By Admin 
There have been very few actors in Hindi cinema who have tasted stardom in the real sense. One such actor was Rajesh Khanna who not only gave hit films but also ruled the hearts of people. Fans used to cross all limits to get a glimpse of him. The craze for him was so much that girls used to apply vermilion in his name and some even took seven rounds with his photo.
Echo of ‘Up Aka, Below Kaka’ everywhere
The saying associated with the name of Rajesh Khanna also became very famous – ‘Upper Aaka, Neeche Kaka’. His stardom was such that even beggars outside the shooting locations used to beg in his name. This is about that time when it was not the actor but his name that attracted people.
Journey from Amritsar to becoming a superstar
Born in Amritsar, Punjab, the stardom of Rajesh Khanna was not hidden from anyone. He gave 17 hit films in just 3 years. Directors and producers used to stand in line under his house with their scripts. However, not everyone was lucky because Kaka agreed to very few scripts.
The superstar was troubled by the madness
Actors used to get troubled by flop films but Rajesh Khanna was the only such actor. Who was also troubled by his increasing popularity and craze. There came a time when he himself wanted some of his films to flop so that this craze could reduce a little.
when times turned
It is said that time never remains the same. After night comes day and after day comes night. Same thing happened with uncle also. In the year 1976-77, his films started flopping continuously. Theaters started remaining empty and films were not able to even cover their costs.
flop films increased the pain
It is told in Yasir Usman’s book “The Untold Story of India’s First Superstar” that Rajesh Khanna went into depression due to continuous flop films. To forget his sorrow, he started drinking.
mind drowning in darkness
The situation had become so bad that Rajesh Khanna would suddenly start screaming at night. Thoughts of suicide started coming to his mind. According to the book, he even started thinking about committing suicide by drowning in the sea. The period of 1976 and 1977 is considered to be the most difficult time of his life.
‘Mehbooba’ and big career disaster
The film ‘Mehbooba’ with Hema Malini in 1976 proved to be a super flop. This film was called the biggest disaster of his career. At the same time, Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Angry Young Man’ era had started and people’s preferences started changing.
When popularity became someone else’s
Both Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan were seen in the 1971 film ‘Anand’. But Amitabh Bachchan got all the popularity. After this, films like ‘Bandal Baaz’ were released in 1976 and ‘Anurodh,’ ‘Tyaag,’ ‘Karma,’ ‘Chhaila Babu’ and ‘Chalta Purja’ in 1977.
Back-to-back flops and changing times
Five consecutive films of Rajesh Khanna had flopped. Gradually, he started getting less films because by then Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra had become the new choice of the youth. Kaka’s shining star had now slowly started fading.