Posts tagged Rajesh Khanna death

Bollywood mourns at Rajesh Khanna’s chautha

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11 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

MUMBAI MIRROR (July 23, 2012)

 

Almost the entire film industry attended Rajesh Khanna’s Chautha ceremony held at Mumbai’s Taj Lands End on Saturday, July 21, 2012.

Pictures of the superstar brought back warm memories as colleagues, friends and family reminisced about the times spent with the actor and how he had touched their lives in different ways.

Singer Shubha Mudgal rendered a beautiful prayer song as a mark of respect for the late actor. After which, Khanna’s grandson Aarav thanked her, going on to present a special video to all those gathered. Edited by Akshay Kumar, the video featured excerpts of various interviews with the late actor in them.

Aamir and Kiran Rao, and Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan were among those who came in quite early. The Kapoor clan was in full attendance, including Rishi and Neetu Singh, son Ranbir Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor and Shweta Nanda along with her mother-in-law. Rakesh Roshan came, and so did Hrithik and Susanne Roshan.

Among the superstar’s contemporaries who were present at the ceremony were Prem Chopra, Jeetendra, Asrani, Reena Roy, Bindu and music composer Anandji to name a few. Shashi Kapoor, who had undergone a cataract operation just the day before, came in a wheelchair to pay his last respects.

Yash Chopra, who was partnered by Khanna, when he first decided to become an independent producer and start his own banner Yash Raj Films, looked emotional.

Akshay Kumar was busy looking after the guests while wife Twinkle, who is pregnant with More >

Rajesh Khanna’s live-in partner sends notice over Aashirwaad

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11 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

A day before India’s beloved superstar breathed his last, his ladylove Anita Advani sent a legal notice to his family members, to prevent her eviction from the deceased actor’s palatial Carter Road residence

Samarth Moray (July 20, 2012)

 

With the passing of the iconic superstar Rajesh Khanna, Aashirwad, his residence in Carter Road, has been swiftly transformed into a shrine for mourning fans, and there is even talk of its conversion into a museum. But dispelling the air of romance and nostalgia surrounding the palatial mansion are reports that the Bandra plot is at the heart of a bitter conflict raging between the Khanna clan and Kaka’s ladylove, Anita Advani.

Property woes: A source close to Rajesh Khanna’s companion Anita Advani (below) said that family was trying to oust her from  Aashirwad, where she has been staying for the last eight years. File pics

Advani, Kaka’s companion in his twilight years, reportedly sent the Khanna clan a legal notice in order to safeguard against her possible eviction from Aashirwad. The notice invokes the Domestic Violence Act, and was curiously sent to the family on Tuesday, the eve of Khanna’s demise.

Section 19 of the Act bars the family from ‘dispossessing or in any other manner disturbing the possession of the aggrieved person from the shared household, whether or not the respondent has a legal or equitable interest in the shared household’.

A source said, “For the last one month, the family has been trying to oust Advani from the More >

Rajesh Khanna’s last day last show

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11 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 20, 2012)

 

The antim yatra of the ‘first superstar of Hindi cinema’ was truly befitting the cult status Rajesh Khanna enjoyed, in his hey day. Laid on a make shift bed with a big black and white poster of him in front, Khanna’s body was ferried in a truck adorned with flowers and garlands, with estranged wife Dimple, younger daughter Rinke, son-in-law Akshay Kumar and grandson Aarav by his side.

The procession started on Thursday at around 10.15am from Khanna’s bungalow Aashirwad on Carter Road, reaching the Pawan Hans crematorium in Vile Parle West by 11am.

Thousands of people lined the road, anxiously waiting to catch one last glimpse of the legend. So much so traffic had to be diverted with the police finding it increasingly difficult to control the swelling crowd.

In fact, the kind of mass hysteria was reminiscent of the days when Khanna, at the peak of his career, would be mobbed by fans during public appearances.

A section of the crowd, in its desperation to cross over to the side that houses the crematorium, caused some of the iron railings of the divider to come crashing down, creating a gap. They then rushed toward Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan, catching them unaware. The situation was saved when in the nick of time, a few police officials encircled the father-son duo for security purposes.

The last rites started only at around 11.15 am, thanks to the incessant rains, and saw just a clutch of film personalities including Amitabh More >

Rajesh Khanna taken to Vile Parle crematorium

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11 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

MID-DAY (July 19, 2012)

 

Braving the rain, thousand of fans gathered at Bollywood’s first superstar Rajesh Khanna’s home to be part of their icon’s funeral procession here Thursday

The legend’s final journey started around 10 a.m. from his residence Aashirwad in Bandra. His body, in a transparent casket, was placed on a mini-truck decorated with white flowers. The last rites will take place at the Vile Parle crematorium at 11:30 am.

With him on his last journey were his estranged wife Dimple, who took care of him in the last days, his younger daughter Rinke and son-in-law, actor Akshay Kumar who is married to his elder daughter Twinkle.

The actor, fondly called Kaka by his family and friends, passed away Wednesday morning following a liver infection.

Rajesh started his career with the 1966 film “Akhari Khat” and went on to give hit films like “Aradhana”, “Kati Patang”, “Anand” and “Amar Prem” that propelled him to dazzling fame.

Rajesh Khanna’s leading ladies speak

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11 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Rajesh Khanna’s leading ladies get nostalgic about their co-star and his ardent fan following

MID-DAY (July 19, 2012)

 

‘Phir bheega diya Mumtaz ko, aa gaya na bukhar?’ Mumtaz: Those were the best days of my career. Kaka and I enjoyed working with each other. Otherwise a reserved person, he was very free with me. Hum log bahut acche dost ban gaye they and we had good chemistry between us. He was a huge icon and there is no replacement for him. I am glad that recently I met him in Mumbai.

He was not really meeting anyone but I called Dimple and requested her. He was very happy to see me. Dimple complained that he was not eating anything. So I told him that he must fight, as I did as a cancer survivor. To which he replied, ‘Mumtaz you are a very brave girl.’ I asked Kaka to be brave too. He promised he would but he left us.

There are so many fond memories of us working together. We did the maximum number of films together and our fans loved our pair. We used to always get a rain duet and I always got fever after shooting it. He used to joke then, ‘Phir Mumtaz ko bheega diya, ah gaya na bukhar?’ There are many such incidents but at this moment, I am at loss for words.

He often came late on the sets and I used to hate it. But then he would tease me. I am at least happy that I could speak to him and spend sometime before he left us. He will always remain in my heart and in the hearts of millions of fans.

‘Kishoreda’s voice was the closest to Kaka’s’ Leena Chandavarkar: More >

Rajesh Khanna signed off with ‘Pack Up’, says Big B

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11 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

IANS (MID-DAY; July 19, 2012)

 

‘Time is up’, ‘Pack up’ – these were the last words of the first superstar of Indian cinema Rajesh Khanna before he breathed his last.

This was stated by Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who visited Rajesh Khanna’s house yesterday to pay his tributes. “…As I sat at his home this (yesterday) afternoon, to pay my respects, soon after learning of his passing away, a close functionary of his, came up to me and told me in a choked voice what his last words were – ‘time ho gaya hai ! Pack Up!’, Bachchan, 69, posted on his blog.

Bachchan, who worked with the legendary actor in his initial years of his career and starred in films like “Anand” and “Namak Haram”, said the opportunity to share screen space with the legend was like a god’s own blessing to him.

“I first saw him in a film magazine… His film ‘Aradhana’ was my next meeting with him which my Mother took me along to see. Soon after that, I was being cast opposite him in ‘Anand’. This was like a miracle, God’s own blessing and one that gave me ‘reverse respect’.

The moment that anyone came to know that I was working with THE Rajesh Khanna, my importance grew. And I gloated in its wake… “He was simple and quiet. He would attract many visitors on set and was continuously surrounded by them – Hrishi da permitting !

The frenzy and the following he garnered was a sight to behold. In the 1970 era his fans came from Spain to meet him, a most unheard of occurrence then.

In his trade mark Rajesh More >

Rajesh Khanna suffered from liver infection

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11 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

IANS (MID-DAY; July 19, 2012)

 

Yesteryear Bollywood superstar Rajesh Khanna, who was ailing for sometime, died at his Bandra residence on Wednesday morning. However, the reason behind his death was his liver infection.

“His liver got infected. He could not digest his food after a certain point of time. During his last days, he could not take solid food so he was on liquid intake,” Rajesh Khanna’s close friend Vijay Zaveri told IANS. Rajesh Khanna was admitted to Lilavati Hospital in suburban Bandra June 23 and after staying in the hospital for two weeks, he was discharged.

The actor had been battling health issues since April and as per reports, his health deteriorated in May and since then, he was on liquid intake. Last month, his manager Ashwin told IANS that Rajesh Khanna had stopped food intake, but a day later the actor had come out and greeted media persons and fans assuring them he was fine. He waved at them from the balcony of his house Aashirwad on Carter Road in Bandra June 21.

Fondly known as ‘Kaka’ by his fans, Rajesh Khanna married Dimple Kapadia in 1973. They separated in 1984. After giving hits like “Aaradhana” and “Amar Prem”, the actor was out of the limelight for many years. He has recently acted in a Havell’s ad campaign.

Rajesh Khanna: End of an Era

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11 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Meena Iyer on her 30-year-old equation with the Bollywood superstar who was once a phenomenon, and then forgotten

BOMBAY TIMES (July 19, 2012)

 

It was in the second half of the 1960s that I first saw Rajesh Khanna. He was dating Anju Mahendroo, who lived on the ground floor of Laxmi Niwas, one lane away from where I lived.

His car would be parked outside Anju’s home all night long. In the mornings, I would bump into Anju’s Catholic maid servant who would be sent to the market by Anju’s mother, Shanti Mahendroo, to buy eggs because “Kakaji wanted eggs for breakfast”. Like me, another girl exactly my age, also followed Kaka’s life quite closely. Her name was Tina Munim. She went to the Gujarati medium school right next to Anju’s house. Like most teenagers, Tina too was fascinated by the country’s phenomenon.

Years later, in the first half of the 80s, I was officially introduced to Rajesh Khanna. This time, he was Tina’s co-star and I would hang around her home, which was also in my neighbourhood.

I remember that long before Tina and he were spoken about as a couple, he had brought his wife Dimple Kapadia to Tina’s house for dinner. And all of us had stared in awe at Mrs Rajesh Khanna. Sometime in 1983, I got an opportunity to interact with Khanna in my role as a reporter for Star & Style magazine. I was asked to do a cover story on him because two of his movies, Mohan Kumar’s Avtaar and Saawan Kumar Tak’s Souten, had made a mark at the box office. This period was seen as More >

Rajesh Khanna, Bollywood’s first superstar, dies in Mumbai

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11 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

HINDUSTAN TIMES (July 18, 2012)

Veteran Indian Bollywood actor Rajesh Khanna (C), flanked by his wife Dimple Kapadia (R) and son in-law Akshay Kumar (L), wave to well-wishers gathered outside his Ashirwad bungalow in Mumbai on June 21, 2012. (AFP)

 

Bollywood actor Rajesh Khanna is no more. A day after being discharged from the hospital, Rajesh Khanna’s health deteriorated again, following which the veteran actor was put on ventilator.

The cremation ceremony will be held at 4.30 pm today.

Hospitalisation Rajesh Khanna, who has been battling health issues since April 1, was visited by the Bollywood fraternity while he was in hospital.The 69-year-old actor was admitted to the hospital on April l after he complained of weakness and fatigue. He was discharged in three to four days. Khanna was admitted again on June 23 and spent two weeks there. He was hospitalised for the third time on July 14 due to weakness and low blood pressure.

Dimple Kapadia and daughter Rinki were by his side in the hospital. Twinkle Khanna with hubby Akshay Kumar, too, came to visit her father.

Recent ad Rajesh Khanna was recently seen in his first television ad for Havells fans. The ad campaign was directed by filmmaker R Balki. “To be approached after so many years is indeed a great honour for me and I am delighted to reconnect with my fans once again. Shooting after a gap of so many years has definitely brought back fond memories and I feel that not a lot has changed at all. It’s good to be More >

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