Thrilling meetings with Superstar Rajesh Khanna

Journalist Sunil Negi was one of my only two close Pahari friends in Delhi those days.

I had often participated in various events organised by several social groups during the college days and thereafter. As I can recall, it was some time in the year 2002, Sunil Negi had taken me to meet the first superstar of the Indian Cinema, Sri Rajesh Khanna to his rental residence at Sarvapriya Vihar, in South Delhi.

Since Sunil ji was personally very close to him, we had visited him without taking any appointments. Although I was aware that Sunil Negi knew him and was assigned the responsibility of his media campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, as he contested from South Delhi, however, I was considering it just a formal arrangement between the two, but it was unbelievable the way Rajesh Khanna received him wholeheartedly as he was desperate to see Sunil Negi. I do recall his words during our discussion as Rajesh Khanna uttered “arey yaar Sunil bhai tum phone hi nahi uthaate jab main phone karta hun?”.

Later on I did ask Sunil Negi that why he was not serious to receive Khanna ji’s phone calls,he replied “bhai sahib samjha karo kafi samaya lag jaata hai Khanna ji ke saath, mere baaki kaam rah jaate hain”. During the entire meeting for about 40-45 minutes, Rajesh Khanna interacted with us like a common friend, inquiring about our family, friends, Garhwali people and their songs. At an another occasion, it was the inauguration of the mobile Chef Cart of a friend, Vipin Oberoi, who Rajesh Khanna had helped start the venture at the posh locality of Chanakyapuri, Delhi near the Jessus & Merry College. There was a grand preparation for the inauguration and was majorly attended by close family members, friends, political workers and the team lead by Ramesh Dutta and Congress Sewa Dal with their musical band.

Superstar Rajesh Khanna

While Sewa Dal team was playing the band, Rajesh Khanna literally took the drums, hanged it on his shoulders and played the drums with the music team with great enthusiasm which surprised one and all present there. Also at the occasion, passerby’s were desperate to get a glance of the superstar, but the security personnel were restricting them. When Rajesh Khanna noticed that a bunch of girls of DU passing by after a sports meet, were being resisted by the security team, Rajesh Khanna himself intervened and obliged the girl students to take a picture with him.

If I summarize my experience with Rajesh Khanna through Sunil Negi, undoubtedly he was not only a superstar but also a super human being with lots of affection and concern for humanity, especially for the deprived class. That could primarily be the reason why he performed every character with amazing perfection in his cinemas. He would hardly need any time in judging a person’s true nature, either through a short conversation or his appearance, etc. I think this power of his keen understanding of human nature was the reason he had opted for Sunil Negi to handle the media during his election campaigns for Lok Sabha.

Mr Sunil Negi deserves big applause and many compliments for not only being a good friend but also a trusted media advisor of Rajesh Khanna –  The Legendary Actor and First Superstar of Indian cinema.

By T.S. Bhandari, through Sunil Negi for Newsviewsnetwork

Rajesh Khanna and Elections