The Man With The Arrogance Of Napolean

When time comes where I have accomplished every single thing on my wish list ,  like Avinaash( ANAND movie) I will buy a lot of balloons , donate a few to kids  and will leave rest in the sky. I will do that someday, singing "Wohi Chun kar Khamoshi, Yun Chale Jaaye Akele Kahan?" . This thought was developed after watching song of life of first superstar of Indian Cinema. What I see in the song is a man who is happy , is walking toward nothingness with balloons in his hand , cheerfully singing Good Bye.  

Wohi Chun Kar Khamooshi....

One of my earliest recollections of his period was ANAND. I may be 10 years old. For me—exposed till then to the usual Hindi film, where the hero always had a love interest, and where there were few (and mostly pretty melodramatic) moments of tragedy—Anand was different. There was never any doubt that Rajesh Khanna’s character was the hero. He was ebullient, full of life, charming, friendly, yet (in those moments of solitude) sensitive. I kept waiting for a heroine to pop up. Come on every kid has a first favorite heroine. Mine was Hema Malini, Karishma Kapoor,Urmila Matondkar and so on(list is big…may be in  some other place).Instead, what came was the deathbed scene. There was Anand, slipping away from life, falling suddenly silent—and his friend, the helpless doctor (played by Amitabh Bachchan) breaking down, begging Anand to speak. I couldn’t believe it. For me, heroes in Hindi films didn’t die. They were indestructible; through fire, explosions, crippling illnesses, armies of attacking villains—whatever. They came through it all. Most of all, they didn’t die of a disease I could barely pronounce. I was certain this was a ploy. Somewhere, it would turn out, someone had messed up. Medical reports had been bungled, and it would emerge that Anand was perfectly well. Just about now, he would open his eyes and smile that trademark smile. And all would be well.

And then came Anand’s voice. “Babu moshai, zindagi aur maut uparwaale ke haath hain, jahanpanah. Use na toh aap badal sakte hain, na main. Hum sab toh rangmanch ki katputliyaan hain…”

The last sentence made my hair stand in the end. That was the first time when something on screen made me cry. Whenever I remember the scene I get upset. What epitomizes Khanna's   acting spectrum are the songs of Life or poignancy arousing Deaths. Remember Andaz it was actually a Shammi kapoor film but Khanna made a cameo in it but WHAT A CAMEO!!!! If there is something called as shouting in tongues , there is another thing called as Laughing in EYES. Bachchan being the master of former , Khanna is the maestro of the later. Song (like these) picturized on him are and will be always be the anthem of the youth.   He is the one who actually inspired me through this dialogue "Zindagi Lambi nahi Badi Honi Chaiye".

Frankly put, this is how I want to be remembered.

Ironically a reel life hero cannot be such in real one. I guess that’s the curse of being a superstar.  The critics claimed him as "The man with the arrogance of Napoleon." All accomplished but as a actor you don’t expect to be respected form the Rajesh Khanna. Rajesh Khanna like all other industry pros had ups and ups. But unlike others he failed to real life hero. He took audience for granted. He went into his den when his days were declining  and stayed there licking his wounds reminiscing the glory days .Khanna was left stuck in a time warp, a sad and bitter man, living inside a bottle, wallowing in self-pity, still clinging on to delusions of grandeur. It must be hard for him to digest the fact that somebody would take his place. Look at his contemporary actors. People know everything about Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand. Dharamendra and Jeetendra might have been a yard less compared to him in those times but when it comes to remember the yesteryear superstars now , they strike your mind before Khanna.

My mom always scolded me as a kid when I heard the Rajesh Khanna collection from my DAD's cupboard. The reason being his songs arouse a sense of poignancy. Little did she know that Poignant is Khanna's middle name.

Sigh! And sigh again. Rajesh Khanna’s decline and descent, depressing as it is, serves us well. All of us. Fame and fortune are fickle lovers, ready to be courted by the next suitor — someone younger, richer, more accomplished. Nobody is spared. Not Presidents, Prime Ministers, Kings and Queens. But unlike Khanna they strive to rise above ashes . The Havell Fan's commercial seriously made me weep.I personally love all Rajesh khanna movies...such stories, such songs, such acting...made us drool though we don't belong to that generation...but I guess too much pride in oneself can destroy anyone. The word stardom was minted only & only for khanna. When we lose a loved one something within us dies . We lost a bit of us on 18th July 2012 with enigmatic star called Rajesh Khanna.

…SAPNO KA RAHI,CHALA GAYA SAPNO SE AAGE KAHA………..