The last romantic hero of Hindi cinema

The last romantic hero of Hindi cinema
The death of Rajesh Khanna has left a void in the field of romantic heroes in Hindi cinema. Khanna was the third pillar of this genre after Dev Anand and Shammi Kapoor. Combining enchanting mannerisms and freshness in acting style, ‘Kaka’ could quickly establish himself as a romantic superstar right in the presence of the other two biggies. He took the stage with such intensity that over 40 of his films were released during 1969-1974; in fact, 10 each in 1971 and 1972, and most of them were hits, some even super-hits. A lot of credit for this goes to the melodious songs in his movies with lilting music, sung by the inimitable Kishore Kumar. Who can forget ‘Chingari koi bhadke’ from Amar Prem or ‘Zindagi ka safar’ in Safar, or ‘Wada tera wada’ in Dushman, and scores of other memorable songs rendered by him with flair in his movies, like only he could. A sensitive film director like Hrishikesh Mukherjee did five films with him, which speaks volumes for his acting ability, including playing a non-glamorous role in the film Bawarchi. But, his best performance was in Anand, a film in which he played a terminally-ill cancer patient who lives positively, spreading happiness around him till the end, and with this, Khanna won millions of hearts.
— JV Yakhmi, Mumbai

II
Who can forget the years between 1970-1979 when Khanna starred in mega hits like Safar, Kati Patang, Sachaa Jhutha, Aan Milo Sajna, Anand, Amar Prem, Mere Jeevan Saathi,Aaradhana and Hathi Mere Saathi. With all these films, Khanna sparked a never seen before frenzy. Kaka, we will miss you, may your soul rest in peace. “Babu moshai....zindagi aur maut, upar wale ke haath hai; jahanpanah… hum sab rang manch ki katputliyaan hain... inke dor upar wale ke haath main hai... kaun kab kaise uthega... yeh koi nahi baata sakta.”
—Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad

III
The passing away of Rajesh Khanna marks the end of an era in Indian film history. He was the first actor who got the sobriquet of a ‘superstar’ and that’s what he remained for a long time churning evergreen hits. A heart-throb among many youngsters during his heyday, Khanna wove unforgettable dreams on the silver screen. Khanna’s passing away has created a void in the industry and his iconic status of a romantic hero still remains without any parallel even today. RIP Rajesh Khanna.
—K Chidanand Kumar, Bangalore

IV
The kind of fan following Rajesh Khanna had, will never be matched by any superstar. He had mesmerised the nation with his impeccable mannerisms and dialogue delivery. The hysteria had to be seen to be believed as it cut across all age groups. Girls wrote letters with their blood and people queued up outside his bungalow for hours to have a glimpse of him. He was the nation’s first superstar who gave hit after hit and single-screen theatres in those times witnessed unprecedented crowds and policemen had to be on their toes to manage them. There will be many stars who will shine every Friday but another Rajesh Khanna will never be there. His personal life may have been through a lot of tension and turmoil but like all men of destiny, he stood his ground with a smile on his face.
—Ashok Goswami, Mumbai

Paniwaali bai
With the death of Mrinal Gore, popularly called the ‘Paniwaali Bai’, the country has lost a rare breed of politician. She lived by her principles and had chosen an austere life over a luxurious lifestyle adopted by today’s leaders. One may have serious difference of opinion with the ideologies she advocated, but it would not be fair if her unflinching commitment to them is not appreciated. Her dogged struggle for the underprivileged is exemplary. She reportedly extended her own infrastructure for the well-being of the less fortunate women from the society. If the present generation takes a leaf out of her life before entering politics, this country would surely see a better tomorrow. Her dogged activism, example for austerity, uncompromising stand for her own principles, courage of conviction, will be lessons for any political student, despite the fact that she could not “earn” anything from her political work.
—Bichu Muttathara, Pune

Cloud seeding
This has reference to ‘Cloud seeding answer to water woes’ (July 18). I travel to Nhava Sheva every day. On the way, I see pipes left open near Gavan and precious water getting wasted. The pipeline on the Pune-Panvel route towards JNPT is badly damaged and even as millions of litres of water is getting wasted, the authorities do not seem to be bothered to repair them. If the authorities concerned fixed such leakages immediately instead of worrying about low water levels in the lakes and cloud seeding, I am sure we could save millions of litres
of water.
—Annamma John, Mumbai

Housing bill
Apropos of ‘Tough housing bill gets House nod’ (July 17), the housing bill will empower home buyers and shield them from cheating practices. The state government can now imprison errant builders for three years and levy a penalty of up to Rs10 lakh. But enacting the bill will have lot of obstructions from the builders. Would this be applicable to the giant government company builders like Mhada as well? The state should have done this much earlier because there is hardly any space for new buildings in Mumbai now.
—Achyut Railkar, Mumbai

Track deaths
This has reference to ‘World Bank chips in to end track deaths’ (July 18). The only solution to the problem is to increase the height of the iron partition between two tracks. Currently, the height of the partition is 3.5ft. It should be extended to at least 6ft, only then will the commuters think twice before climbing them.
—Arjun Vekariya, Mumbai