Rajesh Khanna’s superstardom, tumultuous personal life and meteoric rise and fall have been a favourite subject for authors.
And now journalist-writer Yasser Usman has followed suit and given a fresh perspective about the actor and his cinematic journey in his new book Rajesh Khanna: The Untold story of India’s first Superstar, which he says has been meticulously researched and will reveal unknown facets of Khanna’s life.
“I attended Rajesh Khanna’s funeral as I was assigned to make a documentary. I was amazed to see that Indians from the US and UK had come. That’s when I decided to write the book to know more about the man,” he said about his first book.
The book not only charts the incredible rise and fall of a movie legend, but it is also a story that encapsulates the world of Bollywood at its best, and its worst.
Usman said that he has talked about Khanna’s early life — which has not until now come to light. The foreword of the book has been written by Bollywood scriptwriter Salim Khan.
Congress leader Salman Khurshid launched the book in New Delhi along with the author.
“I had the privilege of knowing him [Khanna]. I had campaigned for him when he ventured into politics. I spent several evenings with him. I saw the effervescent Rajesh Khanna and I saw his fall. I thought there would be another spring in his life but it did not happen,” Khurshid said.
The event, which was also attended by Lesley Nicol, best known for her role in East is East, ended with a musical tribute to Khanna.
After being critically ill, Khanna died on July 18, 2012.
He has been posthumously awarded India’s third highest civilian honour the Padma Bhushan.
In 2013 he was bestowed with the title ‘The First Superstar of Indian cinema’ at Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards.
