The Superstar leaves the arena - Rajesh Khanna passes away

Rajesh Khanna, the first of Bollywood superstars breathed his last breath here in Mumbai at 2 pm. Rajesh Khanna was suffering from cancer and his body is to be cremated by 11.30 a.m. tomorrow. 

Born on December 29, 1942, as Jatin Khanna, the actor was raised by the relatives of his biological parents. He attended St. Sebestian’s Goan High School along with his childhood friend Ravi Kapoor, who later adopted the screen name Jeetendra. Always high on confidence, Rajesh Khanna was the other name for style. He approached filmmakers in his own MG sports car during his struggling days.

Rajesh Khanna had started his career with  ‘Aakhri Khat’ (1966). He had a blazing start with the directorial venture of Chetan Anand. However, his real break was Ravindra Dave’s ‘Raaz’ (1967). After a string of successful films such as ‘Baharon Ke Sapne’, ‘Aradhana’, ‘Ittefaq’, and ‘Do Raaste’, he marched into the hearts of millions of his fans, who credited Khanna with the title of superstar. Delivering 15 consecutive solo hits seemed easy every time his face appeared on the posters of a new film.

He had acted in 163 movies and in which 103 of them had him in the lead role. Mr Khanna's son-in-law, actor Akshay Kumar, addressed the press and asked fans to pray for the late star. 

Mr Khanna had been hospitalised on June 23, when he was taken to Lilavati Hospital to be treated for exhaustion, and spent some days having tests. He was discharged just yesterday. Mr Khanna had also been hospitalized for a few days in April this year.

Mr Khanna's ex-wife, actress Dimple Kapadia, has nursed him through his illness. They have two daughters together - Twinkle, who is expecting her second child with husband Akshay Kumar, and Rinke who is married to businessman Sameer Saran.

Mr Khanna also held a Lok Sabha seat as a Congressman from 1992-1996. A host of politicians, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, joined Bollywood celebrities in expressing their grief over Mr Khanna's death.

There was and is a style to Rajesh Khanna or more popularly known as kakka which had made him heart robe of seventies. Thanks to the wonderful composers during the time he made their music more stylish than normal. 

We miss the great legend and we know that his style will continue through the immortal set of roles that he has played on-screen.

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- Unknown Updated at: Wednesday, July 18, 2012