style, acting and most importantly his melodies brought in the romantic era in bollywood. Personally, I loved listening to many of his songs. I remember I was in my teens when I saw his first movie and like any other person, even I became his crazy fan. It is a very big loss to the film industry.”
Lalit Pandit – “I am extremely sad to hear this news. He was truly a legendary artiste. Some of the greatest music ever composed has been picturized on him. Infact he used to participate in the making of the songs as well. He and Pancham Da would take each other’s suggestions while composing tunes and that proved very lucky in many films as their music became such a great hit. ‘Kuch toh log Kahenge’ was one of my favourite songs of his career. He went on to achieve unbelievable stardom and I will just say that legends do not die, they continue to live on forever.”
Anu Malik – “We have lost the king of romance. His style, mannerisms were a trendsetter and no one can match up to the aura that he created. He was lucky enough to have a combo of R D Burman as composer and Kishore Kumar as singer which was romance personified. He had some of the most amazing songs of his career. I had the honour of knowing him personally and I rendered some of my songs in front of him. I will always remember that moment. I have also seen him create music with Anand Bakshi, Pancham Da which was a great experience. They would gather at Shakti Samanta’s house and create such beautiful compositions, I am lucky to have got the chance to witness all of this in my life. His death truly is a personal loss for me.”
Kailash Kher – “Ek zamaana tha jab pita ko hi hum apna rockstar aur idol maante the’. In those days, even Rajesh Khanna was of that stature. More than an actor, he was considered an icon in the industry. Everyone followed him and his style blindly. It is indeed a great loss to the industry and his melodies will always live on in everyone’s minds. I hope that such souls keep coming back on earth and continue to make a difference to society like kaka did.”
Suresh Wadkar – “Rajesh Khanna was a big man who did a lot of super hit films. He has been credited with the title of bollywood’s first superstar. I remember watching most of his movies first day first show. After ‘Anand’ the movies he acted in were just mesmerizing. I was a huge fan of him and the combination of Pancham da, Kishore da and Kaka gave out some really melodious tracks in that era. Even Laxmikant-Pyarelal composed some really good songs for him. Every song of his was so magical, I can keep listening to it again and again. After Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna was the only actor who looked like he was really singing the tracks on screen. I remember when he got famous, he used to travel in a white Volkswagen and whenever he came out of his house every morning, girls lined up on the street used to scream and run behind him. That was the magic he created. I truly salute him.”
