Bollywood actors today struggle to deliver back-to-back hits… But India’s first superstar delivered 17 back-to-back hits and impressed the audience with his performances to such an extent that his name became the talk of the town… But this stardom It didn’t last long…he lost the top star tag just after three years. Various reports claim that he acted in more than 180 films in his career and was the highest paid actor from 1970 to 1987. His name is Rajesh Khanna.
Born on December 29, 1942 in Amritsar, Punjab, Rajesh Khanna’s real name was Jatin Chunnilal Khanna. Fans called him by different names like Kaka, Shahzada, original king of romance, India’s first superstar. He is one of the most popular actors in the history of Indian cinema.
Rajesh Khanna entered films in 1965. His first film was Raj. According to IMDb, Rajesh Khanna holds the record for most and fewest multistar cast films as a single hero in Hindi cinema. Rajesh Khanna first tasted success when his three films Aakhri Khat, Raaj, Aurat became big hits. Everyone realized his stardom when fans were furious over the sad ending of the film ‘Baharon Ke Sapne’. Due to their displeasure, the director had to give the film a happy ending. He became a superstar after Shakti Samant’s ‘Aradhana’ in 1969. His craze among people was amazing. People started calling him India’s first superstar. After this he gave 17 consecutive hits from 1969 to 1971.
He enjoyed the tag of superstar from 1969 to 1977. After this he had to share this tag with Amitabh Bachchan. He held the world record of giving 17 consecutive super-hit films in 3 years from 1969 to 1971. It includes 15 consecutive single super-hit films and 2 two hero films, estimates and limits.
From 1976 to 1978, Rajesh Khanna had 5 box office hits as the lead hero, 3 hits in a guest role, 1 flop in a guest role and 8 flops as the main lead… though his acting and music were good. The film was well received by critics. This year is considered to be its worst phase. Rajesh Khanna also became a producer and produced three films and co-produced 4 films. The actor left the film industry in 1991 to enter politics and joined the Congress and became a Member of Parliament.