1.34 pm: Funeral proceedings over, a number of Bollywood patrons who were present are tweeting about the experience. Veteran actor Kabir Bedi said, “Rajesh Khanna’s funeral was simple, solemn and dignified cremation. Farewell to another legend of our generation. RIP.”
12.15 pm: Rajesh Khanna’s fans in Pakistan paid rich tributes to the Bollywood actor, who died in Mumbai on Wednesday , with some recalling “Arrey oh babumoshai…,” the famous Rajesh Khanna dialogue.
Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn had a separate section “Zindagi kay safar mein: Remembering Rajesh Khanna” where readers could write in.
“By far my favuorite actor. His style was very unique, and he stands out as an actor in an era. May God bless him, he will be missed”, wrote Farrukh Siar.
Jack recalled Rajesh Khanna’s “babumoshai” dialogue: “Arrey o
babumoshai, hum to rangmanch ki kathputliyan hain jiski dor us upar wale ke haathon main hai kab, kaun kahan uthega ye koi nahin janta”.
Another post from Seoul was of the same dialogue: “Babumoshai..Zindagi ek Rangmanch hai, aur hum sab us Rangmanch ki kathputliyan… Jiski dor upar wale ke haath me hai… Usse na aap badal sakte hain na hum’”, adding” “Anand mara nahi, Anand marte nahi…”
11.50 am: Rajesh Khanna’s nine-year-old grandson Aarav lit his pyre at the Vile Parle cremetorium.
“Aarav lit the pyre and Akshay Kumar (Rajesh Khanna’s son-in-law) assisted him,” the late superstar’s close friend Vijay Zaveri told IANS. Akshay Kumar is married to Rajesh Khanna and Dimple’s daughter Twinkle Khanna.
11.35 am: Superstar Rajesh Khanna’s body has been cremated in Vile Parle.
Rajesh Khanna’s last words were, “Time ho gaya hai, pack up”.
Amitabh Bachchan wrote in his blog that a close functionary told him Rajesh’s last words in a choked voice on Wednesday when he gone to condole the death of India’s first superstar at his home Ashirwad. [Read More.]
10. 55 am: Rajesh Khanna’s body reaches Vile Parle, Mumbai where the cremation ceremony will take place. Celebrities and thousands of fans were part of the funeral procession. The road was cordoned off with policemen all over, leading to huge traffic jam in the area, extending till Juhu.
Remembering the superstar, Film Director Shekhar Kapur tweeted, “Worshipped on his way up n humiliated on his way down, Rajesh Khanna’s life was as tragic as it was dramatic.” Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar tweeted, “Rajesh Khanna was a golden handshake given by changing times to the romantic era of Indian cinema in early seventies.”
10.35 am: According to reports, Akshay Kumar’s son, Aarav will light the fire. Akshay Kumar is married to Rajesh Khanna’s elder daughter Twinkle Khanna. Aarav is Rajesh Khanna’s grandson.
10.21 am: The legend’s final journey has begun from his residence Aashirwad in Bandra. His body, in a transparent casket, was placed on a mini-truck decorated with white flowers. The funeral procession began from his residence – Aashirwad and will head from Carter Road to SV road in Santacruz.
The last rites will take place at the Vile Parle cremetorium at 11:30 am.
Screen grab from ibnlive.
With him on his last journey were his estranged wife Dimple, who took care of him in the last days, his younger daughter Rinke and son-in-law, actor Akshay Kumar who is married to his elder daughter Twinkle.
10.05 am: The superstar’s final journey begun as his body was taken out of his house for the funeral procession. Thousands of fans waiting outside Rajesh Khanna’s house broke barricades just to get a glimpse of him.
His last rites will be performed at 11 am in Mumbai today.
9.53 am: Celebrities and fans gather at Rajesh Khanna’s Mumbai home. They are waiting for the cremation ceremony to begin. Despite the heavy rainfall, thousands of fans are waiting outside ‘Aashirwad’. The funeral procession will begin in another 15 minutes.
As news of his death broke, many of the actor’s colleagues from the industry rushed to ‘Aashirwad’ to pay their respect to Kaka. Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif, Abhishek Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor and many others were seen at Rajesh Khanna’s residence. [See the images here.]
9.20 am: Bollywood’s first superstar Rajesh Khanna will be cremated in Mumbai today, 19 July, 2012. His last rites will be performed at 11 am in Mumbai. The funeral procession will begin from his residence – Aashirwad. The actor, lovingly called Kaka, who was hailed as India’s original superstar, died following a prolonged illness on Wednesday. He was 69.
His demise brought back memories of the charmer, lover and hero that he was to his family, fans and well-wishers. For them, his magic will remain forever.
18 July,2012
10:16 pm: AP CM, Chiranjeevi condole Rajesh Khanna’s demise.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Rajya Sabha MP K Chiranjeevi expressed grief over the death of Bollywood star Rajesh Khanna today.
“Rajesh Khanna ruled the Hindi film industry in the 1970s through a series of blockbusters and endeared himself to the audience across the country,” the Chief Minister said in a statement.
PTI
9:31 pm: Condoling Khanna’s death, actor Aamir Khan said, “Rajeshji was one of the biggest star that India has seen. He will always be remembered by every Indian with lots of love.
“My heartfelt condolences to Dimpleji, Twinkle and to all the members of the family.” Aamir told PTI.
9: 24pm: Sharmila Tagore, who paired in a number of hits with Rajesh Khanna, said no other actor ever had a fan following like the superstar.
“He was most certainly the first superstar and with due respect to other actors, nobody created that kind of a craze after him,” Sharmila told PTI.
9:11pm: Rajesh Khanna’s death mourned in Madhya Pradesh.
Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh expressed their condolences over the passing away of noted actor and former MP, Rajesh Khanna.
8:51pm: Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar said she was saddened by Khanna’s death.
“Aaj humari filmi duniya ke bohot mashhoor kalakar rajesh khanna ji, humare bich nahi rahe, mujhe bohot dukh hai, main dimple ji, unki betiyaan aur daamad in sab ke dukh me shamil hun, ishwar rajesh khanna ji ki aatma ko shanti pradan kare” (Film industry has lost a famous artist today in Rajesh Khanna. I am deeply saddened by his death. I share the grief of Dimpleji, his daughters and his son-in-law and pray that his soul rests in peace), Mangeshkar tweeted.
8:34pm: Condoling the death of Rajesh Khanna, yoga guru Ramdev today said he had recently suggested yoga and ayurveda to the superstar to improve his health.
“I feel my suggestion had probably helped him, but as his body was so weak, his entire system collapsed,” he told in his condolence message.
