He was a cult figure, an affirmed exponent of his art, sometimes excellent and sometimes average, but his fans loved him for what he was. The blink with a slight tilting of the head was a craze with the youngsters and left the girls swooning. They were madly in love with this romantic hero, the first superstar of Hindi cinema. He once left the top button of the kurta open and it became a rage. He later buttoned it and that became a rage too. For Rajesh Khanna, every move had to be carefully measured for he was under such intense scrutiny.
“Aakhri Khat” and “Baharon Ke Sapne” did not give indications of his talent. Three years after his debut he took the country by storm humming “Mere Sapno Ki Rani” in “Aradhana”. Film releases featuring him came in a torrent with music being a strong component. “Kati Patang” was a prime example. If Sachin Dev Burman added melody to the success of “Aradhana”, his son, Rahul, was architect of “Kati Patang” emerging a hit. This was a precursor to Rajesh Khanna’s awesome eminence in a hugely competitive field.
“Kati Patang” was based on Gulshan Nanda’s best-selling novel of the same title. The protagonist, Madhavi (Asha Parekh), drifts, like a kite running away from home on the day of her wedding to Kamal (Rajesh Khanna), only to discover the evil designs of her ‘beloved’ Kailash (Prem Chopra). Circumstances lead Madhavi to seek shelter in a house, pretending to be the daughter-in-law, now widowed. The actual daughter-in-law Poonam (Naaz) dies in a train accident but not before entrusting her child in the custody of Madhavi.
The widow is accepted by her in-laws, Diwan Dinanath (Nazir Hussain) and his wife (Sulochana), and she comes to know Kamal, who also happens to be a friend of the deceased son of the house. Kamal develops a liking for Madhavi. She reciprocates too. And then her world crashes again when Shabnam (Bindu) recognises her in a restaurant. Kailash is on Madhav’s heels again and in the process poisons the Diwan and sets up evidence that implicates the daughter-in-law. Things fall in place with the hero, heroine and the police plotting to snare the villain.
“Kati Patang” appeals to you for Samant’s taut narration, the songs keeping the pace at the right interval and decent performances from the main actors, especially Asha Parekh, who struck a good combination with Rajesh Khanna. Asha Parekh is reduced mostly to a melancholic figure, a ‘widow’ who is not a widow, but she stands out with her commendable show. The story revolves around her and she reacts to the demands well, keeping in mind the restraint she needed to exercise even during the emotional scenes, not to forget the title song “Na Koi Umang Hai”. This remains one of her finest shows on screen along with “Do Badan”.
For filmmakers, serious and otherwise, Rajesh Khanna offered a sure route to success. His stardom was a hard earned status because cinema was in the transition period, stalwarts like Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, Dharmendra, were making way for fresh faces. There was a refreshing change and Rajesh Khanna epitomised the new generation of stars, individuals who were going to shape the destiny of the film industry.
Rajesh Khanna began on a modest note but grew into an institution literally, commanding the highest fee, demanding heroines of his liking and dictating the course of the movie by figuring in most frames. Scripts were written keeping in mind his popularity and efforts were made to ensure the maximum screen presence for him. True, Amitabh Bachchan eventually came to displace him from the top slot but the debonair Rajesh Khanna, who faded as rapidly as he had risen, had created a following for himself that remained loyal even after he slipped into figuring in some forgettable ventures in the evening of his career.
It would be unfair to attribute Rajesh Khanna’s rise to music in his movies. It was relevant to the story most times but it was also his acting skills that enhanced the quality of the film. On screen, he never appeared to be lip-syncing. So convincing were his expressions. His presence, backed by the music, remained the main source of strength for a movie’s success.
Rajesh Khanna owed it to Shakti Samanta for propelling him on the road to prominence with three super hits, “Aradhana”, “Kati Patang” and “Amar Prem”. They brought the composed aspect of Rajesh Khanna’s acting, his repertoire set to grow with subsequent classics like “Anand”, “Namak Haraam”, “Safar” and “Bawarchi”.
Rajesh Khanna, in excellent form, carries himself with ease, looking at home in “Yeh Shaam Mastani” and “Pyaar Diwana Hota Hai” and also the Mukesh number “Jis Gali Mein Tera Ghar Na Ho Baalma”. Rajesh Khanna looks younger to the heroine even though both were born in the same year but Bindu, in a cameo, is striking in “Mera Naam Hai Shabnam”, an innocuous song that Asha Bhonsle and RD Burman combine to make it relevant to the situation.
Genre : Social drama
