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Remembering Rajesh Khanna: The actor for whom the word ‘superstar’ was coined

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 Rajesh Khanna was a natural. His biographer Gautam Chintamani recalls the director-writer-actor Rumi Jaffery saying how he can “never forget how Rajesh Khanna prided himself on never using aids like glycerine to evoke tears while acting”.

Jaffery recalled in a conversation with Chintamani: “He would ask you, ‘How many tears do you need?’, and just turn around for a moment or two; and when he turned back, there would be tears in his eyes. You could wake him up in the middle of the night and he would just stand and deliver when it came to tears.”

Chintamani will be collaborating with director Farah Khan on the script, based on his book, ‘Dark Star: The Loneliness Of Being Rajesh Khanna’, for a biopic on India’s first superstar.

“Once, Jaffery and (cinematographer) Sameer Arya instructed Rajesh Khanna to randomly shed a few tears in a hotel’s lift lobby and Khanna readily dispelled a few before the lift emerged,” Chintamani writes in the book.

And, there was no end to his ire when aroused.

“There were times when rumours of his sudden death flooded the Internet and saw his fans paying rich tributes on social media sites. Once, an infuriated Khanna walked to the main gate of Aashirwad in his favourite silk lungi-kurta with a cigarette and drink in tow only to prove to a journalist that, contrary to rumours, he was still alive,” Chintamai writes.

It was this strength of character that prompted Rajesh Khanna to appear in his first TV commercial — perhaps to the horror of some, but to the immense delight of a legion of admirers — and boldly declaim: “Fans kya hote hain mujhse poochho. Pyaar ka woh toofan … mohabbat ki woh aandhi .. woh jazbaa … woh junoon. Hawaa badal sakti hai lekin fans hamesha mere rahenge. Babumoshai, mere fans mujhse koi nahin chheen sakta (I will tell you what fans are. That storm of love … that passion … that madness. The direction of the wind may change, but my fans will always stay with me. Babumoshai, no one can steal my fans from me).”

This was only to be expected from an actor showered with love by a generation of fans who had grown up on three immensely poignant songs from his movie ‘Anand’: “Zindagi Kaise Hai Paheli”, “Kahin Door Jab Din Dhal Jaaye” and “Maine Tere Liye Hi Saat Rang Ke Sapne Chune”.

Sure, there were a procession of hit songs from his 17 consecutive hit films as the lead hero from 1969 to 1971, which included 15 solo-hero films and two non-solo-hero films. “Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana” and “Yeh Shaam Mastani” are just two, but listen carefully to the lyrics from ‘Anand’ and you will get a measure of what Rajesh Khanna’s guiding philosophy was all about.

Sharmila Tagore, his co-star in ‘Aradhana’, which began his journey to superstardom, sums this up the best in the foreword to Chintamani’s book: “If ever a life was meant to be a book, few could stake a stronger claim. Like a shooting star doomed to darkness after a glorious run, Rajesh Khanna spent the better half of his career in the shadow of his own stardom. Yet, 40 years after his last monstrous hit, Khanna continues to be the yardstick by which every single Bollywood star is measured.”

She recalls: “At a time when film stars were truly larger than life, Khanna was even more: the one for whom the term ‘superstar’ was coined. Born Jatin Khanna to middle-class parents, the actor was adopted by rich relatives who brought him up like a prince.

“By the time he won the Filmfare-United Producers Combine Talent Hunt, he was already famous for being the struggler who drove an imported sports car.

“With 17 blockbuster hits in succession and mass adulation rarely seen before or since, the world was at Khanna’s feet. Everything he touched turned to gold. The hysteria he generated — women writing him letters in blood, marrying his photograph and donning white when he married Dimple Kapadia, people bringing sick children for his ‘healing’ touch after ‘Haathi Mere Saathi’ — was unparalleled.

“Then, in a matter of months, it all changed. Khanna’s career hit a downward spiral, as spectacular as his meteoric rise just three years after ‘Aradhana’ (1969) and never really recovered.”

Adman-filmmaker R. Balki, who directed Rajesh Khanna in the TV commercial, roundly deprecates the criticism that the actor had been depicted in poor light in the 35-second spot, saying it only points to his strength of character.

“My response to it (the criticism) is simple,” he said in an interview after the commercial was aired. “If a man is great enough to laugh at himself, why should anyone have a problem? When he wasn’t doing anything on screen all these years, people were making all kinds of jokes about it. When a legend chooses to laugh at himself, then some people start getting uncomfortable. I don’t even think that they are Rajesh Khanna fans in the first place. … He’s the one who is cracking a joke at himself, he is sporting enough to say, ‘Yes, I am not what I used to be. But so what!'”

Legendary script-writer Salim Khan, who in tandem with Javed Akhtar, has penned some of Bollywood’s most memorable films, provides a balanced perspective in his foreword to an earlier biography, ‘Rajesh Khanna: The Untold Story of India’s First Superstar’, by journalist-author Yaseer Usman.

Salim Khan writes in the Foreword: “Today, my son Salman Khan is a big star. Crowds cluster daily in front of our house to catch a glimpse of him. People often come to me and say that they haven’t seen such a craze for any star before this.

“But I tell these people that just a small distance away from here, on Carter Road, I have witnessed many such sights in front of Aashirwad. And I have never seen that kind of mass adulation for any other star after Rajesh Khanna.”

Salim Khan concludes: “We often forget when we talk about film stars or public figures that they are also human beings who also make mistakes, face failure and are scared of losing their successful run professionally, like everyone else.”

One thing is for sure: It has been a decade since Rajesh Khanna departed from this world, but his legacy will continue to live for generations to come.

(Vishnu Makhijani can be reached at vishnu.makhijani@ians.in)

Bollywood

Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency To Finally Hit Theatres In 2025, New Release Date Announced For 4th Time

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Kangana Ranaut's Emergency To Finally Hit Theatres In 2025, New Release Date Announced For 4th Time

It will indeed be a happy new year for actress Kangana Ranaut as her much-hyped film, Emergency, will finally see the light of the day in 2025. After several setbacks, delays and controversies, the film is now all set to hit the silver screens on January 17, 2025.

Kangana took to her social media handles on Monday to announce the new release date of Emergency. “17th January 2025 – The epic saga of the nation’s most powerful woman and the moment that altered India’s destiny. #Emergency – Unveils Only in cinemas on 17.01.2025! (sic),” she wrote.

In the poster, Kangana can be seen acing the ‘Indira Gandhi look’, along with Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talapde, Vishak Nair and Milind Soman. While Kher will be seen essaying the role of JP Narayan, Shreyas will play Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Vishak Nair grabbed eyeballs as Sanjay Gandhi in the trailer, and Milind Soman will play Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw in the upcoming film.

This is the fourth time that the makers have announced a release date for Emergency. The film was first supposed to release in November 2023, but it was then pushed to June 2024. The film was once again postponed to September 6, 2024, however, just days before the D-day, the Censor Board refused to grant the film a valid certificate.

Several Sikh bodies objected to certain incidents shown in Emergency and moved court, stating that the film will show their community in a negative light. Taking in cognizance their plea, the CBFC did not give the censor certificate to Emergency, forcing the makers to push the film indefinitely.

It is to be noted that Emergency is even more special for Kangana as it marks her debut as a director. The film also stars Mahima Chaudhry, Satish Kaushik, and others in key roles.

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Singham Again Movie Review: Ajay Devgn, Rohit Shetty’s ‘High-Voltage’ Ramayana Is Explosively Entertaining!

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Singham Again Movie Review: Ajay Devgn, Rohit Shetty's 'High-Voltage' Ramayana Is Explosively Entertaining!

Title: Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Deepika Padukone, Tiger Shroff, Arjun Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Jackie Shroff, Akshay Kumar and Shweta Tiwari.

Where: In cinemas

Rating: 3 stars

Positioned and postured as a full-blown action entertainer to be enjoyed with your family, Rohit Shetty brings Ajay Devgn’s Bajirao Singham back to narrate the modern day Ramayana, replete with a bunch of B-town stars to do justice to the epic saga that shows the ultimate victory of good over evil. So, right from Sita-haran (Sita’s abduction) to Jatayu’s sacrifice to Lanka-dahan, every chapter must unfold with cinematic liberty and melodrama that must serve justice to every key situation of the epic battle.

And truth be stated, we get the events, and we even cheer for every sequence and subtext that the film mounts to showcase the Ram Vs Ravan battle. Right from the unconditional love of Laxman and Bharat to the ultimate loyalty of Hanuman to Sita’s cruel abduction– every character has a context placement and contemplation to ruminate over. But hang on a sec! Who is Deepika placed as in this tale? She is neither Shabri, Shurpanakha or Mandodri. Her character seems as misfit and misplaced as her poor acting and her wobbly (read: horribly put on and off-putting) accent!

While the rest of the star cast plays to the gallery amidst the ear-splitting background score, Deepika sticks out like a sore thumb as the lady Singham.

At 2 hours and 24 minutes, Shetty unleashes the mega star-power of his film, and how! From Simmba (Ranveer Singh) to Sooryavanshi (Akshay Kumar), everybody jumps in to offer their bit to ensure that the audience remains engaged and entertained. Equally engaging and pleasant are the backdrops against which the makers have set the pieces of the narrative. Every locale is either scenic, handsomely mounted or ‘explosive’ with the trademark sign of Shetty pasted all over.

The story is simple and straight to state the obvious. Bajirao Singham nabs a notorious terrorist (Jackie Shroff) and his arrest triggers another baddie (Arjun Kapoor) to abduct Singham’ wife (Kareena Kapoor Khan). So, what’s the connection between these two events, you may wonder! You will have to watch the film to find out the link, as Shetty gives you a backstory that sets the current tale rolling.

What’s remarkable is how the makers have designed the entry of each character, and how the sequences have been spaced out to do justice to every character that makes their presence felt. Nobody disappears or gets diluted in terms of the presence and storytelling in the name of cinematic liberty. Add to it Ranveer Singh’s over the top hysteria, Akshay Kumar’s reassuring screen-presence and Tiger Shroff’s crisp, but impactful action chops, and you would know how Shetty elevates the film as a sheer entertainer worthy of all the whistles and cheers.

The sequence where Ranveer sets Arjun Kapoor’s territory on fire or when Shetty brings Chulbul Pandey (Salman Khan) to spice up the already high-voltage drama is incredible!

For a strory where you know how everything is going to unfold and conclude like, Shetty brings his A game to the table to showcase his strength –which is action and comedy–and dare we say, he doesn’t miss a single beat. While some sequences look stretched out beyond their capacities, and some could easily have been edited out, all in all one enjoys this ‘copverse’ studded with bharpoor dialoguebaazi and seemingly never ending ‘action’.

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Salman Khan To Shoot For Singham Again Cameo In Mumbai With 120 Guards, 30 Cops

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Salman Khan To Shoot For Singham Again Cameo In Mumbai With 120 Guards, 30 Cops

After much back and forth, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan will be fulfilling his commitment of his character Chulbul Pandey’s cameo in Rohit Shetty’s “Singham Again” and will be shooting for it amidst tight security.

the superstar will be shooting in a studio, which cannot be named due to security reasons.

The source said: “Salman Khan will be fulfilling his commitment of Chulbul Pandey cameo in “Singham Again” at 4.00 P.M. today at a Mumbai Suburban Studio. The studio name cannot be given due to security reasons.”

The source also shared that the superstar was advised to not shoot at the moment given the security reasons after politician Baba Siddique was gunned down by three assailants.

The source said: “Mumbai Police and officials had advised to not shoot at the moment for security reasons but to fulfill his commitments given to Rohit he has decided to shoot today amidst 120 individual security guards and 30 police officials.”

It was earlier reported that Salman will not be making a special appearance in the Ajay Devgn-starrer “Singham Again” amid security concerns.

The third installment from the “Singham” franchise has a motley of stars. It has Ajay as Bajirao Singham, Ranveer Singh as Simmba, Akshay Kumar as DCP Veer Sooryavanshi, Kareena Kapoor as Bajirao Singham’s wife Avni, Deepika Padukone as police officer Shakti Shetty, Ravi Kishan, Jackie Shroff and Tiger Shroff.

Actor Arjun Kapoor will be seen playing the role of antagonist named Danger Lanka. The film will have a contemporary spin to the “Ramayana” and is slated to be released on Diwali on November 1.

It was on October 12 night, when NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddiqui was murdered by three armed men. He was attacked outside son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Mumbai’s Bandra area.

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