Rajesh Khanna 81st Birth Anniversary: Know lesser-known facts about Bollywood’s ‘Kaka’

Rajesh Khanna was the first superstar of Bollywood who had delivered 15 consecutive super hits, a record unmatched to date. But similar to his stardom which rose very quickly, his fall was also equally fast and it took Rajesh Khanna years to adjust to the fact that he is no more a superstar.

Selected through a talent hunt programme

Rajesh Khanna was selected by Filmfare and United Producers as the best actor through their talent hunt programme. Those were the days when television was yet to make its mark in India and hence his selection was a big achievement and discussed a lot in the tabloids.

Changed his name

Many Bollywood actors have changed their names either due to suggestions from astrologers or because their real names were not so common. From Dilip Kumar (Yusuf Khan) to Jeetendra (Ravi Kapoor) many successful actors changed their names. Rajesh Khanna’s real name was Jatin Khanna but on the suggestion of his uncle he changed it to Rajesh and it worked very well for him.

First superstar was born

Even before Rajesh Khanna, many Bollywood actors like Shammi Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar, Dev Anand had given big hits. But Kaka as he was fondly called was the first actor from Bollywood to be called a superstar after his movie Aradhana became a big hit.

Rajesh Khanna’s foster parents raised him

Even though his biological parents were alive, Rajesh Khanna was raised by his foster parents and it was they who took care of his well-being and education. But they were opposed to his idea of entering the film industry.

Rajesh Khanna and Anju Mahendru

These two lovebirds dated for seven years. At that time Kaka was the biggest Bollywood star and wanted to settle down and marry Anju. But she was not ready and eventually the two decided to break up. On the rebound, the Avatar actor married Dimple Kapadia who had gained instant fame after her first movie Bobby became a super hit.