Kiran Kumar on Rajesh Khanna: 'Salman Khan comes close, but Kaka’s stardom is unparalleled'

A lot of actors have experienced what stardom truly is. However, the frenzy that Rajesh Khanna triggered among his female fans was extraordinary. His hairdo became a trademark and his films were blockbusters. At the peak of his career, Khanna, popularly known as Kaka, would be mobbed with people cheering and chanting his name. If this wasn’t enough, women used to send him letters written in blood. One of the actors who had the pleasure of working with him was Kiran Kumar. Recently, he opened up about the comparisons made between him and Khanna in the past. Kiran Kumar reacts on his comparison with Rajesh Khanna  In a candid conversation with Siddharth Kannan, actor Kiran Kumar reflected on his collaboration with Rajesh Khanna. He began by explaining that Kaka ji’s stardom was unparalleled and also spilled beans on the time they spent together at his house during the filming of the 1972 film Savera, produced by the star himself. When questioned about the comparisons made between him and the late star, Kiran elaborated that when he used to visit Rajesh Khanna at his home, they spent long hours rehearsing different scenes from the film. He added that Khanna used to perform the scenes live which led him to ingrain his version in a way that it used to reflect on screen. Kiran Kumar sheds light on Rajesh Khanna’s stardom Kiran Kumar elaborated, “I was working on a film called Savera. Kaka’s secretary was producing it, Kaka bankrolled it. It was basically Kaka sahab’s film. In the evenings, we’d go over to his house. It was called Dimple. He was a fabulous host; few could rival him in that department. I’ve never seen stardom like his, believe me.  Salman Khan  comes close, but the stardom that Rajesh Khanna had, nobody had. His car would be covered in lipstick marks wherever it was parked…” Kiran further added, “I look back on my performances from back then, and yes, I can see shades of Rajesh Khanna in them. It’s not his fault, it’s my fault. I should not have succumbed to this pressure.” Rajesh Khanna - the real stalwart  In an era long before this age where everything goes viral in a fraction of a second, Rajesh Khanna sparked a frenzy never seen before which even the likes of stalwarts Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and even Amitabh Bachchan could not match. Often regarded as the biggest star, Khanna died in 2012.