Desi Boy

Rajesh Khanna proved that you didn’t have to shoot abroad or wear designer clothes to sell a film

Rajesh Khanna was an Indian superstar in the true sense of the word. Few of his famous films, if any, were shot abroad. In almost all of them, he wore simple kurtas.

Overall, Khanna’s films had an Indianness to them. The characters he played were rarely Westernised. In Amar Prem, he plays a Calcutta businessman named Anand Babu who, trapped in a bad marriage, finds comfort in the company of a courtesan. In Anand, perhaps Khanna’s most famous role, he plays Anand Saigal, a dying man but one blessed with a blithe spirit. When Anand needs a break, he goes for a stroll on Juhu Beach, sings and releases balloons in the air. He doesn’t go to London. In Aradhana, perhaps the most popular Rajesh Khanna soundtrack, he plays a pilot (and later, his son; it’s a double role, but this is not the time to get into weaknesses of plot.

Then Amitabh Bachchan, two months and 18 days older than Khanna, came along and unexpectedly ended the latter’s box office rule. (Khanna’s record of 15 successive hits still stands, though.) Their films were very different. Khanna was a romantic or tragic hero. He was in his element playing emotional scenes. Amitabh was a brooding action hero. It is possible that Khanna tilted his neck more in one film than Amitabh in all his films combined. And Amitabh probably threw more punches in one film than Khanna in all his films combined. Amitabh also had a higher cool factor. But he too didn’t need excessive styling or shoots abroad (save for exceptions like The Great Gambler and Silsila). His films too had an Indianness. Vijay by and large was a tall Indian boy in bell bottoms who worried about his mother.

There is a lesson in all this. You don’t have to shoot in foreign locations and spend lakhs on wardrobes to make a film successful. Yes, times have changed. There are more Indians who live or travel abroad now compared to the 1960s or 1970s. It is also true that there are some sound reasons for shooting films abroad. Countries come knocking on Bollywood’s door for promotional reasons. Foreign locations serve as eye candy. But far too often, Indian films shot abroad seem forced, the characters and their worlds fake. The best tribute to Rajesh Khanna will be if Bollywood tries to stay true to its roots.

About The Author

Akshay Sawai