Rajesh Khanna

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Rajesh Khanna
Image:RajeshKhanna.jpg
In Mehboob Ki Mehndi (1971)
Birth name Jatin Khanna
Born December 29 1942 (1942-12-29) (age 65)
Amritsar, Punjab, British India
Years active 1966 - present
Spouse(s) Dimple Kapadia (1973-1984)

Rajesh Khanna (Punjabi: ਰਾਜੇਸ਼ ਖੰਨਾ) (born Jatin Khanna on December 29, 1942 in Amritsar) is a legendary Indian Bollywood thespian. He has also served a five year tenure as MP in the Indian parliament (1991-1996).

Contents

[edit] Early life

Rajesh Khanna came from an affluent family. Khanna's father had misgivings about Rajesh's taking on a professional acting career. His initial foray into cinema with renowned film maker Chetan Anand was not a resounding success. Nonetheless, Rajesh persisted and exceeded all expectations. His previous theatrical background assisted him with the characterization of the personas of the cinema which he portrayed effortlessly and naturally. He is Hindi cinema's first officially acknowledged Superstar.[1]

In March of 1973 Rajesh Khanna married Dimple Kapadia, a Bollywood actress who had just made her film debut in Raj Kapoor's coveted blockbuster Bobby. At the time of Kapadia's film debut, she was sixteen years old; Khanna was thirty-one. They became the parents of Twinkle Khanna and Rinke Khanna, who would also become Bollywood actresses.

[edit] Later life

Khanna and Dimple Kapadia separated in the early 1980s. Their elder daughter Twinkle who is an interior decorator of meritorious excellence is married to current star Akshay Kumar and younger daughter Rinke who has attended the university of Harvard is married to an entrepreneur.

Khanna was a Member of Parliament for the New Delhi constituency (1991-96).

He is the life member of International Film And Television Research Centre and International Film And Television Club Of Asian Academy Of Film & Television. Recently he announced his appearance in a spate of forthcoming films for which he is hopeful of renewing previous success. He is also participating as Celebrity Judge in a reality show at Sony Channel called K for Kishore, based on the legendary singer late Kishore Kumar .

[edit] Bollywood career

[edit] Early Success

Rajesh Khanna joined the film industry in 1966 after winning an All India Talent Contest making his film debut was in Aakhri Khat which went unnoticed. He appeared in a few more films over the next two years which did not gain him any recognition. He shot to fame with the 1969 film Aradhana which was hugely successful at the box office. From then on he was an extremely popular actor in the early 1970s, appearing in many romantic films and melodramas which were hugely successful at the box office. He was often paired with actresses Mumtaz or Sharmila Tagore. Some of his most successful films in this period included Anand (1970), Amar Prem (1971), Andaaz (1971), Daag (1973) and Namak Haraam (1973). During his heyday he would be mobbed during public appearances. Fans kissed his car, which would be covered with lipstick marks, and lined the road, cheering and chanting his name. Female fans sent him letters written in their own blood [1] From 1969 to 1973 he had 15 consecutive hit films, a journalist Devyani Chaubal dubbed him "phenomenon" when he was at his peak. Several of the popular songs sung by Kishore Kumar in the 1970s were picturized on Khanna and helped his films become successful. Besides a most glamorous star, he is an well known most versatile performer.

[edit] Later career

However the success perhaps caused him to be complacent, often turning up very late for shoots and throwing tantrums as well as having a whole entourage of sycophants accompany him for his shoots [2]. This behaviour coupled with the changing trend from romantic movies to action oriented films in the late 1970s and 1980s caused the decline of Khanna's career in term of box office rating, he continued to play central characters or guest roles in multi-starrer films as well such as Disco Dancer,Kudrat, Rajput, Dharam Aur Kanoon and Dharam Kanta, Ashanti etc.. He also took great risk and experimented with negative roles in Red Rose where he played a psycopath and in Dhanwaan, where he played an arrogant businessman . By the early 1990s he quit acting for many years and served as Hon'ble M.P. from prestigious seat of New Delhi Constituency from (1991-1996). He made his acting comeback in Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999) and Kyaa Dil Ne Kahaa (2002) where he played elderly father roles. In 2006 he appeared in Jaana - Let's Fall in Love In 2007 he has officially announced his second innings and has signed about ten new films and a new T.V. serial. He is also participating as Celebrity Judge in a reality show at Sony Channel called K for Kishore, based on the legendary singer late Kishore Kumar Ganguly

[edit] Political career

During 1991-1996, Rajesh Khanna was a Member of Parliament for the Congress Party, from the New Delhi constituency. He has since been a political activist for the Congress Party expressing noteworthy, objective and constructive patriotism for India.

[edit] Television career

In 2001-2002, Rajesh Khanna played major roles in two television serials: Aapne Parai (B4U & DD Metro) and Ittefaqu (Zee TV).

He performed in a video album based on Tagore's immortal songs (Rabindra Sangeet) free of cost. Currently he is busy in processing his own music channel viz. R.K. Music Channel.

He has recently endorsed a talent hunt programme namely "Star se Superstar tak" as the First Superstar of Indian Cinema, under the banner of Red Carpet Entertainment and donated a Gold Trophy of Rs.1 Crore with Ms. Priyanka Chopra.

Recently he has signed a T.V. serial with Creative Eye Banner (Dhiraj Kumar).He is also participating as Celebrity Judge in a reality show at Sony Channel called K for Kishore, based on the legendary singer late Kishore Kumar Ganguly

[edit] Awards

[edit] Filmfare Awards

[edit] Won
[edit] Nominated

[edit] Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards

[edit] Other awards and recognitions

  • In 2001, Khanna was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award by Sansui Film Awards [7]
  • In April of 2003, he had been chosen for the Maharastra state government’s Raj Kapoor Award. He had been chosen for his contribution to the film industry.[8]
  • In January of 2004, he was honoured with the Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award [9]
  • In March of 2004, he has bagged the Bollywood Awards 2004's Lifetime Achievement Award and also received the Lifetime of Glamour award at the Kingfisher Bollywood Fashion Awards at USA. [10]
  • He was awarded the "Pride of Film Industry" by the Stardust Awards on February 21, 2005.[11]
  • He is the recipient of the “Outstanding Contribution to the Motion Picture Industry of India” Awards at the eighth annual Bollywood Movie Awards in Trinidad (Centre of Excellence) on June 10, 2006. [12]
  • On February 4, 2006, he was awarded with "Yugantar Gaurav Puraskar". [13]
  • He is a recipient of the "Glory of India Award" by IIAF, London. [14]

These are in addition to a number of Best Actor/Life Time achievement Awards of international and national repute.

[edit] Filmography

This article or section contains a list of works that does not follow the Manual of Style for lists of works (often, but not always, due to being in reverse-chronological order) and may need cleanup.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/sep/13dinesh.htm

[edit] External links

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