I was surprised to find that MS does not have a single review on Rajesh Khanna, the first superstar of Hindi cinema. The kind of frenzy, hysteria and fan-following that Rajesh Khanna generated in the 70’s was unheard of till then. Though his superstardom lasted for a brief period of about 5 years, the number of memorable films and performances that he churned out in this short period remains unmatched by any other actor. Though his acting bordered slightly on melodrama and a bit of hamming, he had a style and charisma of his own that turned him into a national craze. Unfortunately, this very style of his got him typecast and led to his downfall. I list below some his most memorable films from the glorious 70’s. Can any other actor match such a repertoire??
Aradhana – Though a Sharmila film throughout, Rajesh’s stylish acting caught everyone’s fancy. Riding on the back of some fantastic music by SD this film by Shakti Samanta instantly catapulted Rajesh into superstardom
Khamoshi – Remake of a Bengali film – ‘Deep jale jai’, it had Rajesh in a soft romantic role of a mental patient.Hemanta’s production and music, Asit Sen’s direction created a masterpiece
The Train – A thrilling whodunit, this film by Raveekant Nagaich had some great music by RD Burman. In fact the combination of Panchamda, Kishoreda and Rajesh Khanna spelled magic every time and made superstars of all of them.
Anand – Perhaps the best performance of Rajesh, Hrishida’s all time great film captivated almost everybody. The story of a terminal patient who spreads sunshine into everyone’s lives as he himself travels into the sunset of his life did not leave a single dry eye in the theatres.
Dushman – A classic with a great story. Rajesh played a truck driver who accidentally runs over an innocent sole bread winner of a poor village family and is sentenced to take care of the victim’s family. Mumtaz- Rajesh formed a hit pair and LP provided great music.
Do Raaste – A super-hit social film on the joint family values. Rajesh-Mumtaz again and LP’s super hit music. Haathi mere saathi – A unique film by Chinappa Devar about the bond between a human and elephants was an elephantine success.
Bawarchi – Hrishida had the audacity to cast Rajesh, the romantic superstar, as a cook wearing shorts and imparting the values of life to the members of an ever squabbling joint family.
Amar Prem – Shakti Samanta’s direction, Rajesh- Sharmila in the lead, Pancham’s music and Kishoreda’s vocals – this film had everything and proved to be a super success.
Kati Patang – Shakti, Rajesh, Sharmila, Panchamda & Kishore. This film had all the ingredients for a super duper hit
Safar - Rajesh plays a terminal patient again and Sharmila and Feroz Khan complete a love triangle.Sensitive portrayals and mind-blowing music by Kalyanji Anandji
Prem Kahani- Love triangle again this with Shashi & Mumtaz. Great stuff
Saccha Jhutha - Manmohan Desai’s super hit.Rajesh plays a double role with Mumtaz again and KA’s super hit music again
Namak Haram – Hrishida repeated the team of Rajesh & Amitabh to create this timeless classic. Only this time, the lesser known Amitabh overshadowed Rajesh.
Premnagar – Rajesh paired with Hema to give another romantic super hit.
Aap ki kasam – J Omprakash’s highly successful film on marital discord with Rajesh – Mumtaz again and Sanjeev facing up to Rajesh for the first time. Great music by Panchamda.Daag – This film by Yash Chopra pitted two beautiful Bengali heroines Sharmila and Raakhee against Rajesh’s charisma. A great story, great performances and another super hit.
Ajnabee – This Shakti Samanta film came in the later part of Rajesh’s career wherein he tried to resurrect his superstardom but the magic had waned. This murder mystery, however, was a success. Shakti also made Mehbooba & Anurodh to save his favourite hero’s sinking career but though both the films were very well made, they flopped miserably.Aavishkar – An art film by Basu Bhattacharya, it had Rajesh and Sharmila giving sensitive performances that impressed the critics. Besides the above Rajesh also gave great performances in Mere jeevan saathi, Apna Desh, Avtaar, Thodisi bewafaai, Agar tum na hote, Chailla Babu and Red Rose