Born in Amritsar, Superstar Rajesh Khanna, originally named Jatin, was adopted as a child and raised by Chunnilal Khanna, a railway contractor. Chunnilal was a relative of Jatin’s biological parents.
Before joining the film world, Jatin was even called ‘Kaka’ by his family and close friends. The name was given to him due to his baby face, a Punjabi term for a baby.
The family had moved to Mumbai where Jatin completed his studies after which he developed an interest in acting. He even got selected in a Talent Hunt in 1965.
Among his very first acting assignments was Rano, a Hindi-Punjabi bilingual which he was being considered for. Though eventually the role was bagged by Dharmendra but due to Geeta Bali’s sudden death, the film got shelved.
Jatin soon became ‘The Rajesh Khanna’ and got his hands full. His schedule got busy with hits one after the other which made him one of the top actors of the country. But after 1975, the number of hits delivered by him started decreasing.
This was the phase when Amitabh Bachchan’s stardom was on a rise. On the personal front, Rajesh’s marriage to a much younger Dimple Kapadia was going through a rough phase.
Dimple eventually moved out of his life and made a comeback in films. Rajesh was waiting for that ‘one’ hit which could change the game for him but sadly; there was a dearth of offers for him at that point.
His link up with Tina Munim was also the talk of town.
Luckily, 1983 turned out to be a fruitful year for him. He career graph rose with films like Sautan, Avtar and Agar Tum Na Hote scoring big at the box office.
Not many know that during the 70s, Rajesh was to work in a Hindi-Punjabi bilingual Sohni Mahiwal alongside Neetu Singh but the film got shelved after a few reels. Nevertheless, like many stars of that era, Rajesh too appeared in a Punjabi film which was titled Sawa Lakh Se Ek Ladau. He had a cameo along with Neetu Singh.
Rajesh Khanna actively participated in Politics too and even won an election in 1992 from Delhi as an MP. He would take up occasional acting assignments during that period.
After bidding adieu to active politics, he continued to campaign for his party especially in Punjab.
The superstar passed away in the year 2012 due to his deteriorating health and further complications leaving a memorable legacy.
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