Rajesh Khanna pulls crowds even after death

Anand marte nahi… the memorable dialogue of Big B reminiscing Rajesh Khanna in exemplary movie Anand gets proved to be so true when you see hoards of fans standing drenched in the rain in front of his house.

Anand marte nahi… the memorable dialogue of actor Amitabh Bachcan reminiscing Rajesh Khanna in director Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s exemplary movie Anand (1971) gets proved to be so true when you see hoards of fans standing drenched in the rain in front of his house and cremation ground to get a chance glimpse of the late actor.



Before Khanna started his last ‘Safar’ from his residence Ashirwad to the Pawan Hans crematory ground at the suburbs of Mumbai, veteran actor Manoj Kumar and filmmaker Karan Johar visited Ashirwad and paid their respect to the erstwhile superstar who reigned the industry in the 70s. Tireless crowd had gathered outside the house—not surprising if some were waiting there overnight, lest they miss the chance to catch a last glimpse of Rajesh Khanna.



The body was carried in a truck decorated with flowers and garlands with a big black & white picture mounted in front of the make-shift bed where his body was laid. To make the last journey of the late superstar a smooth ride through the city at the peak hour, the whole SV Road was blocked and the traffic was diverted. Khanna’s actor wife Dimple and younger daughter Rinky, his son-in-law actor Akshay Kumar and grandson Arav was on the truck.







People had already sensed that the actor’s body would be brought at Pawan Hans—may be seeing the lines of OB vans of the channels parked outside the crematory. As the truck nears the crematory, the crowds started piling up to get a glimpse of their beloved star.







By the time the body reached Pawan Hans, the piling crowd had started blocking the traffic. Three vans of Police personnel came down on roads to control the crowd. It was becoming difficult for them to control them; at times they were breaking in to enter the crematory ground. The iron railings on the divider of the road couldn’t take the pressure of the crowd and part of it got uprooted. The intermittent heavy showers could hardly dampen the excitement of the crowd.

Later, members from the fraternity started coming to bid their last adieu to their beloved actor. Director Sajid Khan, Vipul Shah and Abbas-Mustan, Randhir Kapoor, Rajeev Kapoor, came almost at the same time. After a while came actor Shakti Kapoor and director Sudhir Misra. Apart from them, many television actors were also present at the cremation ground.