First Bollywood superstar Rajesh Khanna breathed his last on Wednesday, according to online edition of Indian news channel IBN. Khanna was 69. He is survived by his estranged wife Dimpla Kapadia and two daughters Twinkle and Rinke. Film actor Akshay Kumar was his son-in-law.

Born on December 29, 1942, as Jatin Khanna, the actor was raised by the relatives of his biological parents. He attended St. Sebestian’s Goan High School along with his childhood friend Ravi Kapoor, who later adopted the screen name Jeetendra. Always high on confidence, Rajesh Khanna was the other name for style; he even struggled in his own MG sports car.

Destined to be an actor, Rajesh Khanna had won several acting competitions at various levels before debuting in ‘Aakhri Khat’ (1966). However, his real break was Ravindra Dave’s ‘Raaz’ (1967). After a string of successful films such as ‘Baharon Ke Sapne’, ‘Aradhana’, ‘Ittefaq’, and ‘Do Raaste’, he marched into the hearts of millions of his fans, who credited Khanna with the title of superstar. Delivering 15 consecutive solo hits seemed easy every time his face appeared on the posters of a new film.

The second phase of his acting career began with ‘Anand’. Probably his most memorable role till date, ‘Anand’ showed how one can play a character without wearing the superstar tag. ‘Dushman’, ‘Amar Prem’, ‘Bawarchi’, ‘Daag’, ‘Avishkar’, ‘Namak Haram’ and ‘Aap Ki Kasam’, the cordial relation with the audiences went on till the social set up changed its course in 1975.

Rajesh Khanna’s personal life was not as glittering as his screen avatars.

His relationship with Anju Mahendru finished at a sad note, while his marriage with Dimple Kapadia was called off after 11 years in 1984. Later, Dimple only became his closest partner in life. nepalnews.com