Rajesh Khanna (Actor) Wiki, Age, Height, Family, Career, Movies list, Best Songs

He was born in Amritsar, Punjab, British India on 29th December 1942 and his original name was Jatin Khanna. 

His father Lala Hiranand was a headmaster of the MC School in Burewala, Punjab, Pakistan. His mother Chandrani Khanna was a housewife.

He liked playing cricket during his childhood days.

His neighbors used to say that, "He has a glowing face and he will become actor one day". 

The house in which they used to live was donated by Rajesh Khanna and now it is a temple.

When he was very young he was adopted by his relatives Chunnilal Khanna & Leelawati Khanna who were very rich at that time. They were Railways contractors of cotton cloth from Lahore but moved to Girgaum, South Bombay in 1935.

Rajesh never liked to talk about his adoption and always used to dodge this question in the interviews, even Rajesh Khanna Parents didn't tell anything about it.

Rajesh Khanna Young Picture (Source)

In Bombay, he studied in St. Sebastian's Goan High School, he was a sincere and well-mannered student. One of his best friends was Ravi Kapoor (popularly known as Jeetendra Kapoor). They used to come to school in their cars Plymouth & MG.

One day, he went to watch a theater play with his mother and he loved it. So he gathered all his friends and took them to his building's terrace to enact the play he has seen.

He went on to watch many plays but when he started watching films he fell in love with the 70mm screen.

When his school finished he went to Pune to study at Fergusson College but he didn't get admission there because the seats were full. Then, he joined Wadia College in Pune for BA but he didn't complete the graduation and went to Bombay after two years.

He took admission in KC College Bombay for the final year of graduation.

Then he started going to theaters to watch plays and started getting small roles. Along with time, the roles kept getting bigger and bigger.

He met her first girlfriend Anju Mahendru during the plays.

He entered All India Talent Contest in 1965 which was arranged by Filmfare & United Producers. Three people were selected as the finalists Rajesh Khanna, Subhash Ghai (the famous director, he was chosen as an actor) and one more person was selected. He won this contest in return he got his first commercial film Raaz which became his second release in 1967.

In 1966, Rajesh Khanna made his debut in Indian cinema with the movie Aakhri Khat and it was chosen as the oscar's entry under the category Best Foreign Language Film in 1967 under the name The Last Letter but didn't get nominated. 

Although Khanna gave a marvelous performance Master Bunty the little child stole the show.

The film did well at the box office and it was also highly appreciated by critics as well.

Raaz his next movie released in 1967 in which he did a double role. It was a thriller and people loved watching thrillers at that time but this film flopped.

Baharon Ke Sapne& Aurat were his next two releases in 1967 but both did average business at the box office.

In 1969 he signed Aradhana which became the turning point in his career and became a blockbuster (hugely successful at the box office) and gave him the superstar status. Including this film, he gave  15 consecutive hits as a lead hero a record which was never broken.

Ittefaq (1969) was a crime thriller which is still loved by many. It was one of the few films that didn't had a song and also no interval. The film did good business and it was considered as a semi hit.

His next movie was Doli (1969), everyone loved Rajesh Khanna and Babita's chemistry in the movie but few portions were average in the movie. It was considered a semi hit.

In Bandhan (1969), he played the nice son and his father played the bad guy which was loved by the audience. It also starred Mumtaz, both her and Rajesh never gave a flop. It did good business at the box office and credited as a hit.

Do Raaste (1969) was a blockbuster and also won the award for Best Film in Filmfare. It was based on a novel by Chandrakant Kakodkar. It was a joint family movie and Rajesh's performance was excellent.

Khamoshi came in 1970, although Rajesh was the lead hero it was totally a Waheeda Rehman's film. It did well at the box office only because of the Khanna's charm. Because Waheeda was the main protagonist it was not considered as Kaka's film.

In The Train (1970), he played a detective for the first time to solve the number of murders happened in one night. This movie was also known for the classic song 'Gulabi Ankhein'. This flick was a hit.

Sacha Jhutha (1970) won him his first Filmfare award for best actor. In this celluloid, he did the double role. It was a super hit movie, one of the best of his life.

Safar (1970) flick was a good one, it didn't have any negative characters and not even a slap but it still ends tragically. It was a hit movie and Khanna's performance was also appreciated.

Aan Milo Sajna (1970) was a truly amazing film which kept the audience interested till the end and our first superstar did an awesome job as Ajit. The movie became a super hit and people still watch it.

In Kati Patang (1971) a series of troubles hit the leading lady which keep people on the edge of their seat, Kaka's role was very much loved by the people. Although this flick was a hit, it deserves to be a super hit. It also had a famous song 'Yeh Sham Mastani' which is popular till this day.

Anand (1971) is the best film done by Rajesh Khanna, his role as a bubbly, full of life man who has few days to live because of a deadly disease is one of the best character ever played by anyone in Indian cinema. The film also won the Filmfare award for Best film and he also got the award of best actor. This movie was a hit but it became a timeless classic.

Andaz (1971) was again a hit movie but Rajesh did a special appearance. It was Ramesh Sippy's directorial debut and it needed Kaka's charisma to turn the box office and it did.

Maryada (1971) was a two-hero film, Rajesh and Raaj Kumar. It became a hit but because it was a two-hero film and it is not considered as his solo hit.

Chhoti Bahu (1971) starred him & Sharmila Tagore. The story was completely based on Sharmila Tagore's character that's why it is not considered as our superstar's film.

Haathi Mere Saathi (1971) the film was the biggest blockbuster of his career. Kaka also introduced the famous writer duo Salim-Javed with this movie who went on to become one of the most famous writers in Indian cinema.

Mehboob Ki Mehndi (1971) Rajesh Khanna was the co-producer in this film and it turned out to be a hit.

Dushman (1972) is a very well portrayed movie and Kaka convincingly played a truck driver in the movie who kills a farmer in an accident. It became a super-hit movie.

Amar Prem (1972) was a semi-hit movie but his performance was adored by the critics as well as the audience.

Apna Desh (1972) is a movie about Akash and Mumtaz, on how they expose the bad members of the family. It became a hit movie.



Rajesh Khanna HD Wallpaper


Unknown Facts

• His best friends in the industry were music composer R. D. Burman & singer Kishore Kumar. He worked with Kishore Kumar until his death in 1987 and kept working with R. D. Burman. He always insisted producers & directors to take Anand Bakshi as lyrics writer for his songs.