Delhiwale: Remembering the superstar with a plate of his favourite keema kofta

Five years after actor Rajesh Khanna passed away, a fan has kept his stardom alive at this eating joint

In a sense, he never died. All those TV reruns remind fans just how amazing the immortal Rajesh Khanna could be.

The Treat was founded some 20 years ago by Vipin Oberoi, a longtime fan of the Hindi film icon Rajesh Khanna. (Mayank Austen Soofi / HT Photo)

Another way to remember the heartthrob is to head to the Palestinian embassy in central Delhi. Across the road from it, you’ll find a modest snack-shack dishing up the marvellous keema kofta that the hero of Anand and Khamoshi always ordered. Called The Treat, the eatery was founded some 20 years ago by Vipin Oberoi, a longtime fan of the Hindi film icon who died in 2012.

You can’t miss the place plastered with photos of the superstar. It is open throughout the week with a variety of Punjabi-Chinese dishes.

There’s something else. The Treat serves customers free lunch and tea twice every year — on December 29, when Rajesh Khanna was born in Amritsar, and on July 18, when he passed away in Mumbai. The eatery livens up at night and could, during the day, appear a mite forlorn, a bit like the star’s final years.

Last week, in the middle of the afternoon, we spotted just two customers, along with a man sweeping dry leaves. His T-shirt featured a smiling Rajesh Khanna.