A BBC journalist, Jack Pizzey, documented the life of Indian cinema's superstar, Rajesh Khanna. The documentary gave rare insights into the legendary actor's professional and personal life.
Rajesh Khanna is undoubtedly one of the greatest and most successful actors in Indian cinema's history. His extensive filmography even made him the first 'Superstar' of the Hindi film industry. The legendary star was posthumously awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour. Unfortunately, Rajesh Khanna's flourishing career crumbled right before his eyes once other great actors entered into Bollywood.
Years ago, BBC journalist, Jack Pizzey documented the life of Indian cinema's superstar, Rajesh Khanna. The documentary, Bombay Superstar, released in 1973, gave rare insights into the legendary actor's life, his marriage to Dimple Kapadia, and his unfortunate downfall. The journalist had described Rajesh Khanna as having ‘the arrogance of Napoleon.’
In the documentary, Jack mentioned that he was on a film set, and everyone was waiting for the superstar to arrive. Meanwhile, the director, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, would rewrite the dialogues as he was waiting for Rajesh Khanna to arrive for the shoot. Sharing how everyone was getting ready for the actor to arrive, Jack added:
"The biggest star should be arriving at this studio. The superstar is Rajesh Khanna. He has the charisma of Rudolph Valentino, the arrogance of Napoleon, and he’s late. There’s nothing the director can do about it. He rewrites, yet again, the lines that his star should be speaking by now. He sweats and waits. Everyone is sweating and getting ready, and waiting"
Further, in the same documentary, Jack had shown his several attempts to get an audience with Rajesh Khanna but was turned away from the gate of his house. He mentioned that getting an interview with the actor was almost similar to getting an audience with royalty. He was quoted as saying:
"The star lives in an impregnable dreamhouse. Getting in to interview Rajesh is like trying to get an audience with royalty. Only if a king says, ‘Come to my palace at 3’, he probably means it."
Jack further narrated how he had to wait for Rajesh Khanna for five days, which ultimately humbled him. Meanwhile, he also talked about accompanying the actor to his shoot in Kashmir, where he kept the crew waiting even longer. Moreover, the legendary actor was shown to be getting agitated over the failure of his five most recent films and retaliating after being snubbed at the Filmfare Awards.
After Rajesh Khanna passed away in July 2012, one of his close friends and journalist, Ali Peter John, sat for an interview with Rediff and spoke about the life of the first superstar of Indian cinema. During the conversation, Ali discussed Rajesh Khanna's insecurities due to Amitabh Bachchan, the then-emerging new talent in the industry.
Amitabh's success bothered him so much that he went on to badmouth the actor to his future wife, Jaya Bhaduri (now Bachchan). Rajesh Khanna was so depressed by his success that he even had suicidal tendencies and even told Ali that one day, he went to the terrace of his home and cried bitterly.
What do you think of Jack Pizzey's revelations about the arrogance of India's first superstar, Rajesh Khanna?
Also Read: Dimple Kapadia Once Recalled Her Separation From Rajesh Khanna, Shared How Twinkle Khanna Handled It