Mumbai, July 19: Bollywood's first superstar Rajesh Khanna will be cremated in Mumbai on Thursday. His last rites will be performed at 11 am in Mumbai. The funeral procession will begin from his residence - Aashirwad. The actor, lovingly called Kaka, who was hailed as India's original superstar, died following a prolonged illness on Wednesday. He was 69.
His demise brought back memories of the charmer, lover and hero that he was to his family, fans and well-wishers. For them, his magic will remain forever.
"He has gone to a nice and heavenly place, we are happy about that," Rajesh's son-in-law Akshay Kumar, married to his elder daughter Twinkle, said after his death around 10 am.
A pall of gloom descended on the film industry with Khanna's death with artists calling it the end of an era in Bollywood.
Actress Shabana Azmi said, "There was something for everybody in Rajesh Khanna. He was every inch the star and he totally and completely enjoyed it. He played it to the hilt when he wanted and wore it lightly when he wanted. But none of his arrogance ever touched his relationship with his fans, with whom he had immediate, one to one contact.
Dimple says that on the July 14 he said, 'It's time to pack up'. So he lived it and realized that it was time to go."
"I think what Shabana said was bang on. He was somebody who you could identify with. He wasn't someone who was larger than life. He looked like one of us and yet there was this distinct charm of his own. We cannot sum up a phenomena like Rajesh Khanna. It's very important to point something out. His descent into oblivion is part of the Rajesh Khanna narrative. The king without his kingdom and his personal style in his day to day life is also part of that narrative. His on screen persona and his private life both contributed to make him this enigma that is still enduring," filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt said.
Saira Banu, who missed a chance of working with Khanna during his stardom days, said the actor was very humble. "I was supposed to work with him in 'Choti Bahu' but I could not because I was ill. I shot with him for two days and found that he was very charming, humble and a shy person. May his soul rest in peace," Banu said.
His contemporary Manoj Kumar was planning to meet Khanna. "I had called Dimple but she told me not to come as Rajesh Khanna was not in a position to talk...I miss him a lot and I have shared some of the best memories with him."
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