NOSTALGIA
 
Today I shall discuss a subject matter related to the super star of 70s and 80s-RAJESH KHANNA.  STAR & STYLE Magazine  had come out with a topic for controversy (Controversy NO:5) requesting its readers to submit their entries on the following topic:
 
“IF HE HADN’T MARRIED DIMPLE ,DO YOU THINK RAJESH KHANNA WOULD HAVE LASTED LONGER AS THE SUPER STAR ?”

rajesh dimple marriage

 
As usual,I had submitted my entry to the magazine on 15th April 1980 ( 29 years ago ).This is what I had written then:
 
Rajesh Khanna came with assets like a strong emotional appeal,an enigmatic smile,a romantic image and a sense of  total involvement in his portrayals.His un-photogenic face and common place looks were his liabilities but they won him masses of fans,who identified themselves in him.Success of ‘Aradhana’,’ Amar Prem,’ Kati Patang’,'Ittefaq’,'Namak Haram’,'Haathi Mere Saathi’, earned him epithets like “The Phenomenon”,”The Super Star”.
 
Having ridden the popularity horse,he turned egoistic and the horde of ‘yes-men’ made him their meal-ticket.”Kaka”,then a “somebody” ditched “Anju Mahendru” an insignificant starlet–a ‘nobody’.All sympathy was with her,who had been his source of hope and inspiration during his lean days of “Raaz”,”Akhri Khat”,”Baharon Ke Sapne”.
 
Dimple-Rajesh marriage was a ” she came,he saw, they conquered ” affair ! Dimple thought herself lucky to have hooked the darling of scores of female fans.Rajesh thought the marriage would give an upward boost to his sagging career,However,no miracles took place.”Anurodh”,”Mehbooba” etc bombed at the box-office.
 
In the long run,on self-analysis ,Rajesh realized that his own follies like irresponsibility,indifferent behavior,frequent flare-ups with Dimple and failure to compromise with changing trends of film-making ( eg multi-starrers) were solely responsible for this set back.
 
Thus,his marriage with Dimple has got nothing to do with his rise and fall from super-stardom.On the other hand,I feel if Dimple had not married at all,she would have emerged as the sensational super-star of the seventies.In short,the situation is best described as under: (with apologies to Humpty Dumpty)
 
“Rajesh Khanna sat on the wall,
 Rajesh Khanna had a great fall,
 His marriage with Dimple,and all his “yes-men”,
 Couldn’t put “Kaka” on the pedestal again ! ”
 
Rajesh has also realized this and seems to have come to terms with realities.There’s a tough task ahead of him,if he hopes to re-capture his ex-status.Best of Luck to him.
 
J S BROCA
Baroda
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Dear readers, the above letter was not published by the magazine,probably because I had called a spade a spade and the magazine probably did not wish to attract his wrath !
 
Readers will recall that very recently,Rajesh Khanna had tried to make a come back with a movie titled :”Wafa- A deadly love story’.It was a dud ! Rajesh looked washed, puffy,paunchy…and a mis fit.His effort to comeback has failed miserably.He should realise that he has lost his charisma and his name will not fetch any returns to the producers.He should think of an alternative career–say becoming a professor/faculty member in any acting academy and teach (?) acting to aspirants.
Readers would like to know that Rajesh had married Dimple in 1973.He was 32,she was 16 .The marriage had been termed as ‘ cradle snatching’ in the media then.He divorced Dimple in 1984.Dimple made a grand come back in 1985 with “Saagar” which was a super duper hit then.The couple has two daughters.Twinkle and Rinkie.Twinkle is married to actor Akshay Kumar and they have a son named “Aarav”.Rinkie is married to an industrialist named Sameer Saran.On the whole Dimple has been doing better compared to Rajesh.She has been quite selective and has done meaningful roles off and on.
 
For those who would like to know  more about Rajesh Khanna ,they may go to the following link:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajesh_Khanna
For those who would love to know about Dimple should go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimple_Kapadia
HAPPY VIEWING !!

If you wish to listen to a lovely song from Mere Jeevan Saathi picturies on Rajesh and Tanuja,then go to or click on the following link:

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=LbiUFiyc5Go

dimple in sagar