Rajesh Khanna’s fond memories ‘re-visited’  on the superstar’s 8th death anniv (July 18th)

Chaitanya Padukone 

Movies may come and movies may go but Rajesh Khanna’s  legendary screen-charisma will go on forever ! Fondly nicknamed ‘Kakaji’, ( real name Jatin ) he was  and will always remain  a versatile ‘superstar ! Even as he was hailed as the stylised \king-of-romance’, he dared to act as the lead in three milestone films viz ‘Bawarchi’, ‘Ittefaq’ and of course ‘Anand’ where he had ‘no heroine’ cast opposite him ! Known for arriving “fashionably late” at events and shootings, Rajesh would justify, “ Der sey aana nahin chaahta, lekin kya karoon, der ho jaati , rey”.  It was my privilege that I got my first award-trophy in film journalism at the hands of the Khanna ‘phenomenon’,way back in the mid-80’s .

As an upcoming scribe, I was quite in awe of the mega-star whom I had watched dozens of times on screen. Which resulted in me being dumb-struck when I was asked to say a few words on the mike. That’s when he made me feel comfortable and darted me a cue-question on what I loved about the ‘magic-of-cinema’. Although he did have his famous mood-swings ( he would ask journalists to come several times before he finally felt he was in the ‘right mood’ to grant an interview) and his nasty short-tempered bouts, he would go out-of the-way literally when he wished to help someone he cared for.

Like it happened once, when after a late-night media-meet at the Juhu Marriott where the music-savvy Khanna was the ‘Chief Guest’ , I was patiently waiting to hire a cab, his car drove up to me. “Why do you need to wait so long when I am around, get in quickly,” he said. The temperamental Khanna sat next to his chauffeur, while his manager-secretary  Ashvin-bhai Thakkar sat on the back seat. Having occupied the back seat, we proceeded towards town (Tardeo) where I was then residing.

Since Kaka used to reside at Bandra, I expected him to get off first and then send his car to drop me. But he was in one of those exuberant moods and he came out-of- the-way to drop me at Tardeo at around 1.30 am past midnight and then made his driver take a U-turn. “If you tell your friends and colleagues that you got a ‘lift’ from Rajesh Khanna ,tell them he ‘hijacked’ you”, he chuckled, as he waved to me.       

Among my many Aradhana-hero’s  memories, I recall this quirky incident , on New Year’s Eve, at a Bandra Taj Land’s End hotel where Rajesh Khanna was attending a late-night party mainly for teenagers convened by his close buddy Steven Fernandez’s son Sahil. Apparently feeling the awkwardness of  mingling with youngsters gyrating to western music, the bearded, bespectacled Rajesh preferred to stand ‘incognito’ outside  the entrance to the banquet hall. So much so, that the juvenile groups physically by-passed the matinee-idol, almost nudging him aside as they rushed inside the dance-hall.

None of the teenagers, even realized that that their own parents once ‘worshipped’ the same icon, whom they chose to royally ignore. When I met the otherwise tantrum-prone Kakaji at the same venue, and saw all this happening, I was aghast. But the ‘Kati Patang’ mega-star appeared cool and unruffled since he felt it was his “own family event” That was then his ‘flip side’.Which I had then carried as a front-page breaking-news story  in Mid-Day                                              

Even as millions of his die-hard fans were grieving over his tragic demise way back on 18th July 2012, I could  visualize the Khanna crinkling his eyes and slanting his head with his iconic dialogue-phrase from ‘Amar Prem’ which goes ‘Ro math mere chahnewaalon (instead of Pushpa) —I hate tears !”