Bollywood
has
produced
several
superstars,
but
none
of
them
has
enjoyed
the
heights
of
popularity
and
stardom
that
he
had
in
those
days.
None
of
the
superstar
had
such
a
huge
fan
following.
He
was
the
first
romantic
hero
to
have
a
huge
fan
base
in
Europe
and
America.
We
are
talking
about
none
other
than
the
first
superstar
of
India,
Rajesh
Khanna,
who
passed
away
yesterday
at
his
residence
in
Mumbai.
Rajesh
Khanna's
dark,
soulful,
fleshy
good
looks
had
established
him
as
India's
leading
romantic
hero.
Many
of
female
fans
were
completely
mad
over
his
unique
style
of
dancing,
dialogue
delivery
and
gestures.
Wherever
he
went,
he
was
mobbed
by
crowds
of
women.
His
female
fans
chanted
his
name,
plucked
at
his
clothes
or
covered
his
car
in
lipstick
kisses.
Sharmila
Tagore,
who
had
a
great
on-screen
chemistry
with
Rajesh
Khanna
in
films
like
Aradhana,
Safar,
Avishkaar
and
Amar
Prem,
says
that
he
had
an
inherent
enigma
in
him
and
his
appeal
went
beyond
age
groups.
The
yesteryear
actress
said,
"Elderly
woman
would
want
to
mother
him.
Younger
women
wanted
to
fall
in
love
with
him.
And
the
men
also
liked
him
because
he
had
a
lot
of
energy
and
style.
He
brought
together
people
from
nine-year-olds
to
ninety-year-olds."
A
few
of
his
female
co-stars
were
envious
over
his
girl
following.
In
an
interview,
actress
Mumtaz,
who
shared
a
great
on-screen
chemistry
with
Rajesh
in
eight
successful
films,
had
said,
"I
would
pull
his
leg
and
tease
him
about
his
fan
following.
Whenever
Rajesh
entered
a
hotel
in
Madras,
there
was
a
queue
of
600
girls
waiting
to
see
him
at
midnight.
As
a
result,
even
I
would
get
some
importance,
as
people
would
ask
for
my
autograph
as
well."
However,
film
critic
Monojit
Lahiri
remembers,
"Girls
married
themselves
to
photographs
of
Rajesh
Khanna,
cutting
their
fingers
and
applying
the
blood
as
sindoor.
Rajesh
was
God,
there
has
never
been
such
hysteria." According
to
Indian
scriptures,
Lord
Krishna
had
a
huge
female
fan
following
and
had
around
16,000
wives.
Like
him,
Rajesh
Khanna
was
also
very
popular
among
women
during
his
time
and
enjoyed
almost
godlike
status.
If
we
are
to
go
by
the
statement
of
Monojit
Lahiri,
this
actor
had
even
more
number
of
wives
than
Krishna.
Hence,
Kaka
can
be
best
described
as
modern
days'
Krishna.