Kahin duur jab din dhal jaye

Kahin duur jab din dhal jaye

saanjh ki dulhan badan churaye

chupke se aaye

My one of the favorites of Rajesh Khanna. We all remember that song. Sung somewhere, heard somewhere, kept in heart somewhere.

I saw my dad's wet eyes as Rajesh Khanna passed away. He was his favorite actor. His' was the first movie my dad watched at cinema when he cleared 10th exams- in 2 and a half rupees- Haathi mere saathi. O! we all have seen it.

The career took a toll. He had fame, love, money and what not. Just a few movies and he was on cloud 9. Elevated with persona. 15 hit blockbuster movies came one after another in only 3 consecutive years. He worked 14 hours a day, daily. 

Ye shaam mastani

Madhosh kiye jaye

Mujhe dor koi kheenche

teri or liye jaye

A romance brewed up the screen with him and Asha. More films came in and he made a beautiful romantic image. Female fans wrote letters with their own blood to him and kiss his car when he passed by. His car had lipstick stains all over. They would marry his pictures and throw dupattas on ground so that his feet wont touch the ground.  3 female fans even cut their write out for him during a movie release. His fate was written now- by his own hands- A superstar was born. 

Karwate badalte rahe

Saari raat hum

Aap ki kasam.. 

And then with Mumtaz- a B grade actress. He gave 8 back to back hit films with her which made her an A-grade actress.

Mere sapno ki raani kab aayegi tu

aayi rut mastani kab aayegi tu.. 

He gave over 160 films. But the major turn was when he was asked to do a Angry young man role. He declined. And so it was given to Amitabh Bachchan who had already given several flops- he accepted. Time changed. We saw Rajesh Khanna vanishing off the screens but not our hearts. Everything changed.

None-the-less he kept his similar nature all throughout his life full of romance, tragedies, memorables and forgetables. On 17th June 2012 he was discharged from hospital. We thought he's fine and so he is home. Eventually, doctors could no longer treat him and sent him home to have his last breath. He never made a public announcement of his liver cancer. We never knew! True as he said in his movie Anand- 'nahi nahi babumoshaye, hum apna gum nahi baattein, yaha thode selfish hain hum'. Zindagi kaisi hai paheli haye Kabhi toh hansaye Kabhi ye rulaye...

His body was taken in a truck decorated with white roses with a huge picture of his' from Anand at the front. A glass coffin was his last carriage. 

His last words- "Time to pack up".

The greatest, simple, down to earth, very ordinary yet extra ordinary, superb actor passed away two days back. A great loss to humanity. I know he was the first ever Superstar but more than that, he was the a great human. His last ad we have of him: Havells. 

"Mere fan mujhse koi nahi cheen sakta".

RIP Rajesh Khanna. You will be remembered as long as cinema lasts.