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Rajshri Productions Pvt. Ltd. is a Hindi film production company. Rajshri partially works as a film distributor also. On 15 August 1947, Tarachand Barjatya established Rajshri Pictures (P) Ltd., the film distribution division of Rajshri. Rajshri's film production division was set up in 1962 and its success shows it has grown a lot from Dosti (1964) to the most recent Isi Life Mein (2010).

History[link]

Rajshri Productions, the film production division of Rajshri, was set up in 1962. Its first release Aarti was critically acclaimed and was screened at international film festivals. This was followed by Dosti, a non star-cast film which went on to become a mega success at the box-office. Dosti was presented the National Award for the Best Hindi Film of the Year (1964) and also won six Filmfare Awards.

Early days[link]

In the era between 1960s and 1980s, Rajshri Productions became very successful. Its major movies included Dosti, Uphaar, Geet Gaata Chal, Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se, Chitchor and Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaye. All these movies were acclaimed by the critics.

The Golden era[link]

Rajshri's film making continued with movies like the critically acclaimed film Saaransh. At the end of the 80's, when the entire film industry was in the doldrums with the advent of video, Rajshri gave a break to its in-house talent Sooraj R. Barjatya who directed Maine Pyar Kiya, a musical teenage romance, which went on to become one of Indian cinema's biggest grosser. The film bagged six Filmfare awards including awards for the Best Film and the Most Sensational Debut of the Year for the 24-year-old Salman Khan.

Salman Khan moved from strength to strength and followed up the success of MPK with blockbusters Hum Aapke Hain Koun and Hum Saath Saath Hain. Hum Aapke Hain Koun remains the biggest hit in the history of Indian cinema, a film which instilled a new lease of life in the ailing film industry by bringing viewers back to cinema halls. The film won the National Award for being the most popular film providing wholesome entertainment and also bagged 8 Filmfare Awards and 6 Screen Awards, including awards for the Best Film, Best Actress and Best Director.

2000 and beyond[link]

In the next decade, Rajshri Productions produced movies like Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, Uuf Kya Jadoo Mohabbat Hai, Ek Vivah Aisa Bhi (by debutant director Kaushik Ghatak), Isi Life Mein (by Vidhi Kasliwal), and Love U...Mr. Kalakaar! which were not successful at the box office. However, in 2006, Rajshri Productions released Vivah under the direction of Sooraj Barjatya, which went on to become a blockbuster.

Rajshri's other subsidiary, which produces TV soaps, has given a lots of hits like Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki (May 30, 2005 – January 20, 2011) (Sahara One), Pyaar Ke Do Naam—Ek Raadha Ek Shyaam (2006, April-November, STAR Plus) and its recent show Yahan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli (November 17, 2009 - present, Zee TV).

In November 2006, Rajshri Productions launched a broadband entertainment portal, Rajshri.com, offering streaming and downloading of various forms of content including movies, music videos, concerts, and documentaries.^[1] The digital content is from its own production house and also from other production houses. The online streaming of the content is free but a fee is charged for downloading.

Awards[link]

• Filmfare Best Movie Award – Won
  1965 Dosti
  1990 Maine Pyar Kiya
  1995 Hum Aapke Hain Kaun
  

• Filmfare Best Movie Award – Nominated
  1977 Chitchor
  1977 Tapasya
  1979 Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se
  1985 Saaransh
  

Filmography for productions[link]

1. Jaana Pehchana (2012)
2. Love U...Mr. Kalakaar! (2011)
3. Isi Life Mein (2010)
4. Ek Vivaah... Aisa Bhi (2008)
5. Vivah (2006)
6. Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon (2003)
7. Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999)
8. Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994)
9. Maine Pyar Kiya (1989)
10. Babul (1986)
11. Phulwari (1984)^{[disambiguation needed ]}
12. Saaransh (1984)
13. Rakta Bandhan (1984)
14. Sun Meri Laila (1983)
15. Sun Sajna (1982)
16. Tumhare Bina (1982)
17. Nadiya Ke Paar (1982)
18. Jiyo To Aise Jiyo (1981)
19. Humkadam (1980)
20. Ek Baar Kaho (1980)
21. Jazbaat (1980)
22. Maan Abhiman (1980)
23. Payal Ki Jhankaar (1980)
24. Naiyya(1979)
25. Tarana (1979)
26. Raadha Aur Seeta (1979)
27. Gopal Krishna (1979)
28. Saanch Ko Aanch Nahin (1979) )
29. Sawan Ko Aane Do (1979)
30. Shikshaa (1979)
31. Sunayana (1979)
32. Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se (1978)
33. Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaaye (1977)
34. Paheli (1977)
35. Chitchor (1976)
36. Tapasya (1976)
37. Geet Gaata Chal (1975)
38. Honeymoon (1973)
39. Saudagar (1973)
40. Piya Ka Ghar (1972)
41. Mere Bhaiya (1972)
42. Uphaar (1971)
43. Jeevan Mrityu (1970)
44. Taqdeer (1967)
45. Dosti (1964)
46. Aarti (1962)

Trivia[link]

They are known for taking artists and working with them for many movies, in some case helping them to become stars. Here is a list of artists whom Rajshri has supported or introduced.

1. Sanjay Khan
2. Sachin
3. Sarika
4. Anupam Kher
5. Arun Govil
6. Alok Nath
7. Rameshwari
8. Salman Khan
9. Rakhee
10. Ravindra Jain
11. Rajkamal
12. Mithun Chakraborty
13. Mohnish Behl
14. Raju Srivastav
15. Reema Lagoo
16. Madhuri Dixit
17. Bhagyashree
18. Laxmikant-Pyarelal..gave the break for "Dosti" in 1964

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rajshri's Official website
• Rajshri Productions at the Internet Movie Database
• Rajshri Productions's channel on YouTube
• Rajshri Productions Filmography at Bollywood Hungama

A black sheep stands out from the flock

The Black Sheep, from a 1901 edition of Mother Goose by William Wallace Denslow.

A black sheep (Hebridean)

In the English language, black sheep is an idiom used to describe an odd or disreputable member of a group, especially within a family. The term has typically been given negative implications, implying waywardness.^[1] It derived from the atypical and unwanted presence of other black individuals in flocks of white sheep.

In psychology, the black sheep effect refers to the tendency of group members to judge likeable ingroup members more positively and deviant ingroup member more negatively than comparable outgroup members.^[2]

Idiomatic usage[link]

The term originated from the occasional black sheep which are born into a flock of white sheep due to a genetic process of recessive traits. Black wool was considered commercially undesirable because it could not be dyed.^[1] In 18th and 19th century England, the black color of the sheep was seen as the mark of the devil.^[3] In modern usage, the expression has lost some of its negative connotations, though the term is usually given to the member of a group who has certain characteristics or lack thereof deemed undesirable by that group.^[4]

The idiom is also found in other languages, e.g., French, Serbian, Bulgarian, Hebrew, Portuguese, Bosnian, Greek, Turkish, Dutch, Afrikaans, Swedish, Danish, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian and Polish. The same concept is illustrated in some other languages by the phrase "white crow": for example belaya vorona (белая ворона) in Russian and kalag-e sefid (کلاغ سفید) in Persian. A variant form of black sheep, "the red sheep of the family", was used by Jessica Mitford to describe herself, a communist in a family of aristocratic fascists.^[5]

Biological origin[link]

In sheep, a white fleece is not albinism but a dominant gene that actively switches color production off, thus obscuring any other color that may be present.^{[citation needed]} As a result, a black fleece in most sheep is recessive, so if a white ram and a white ewe are each heterozygous for black, in about 25% of cases they will produce a black lamb. In fact in most white sheep breeds only a few white sheep are heterozygous for black, so black lambs are usually much rarer than this. Some breeds of sheep (such as the Hebridean, Ouessant, Black Welsh Mountain and Karakul) are normally black.

Black sheep effect (Psychology)[link]

Overview[link]

In 1988, Marques, Yzerbyt and Leyens^[2] conducted an experiment where Belgian students rated the following groups according to trait-descriptors (e.g., sociable, polite, violent, cold): unlikeable Belgian students, unlikeable North African students, likeable Belgian students, and likeable North African students. The results provided support that the favourability is the highest for likeable ingroup members and the lowest for unlikeable ingroup members, whereas the favourability of unlikeable and likeable outgroup members is between the both former ones. These extreme judgements of likeable and unlikeable (i.e., deviant) ingroup members, relatively to comparable outgroup members is called “black sheep effect”. This effect has been shown in various intergroup contexts and under a variety of conditions, and in many experiments manipulating likeability and norm deviance (e.g., Branscombe, Wann, Noel, & Coleman, 1993;^[6] Coull, Yzerbyt, Castano, Paladino, & Leemans, 2001;^[7] Khan & Lambert, 1998;^[8] Pinto, Marques, Levine, & Abrams, 2010).^[9]

Explanations[link]

A prominent explanation of the black sheep effect derives from the social identity approach (see social identity theory, Tajfel & Turner, 1979;^[10] and self-categorization theory, Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987).^[11] Group members are motivated to sustain a positive and distinctice social identity and, as a consequence, group members emphasize likeable members and evaluate them more positve than outgroup members, bolstering the positive image of their ingroup (see ingroup bias). Furthermore, the positive social identity may be threatened by group members who deviate from a relevant group norm. To protect the positive group image, ingroup members derogate ingroup deviants more harshly than deviants of an outgroup (Marques, Abrams, Páez, & Hogg, 2001).^[12] In addition, Eidelman and Biernat (2003)^[13] have shown that personal identities are also threatened through deviant ingroup members. They argue that devaluation of deviant members is an individual response of interpersonal differentiation. Khan and Lambert (1998)^[8] suggest that cognitive processes like assimilation and contrast, which may underline the effect, should be examined.

Limitations[link]

Even though there is widely support for the black sheep effect, the opposite pattern has been found, for example, that White participants judge unqualified Black targets more negative than comparable White targets (e.g., Feldman, 1972;^[14] Linville & Jones, 1980).^[15] Consequentely, there are several factors which influence the black sheep effect. For instance, the higher the identification with the ingroup, and the higher the entitativity of the ingroup, the more the black sheep effect emerges (e.g., Castano, Paladino, Coull, & Yzerbyt, 2002;^[16] Lewis & Sherman, 2010).^[17] Even situational factors explaining the deviance have an influence whether the black sheep effect occurs (De Cremer & Vanbeselaere, 1999).^[18]

See also[link]

Look up black sheep in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Black swan theory
• Glossary of sheep husbandry: see entry for "black wool".
• Scapegoat
• The Ugly Duckling

References[link]

External links[link]

• Exploration of the etymology of the phrase "black sheep of the family"
• "The black sheep effect: Judgmental extremity towards ingroup members in inter-and intra-group situations". European Journal of Social Psychology (Science Direct) 18 (3): 287–292. DOI:10.1002/ejsp.2420180308. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00221031. Retrieved 2008-01-04. 

Salman Khan
Salman Khan walking the ramp for Sanjana John
Born	Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (1965-12-27) 27 December 1965 (age 46) Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
Residence	Bandra, Mumbai
Other names	Sallu
Occupation	Film actor, television presenter and philanthropist
Years active	1988–present
Parents	Salim Khan Salma Khan
Relatives	Arbaaz Khan (brother) Sohail Khan (brother) Helen Richardson (step-mother)

Salman Khan (pronunciation : [səlˈmaːn ˈxaːn]; born Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan on 27 December 1965)^[1] is an Indian film actor. He has starred in more than 80 Hindi films.

Khan, who made his acting debut with a minor role in the drama Biwi Ho To Aisi (1988), had his first commercial success with the blockbuster Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), for which he won a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He went on to star in some successful Hindi films of those times, such as Saajan (1991), Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), Karan Arjun (1995), Judwaa (1997), Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya (1998) and Biwi No.1 (1999), having appeared in the highest earning films of seven separate years during his career.^[2]

In 1999, Khan won a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his extended appearance in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), and since then has starred in several critical and commercial successes, including Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Tere Naam (2003), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), No Entry (2005), Partner (2007), Wanted (2009), Dabangg (2010), Ready (2011) and Bodyguard (2011), which has become the second highest-grossing Bollywood film of all-time. Khan has thus established himself as one of the most successful actors of Hindi cinema.^[3][4][5]

Early life[link]

Khan is the eldest son of screenwriter Salim Khan and his first wife Salma (née Sushila Charak). His paternal grandfather was a Muslim from Afghanistan^[6][7] who came to India and settled in Madhya Pradesh, whereas his mother is a Marathi Hindu.^[8] Khan himself had once said that he is "half Muslim and half Hindu".^[9][10] His stepmother is Helen, a former actress, who has co-starred with him in a few films. He has two brothers, Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan, and two sisters, Alvira and Arpita. Alvira is married to actor/director Atul Agnihotri. Khan finished his schooling through St. Stanislaus High School in Bandra, Mumbai, as did his younger brothers Arbaaz and Sohail. Earlier, he studied at The Scindia School, Gwalior for a few years along with younger brother Arbaaz.^[11][12]

Career[link]

1980s[link]

Salman Khan made his acting debut with a supporting role in the 1988 film Biwi Ho To Aisi. His first leading role in a Bollywood movie was in Sooraj R. Barjatya's romantic family drama Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), one of India's highest grossing films.^[13] It earned him a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut, as well as his first nomination for a Best Actor at Filmfare.

1990s[link]

1990 saw one film release starring Khan, Baaghi: A Rebel for Love. The film was a box office success,^[14] followed by four hit films in 1991, Patthar Ke Phool, Sanam Bewafa, Kurbaan ^[15][16] and Saajan.^[17] Despite these early successes, nearly all of his 1992–1993 releases resulted in box office failures.^[17]

Khan returned to success in 1994 with his second collaboration with director Sooraj Barjatya in the romance Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, co-starring Madhuri Dixit. This film was the biggest hit of that year, and turned out to be one of Bollywood's highest-grossing films ever, becoming the fourth-highest earner of all time.^[18] In 1995 he starred in Rakesh Roshan's Karan Arjun alongside Shahrukh Khan.^[17] The two played brothers who are reincarnated after being killed by family enemies. The film was the second biggest hit of the year, and his role of Karan once again put his name among the nominees for the Best Actor award at the Filmfare, which was eventually won by his Karan Arjun co-star Shahrukh Khan for Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.^[19][20]

In 1996, Khan performed in two movies, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's directional debut Khamoshi: The Musical, a box office failure, but critically acclaimed; and Raj Kanwar's action hit Jeet. He had two releases in 1997: Judwaa and Auzaar. The former was a comedy directed by David Dhawan where he played a dual role of twins separated at birth.

Khan worked in five different films in 1998, his first release being the comedy Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya opposite Kajol, one of the biggest commercial successes of that year. This was followed by the moderately successful drama Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai.^[17] Khan played a young man who has to take a child who claims to be his son, under his custody. Khan's performance in the film earned him several positive notices and favourable reviews from critics. He rounded of the year with an extended cameo in Karan Johar's directorial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai for which he earned a second Filmfare Award under the Best Supporting Actor category.

In 1999, Khan starred in three films: Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United and Biwi No.1, two of the highest grossing films that year;^[21] and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, which earned another Best Actor nomination at the Filmfare.

2000s[link]

In 2000, Khan acted in films including Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega . Chori Chori Chupke Chupke addressed the issue of surrogate childbirth; Khan played the role of a rich industrialist, who hires a surrogate mother after his wife becomes infertile. Critics noted his turn towards a more serious role, which reportedly had more substance in comparison to his previous roles.^[22][23] In 2002 he starred in the delayed release Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam.

For Tere Naam, (2003) Taran Adarsh said of him, "Salman Khan is exceptional in a role that fits him to the T. He breathes fire in sequences that demand uneasiness. But beneath the tough exterior lies a vulnerable person and this facet in particular comes to the fore in the latter reels. His emotional outbursts are splendid..."^[24] He subsequently continued his success at the box office, with comedies like Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004) and No Entry (2005).^[17] Khan's work in 2006 included Jaan-E-Mann and Baabul .

Khan started 2007 with the ensemble film Salaam E Ishq. His next release Partner did very well at the box office, receiving a blockbuster verdict.^[25] He next appeared in the Hollywood movie, Marigold: An Adventure in India which told the love story of an Indian man and an American woman. Khan starred in three films throughout 2008, all of which underperformed.^[26]

Khan hosted the second season of 10 Ka Dum in year 2009 which turned out to be even more successful than his first season as host of the game show in year 2008. The show got very high TRPs for Sony Entertainment Television and according to reports, the show helped Sony TV regain its third position in the Indian television ratings.^[27]

Khan's first film of 2009, Wanted directed by choreographer turned director Prabhu Deva. In the same year, he appeared in two other films, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna and London Dreams. While London Dreams doing average business, only due to the uninspiring music, but Main Aurr Mrs Khanna made 21 crores through DTH Premiere.^[28]

2010s[link]

Khan's first release of 2010 was Anil Sharma's commercially and critically unsuccessful film Veer. His next release, Dabangg, was produced by his brother Arbaaz Khan, and released on 10 September 2010. It made a record opening at the box office^[29] and Box Office India declared it an all-time blockbuster.^[30] For his performance in Dabangg, Khan received a Star Screen Award for Best Actor and a Stardust Award for Star of the Year – Male and was nominated for his sixth Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Anupama Chopra from NDTV wrote about his performance, "It's the role of a lifetime and Salman Khan bites into it like a starving man devours a feast. He inhabits it fully, strutting and swaggering and even, spoofing himself."^[31]

Khan's first release of 2011 was Ready which released on 3 June. The film broke several box office records and is currently the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time. He next appeared in Bodyguard. Upon release, the film became an all time blockbuster at the box office,^[32] with Khan's performance receiving favourable comments from critics and is currently the second highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time. ^[33]

Personal life[link]

In 2004, he was voted seventh-best-looking man in the world and the best looking man in India by People magazine, USA.^[34] Khan has been involved in several charities during his career.^[35]

On 11 October 2007, Khan accepted an offer from Madame Tussauds wax museum in London to have a wax replica made of himself. His life-size wax figure was installed there on 15 January 2008, making him the fourth Indian actor to have been replicated as a wax statue in the museum.^[36][37]

Khan has been the subject of several controversies, including certain legal troubles. On 28 September 2002, Khan was arrested for rash and negligent driving. His car had run into a bakery in Mumbai; one person who was sleeping on the pavement outside the bakery died and three others were injured in the mishap.^[38] Charges of culpable homicide were laid against him, but later dropped, and he was found not guilty.^[39] On 17 February 2006, Khan was sentenced to one year in prison for hunting the Chinkara, an endangered species. The sentence was stayed by a higher court during appeal.^[40] On 10 April 2006, he was handed a five year jail term and remanded to Jodhpur jail until 13 April when he was granted bail.^[41]

On September 2010, Khan was reported to have claimed during an interview to a Pakistani channel that the 26/11 attacks were hyped because the "elite" were targeted.^[42][43] During the interview the actor had said - "It was the elite that was targeted this time. Five star hotels and all. So they panicked. Then they got up and spoke about it. My question is why not before. Attacks have happened in trains and small towns too, but no one talked about it so much."^[42][43] Khan also said that Pakistan was not to be blamed for it, and that the Indian security forces had failed.^[44] Khan's comments had drawn strong reactions from Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Chagan Bhujbal, Shiv Sena, BJP and other political parties.^[45] The comments were also condemned by Ujwal Nikam, Special Prosecutor in the 26/11 trial.^[45] Khan later apologised for his comments.^[42]

His relationship with actress Aishwarya Rai was a well publicised topic in the Indian media.^[46] After their break-up in March 2002, Rai accused him of harassing her. She claimed that Khan had not been able to come to terms with their break-up and was hounding her; her parents lodged a complaint against him.^[47] In 2005, news outlets released what was said to be an illicit copy of a mobile phone call recorded in 2001 by the Mumbai police. It appeared to be a call in which he threatened Rai, in an effort to force her to appear at social events held by Mumbai crime figures. The call featured boasts of connections to organised crime and derogatory comments about other actors. However, the alleged tape was tested in the government's Forensic lab in Chandigarh, which concluded that it was fake.^[48][49]

After years of speculations, actress Katrina Kaif admitted in an 2011 interview for a magazine that she was in a serious relationship with Salman Khan for several years, which ended in 2010.^[50]

In August 2011 he admitted he suffers from trigeminal neuralgia, a facial nerve disorder commonly known as the suicide disease. In an interview he said that he has been quietly suffering it for the past seven years, but now the pain’s become unbearable. It has even affected his voice, making it much harsher.^[51]

Being Human Foundation[link]

Being Human Foundation is a registered charitable trust set up by Salman Khan for helping the cause of the underprivileged. In its early days, Salman Khan set up and funded the Foundation using his own money. The Foundation has two focus areas: Education and Healthcare. To increase the reach and corpus of the Foundation, Salman Khan has undertaken initiatives such as Being Human Art; Being Human merchandise; and Being Human Gitanjali Gold Coins. Proceeds from the activities of these initiatives go towards spreading education and healthcare for the underprivileged.

BEING HUMAN ART: The first showing of Being Human Art was an exhibition of Salman Khan's paintings at Dubai in October 2009. The response was tremendous and more exhibitions are being planned.

BEING HUMAN MERCHANDISE: Being Human Fashion was announced at HDIL India Couture Week 2009 in a show that made fashion history by featuring the biggest ever line-up of superstars including Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar, Govinda, Katrina Kaif, Saif Ali Khan, Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt. At HDIL India Couture Week 2010, Salman launched Being Human watches and followed it up with another glittering show featuring Bipasha Basu, Kareena Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Preity Zinta, Priyanka Chopra, Rani Mukherjee and Sushmita Sen. Being Human T-shirts were launched in November 2010.

BEING HUMAN GITANJALI GOLD COINS: Being Human, the Salman Khan Foundation has tied up with India's biggest jewellery brand Gitanjali to launch co-branded gold coins.

BEING HUMAN PARTNERS MARROW DONORS REGISTRY INDIA (MDRI): In November 2010, the Foundation partnered with MDRI to create awareness and generate donors in order to create a robust registry in India.^[52]

In 2011. Salman Khan launched his own production company called SKBH Productions (Salman Khan Being Human Productions).Money which will be generated from film productions will be donated to Being Human. First film made under the banner was kids entertainer Chillar Party, which went on to win 3 National Awards, for Best Children's film, best original screenplay and Child Artist's Award .^{[53] [54]}

Non film work[link]

Khan has started an NGO called 'Being Human' which will sell T-shirts and other products online and in stores. A portion of the sales will go to a worthy cause supporting the underprivileged.^[55] In April 2012, he became the brand ambassador for the travel website, Yatra.com, which also made him a shareholder.^[56].He has also endorsed the History Channel, Suzuki motorcycles,^[57] and Mountain Dew with whom he ended the contract in December 2010.^[58]

In January 2012, Khan has offered to pay 40 lakh (US$79,800) for releasing around 400 prisoners from around 63 prisons in the state of Uttar Pradesh via his NGO. The prisoners had completed their term but due to economical reasons, they were unable to pay a legal fine for their charges.^[59]

Awards and nominations[link]

Filmography[link]

Actor[link]

Television presenter[link]

• 10 Ka Dum (Seasons 1 & 2)
• Bigg Boss (Seasons 4 & 5)

Writer[link]

• Baaghi: A Rebel for Love (1990)^[64]
• Chandra Mukhi (1993)^[65]
• Veer (2010)

Producer[link]

• Chillar Party (2011)

See also[link]

Bollywood portal

• List of Indian Actors
• List of people from Madhya Pradesh

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Ghosh, Biswadeep (2004). Hall of Fame: Salman Khan. Mumbai: Magna Books. ISBN 81-7809-249-2. 

External links[link]

• Salman Khan at the Internet Movie Database
• Salman Khan on Twitter

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Rajesh Khanna  pronunciation (help·info); (born Jatin Khanna on 29 December 1942) is an Indian actor of Hindi films,^[1] and has been Hindi film producer and an Indian politician.

He appeared in 163 films of which 106 had him as the solo lead hero and 22 were two hero projects.^[2] He won three Filmfare Best Actor Awards and was nominated for the same fourteen times. He received the maximum BFJA Awards for Best Actor (Hindi) – four times and nominated 25 times. He was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. Khanna is referred to as the "First Superstar" of Hindi cinema.^[3][4][5][6] He made his debut in 1966 with Aakhri Khat and rose to prominence with his performances in films like Raaz, Baharon Ke Sapne, Ittefaq and Aradhana.

Early life[link]

Khanna was born in Amritsar on 29 December 1942. He was adopted and raised by foster parents who were relatives of his biological parents. Khanna lived in Thakurdwar near Girgaon. Khanna attended St. Sebastian’s Goan High School in Girgaum, along with his friend Ravi Kapoor, who later took the stage name Jeetendra. Their mothers were friends.^[7] Khanna gradually started taking interest in theatre and did a of stage and theater plays in his school^[8] and college days and won many prizes in the inter college drama competitions.^[9] Khanna became a rare newcomer who struggled in his own MG sports car to get work in theatre and films in the early sixties.^[10] Both friends later studied in Kishinchand Chellaram College(KC).^[11] When Jeetendra went for his first film audition, it was Khanna who tutored him. Khanna's uncle changed Khanna's first name to Rajesh when Khanna decided to join films. His friends and his wife call him Kaka.^[12]

Adult life[link]

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Khanna fell in love with the then fashion designer and actress Anju Mahendru.^[13] They were in the relationship for seven years. Mahendru states that the couple did not speak to each other for 17 years after the breakup.^[14] Later Khanna married Dimple Kapadia in 1973 and has two daughters from the marriage.^[15] Khanna and Dimple Kapadia separated in 1984 as his schedule kept him away much of the time and Dimple became interested in pursuing an acting career,^[16] and thereafter lived separately, but did not complete the divorce proceedings.^[17] In the eighties Tina Munim was romantically involved with Khanna till the time she decided to leave the industry to pursue her higher studies.^[18] Years of separation brought about mutual understanding between Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia.^[14] Reporter Dinesh Raheja stated that “the bitterness between Rajesh and Dimple washed away", noting that they are seen together at parties and that Dimple campaigned for Khanna's election and also worked in his film Jai Shiv Shankar.^[19] Their elder daughter Twinkle Khanna, an interior decorator and a former film actress, is married to actor Akshay Kumar^[20] while their younger daughter Rinke Khanna, also a former Hindi film actress,^[21] is married to a London-based investment banker Samir Saran.^[22]

Early career (1966–1975)[link]

Rajesh Khanna was one of eight finalists in the 1965 All India Talent Contest organised by United Producers and Filmfare from more than ten thousand contestants.^[23] Subsequently Khanna won the contest.^[24] He made his film debut in the 1966 film Aakhri Khat directed by Chetan Anand, followed by Raaz directed by Ravindra Dave both of which were a part of his predetermined prize for winning the All-India United Producers’ Talent Competition.^[25] G.P. Sippy and Nasir Hussain were the first to sign Rajesh Khanna after he won the contest.^[26] Khanna in an interview to Hindu newspaper said,"Though “Aakhri Khat” is my first film, I received my first break as a leading actor in Ravindra Dave's, “Raaz” in 1967. My heroine was Babita, already a popular actress then. Though I had lots of confidence, I was shy in facing the camera initially. In my first three shots, I had to perform with stress on my body language and dialogue delivery. Though I was right with my dialogues, my movements were not up to the mark. Ravindra Dave explained me my scenes and movements very clearly correcting my way of walking".^[27] Being under contract with United Producers, he got projects like Aurat, Doli and Ittefaq.^[28] He was then noticed for his performances in films like Baharon Ke Sapne, Aurat (1967), Doli, Aradhana and Ittefaq. Later Waheeda Rehman suggested Asit Sen to take Khanna for the lead role in Khamoshi.^[29] Through Aradhana he rose to "instant national fame" and film critics referred to him as the first superstar of India.^[30][31] In that film, Rajesh Khanna was cast in a double role (father and son) opposite Sharmila Tagore and Farida Jalal. The film also saw the resurgence of Kishore Kumar, who eventually became the official playback voice of Rajesh Khanna. The Kishore Kumar-Rajesh Khanna combination worked miracles and it was almost impossible to see them as separate identities. They became a singer-actor duo and together they gave many songs till 1991.^[32] Then in year 1971, Haathi Mere Saathi became the biggest hit and also became the biggest grosser ever till then. Khanna is also credited with giving Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar their first chance to become screenplay writers by offering them work in Haathi Mere Saathi.^[33] Javed Akhthar accpeted in an interview "One day, he went to Salimsaab and said that Mr. Devar had given him a huge signing amount with which he could complete the payment for his bungalow Aashirwad. But the film's script was far from being satisfactory. He told us that if we could set right the script, he would make sure we got both money and credit."^[34]

Rajesh acted alongside Mumtaz in eight successful films.^[35] They were neighbours and got along very well, and as a result they shared a great on-screen chemistry. After Khanna married, Mumtaz decided to marry millionaire Mayur Madhwani in 1974. At the time, she was doing three films Aap ki Kasam, Roti and Prem Kahani with Khanna. She decided to quit movies only after completing these films. When she left films Khanna felt very lost. In one of her interviews, Mumtaz was quoted saying "I would pull his leg and tease him about his fan following. Whenever Rajesh entered a hotel in Madras, there was a queue of 600 girls waiting to see him at midnight. As a result, even I would get some importance, as people would ask for my autograph as well. He was very generous with his associates, and would party a lot."

During the peak of his career he would be mobbed during public appearances. Fans kissed his car, which would be covered with lipstick marks, and lined the road, cheering and chanting his name. Female fans sent him letters written in their blood.^[36] There used to be a line of cars of his producers and hysterical fans outside his bungalow every day. Actor Mehmood parodied him in Bombay to Goa where the driver and conductor of the bus were called 'Rajesh' and 'Khanna'. Even today, he remains the favourite of mimicry artists, who copy his trademark style and dialogue delivery. During the filming of Amar Prem there was a scene that needed to be filmed at Howrah Bridge with a boat carrying Khanna with Sharmila moving under the bridge. The authorities ruled this scene out as they realized that if the public found out that the hero of the film would be there, it may create problems on the bridge itself, and that it might collapse due to the amount of people trying to get a glimpse of their favourite actor.^[37] Film critic Monojit Lahiri remembers “Girls married themselves to photographs of Rajesh Khanna, cutting their fingers and applying the blood as sindoor. Rajesh was God, there has never been such hysteria.”^[38]

Several songs sung by Kishore Kumar in the 1970s were based on Rajesh Khanna. During the filming of the song 'Mere Sapnon Ki Rani' in Aradhana, Sharmila Tagore was shooting for a Satyajit Ray film and director Shakti Samanta had to shoot their scenes separately and then join the scenes together.

The BBC made a film on him, titled Bombay Superstar, in 1974, the shooting for which began the same time when he got married and his film Daag premiered.^[39] In the video it can be noticed that Khanna was shooting for Aap Ki Kasam. A textbook prescribed by the Bombay University contained an essay, 'The Charisma of Rajesh Khanna!'.^[40]

Sharmila Tagore said in interview to India Express, “Women came out in droves to see Kaka (Khanna). They would stand in queues outside the studios to catch a glimpse, they would marry his photographs, they would pull at his clothes. Delhi girls were crazier for him than Mumbai girls. He needed police protection when he was in public. I have never seen anything like this before and since.”^[41]

Music remained one of the biggest attractions of all Rajesh Khanna films throughout his career. Many of the musical scores for Khanna's films were composed by Sachin Dev Burman, R.D. Burman and Laxmikant-Pyarelal. The trio of Rajesh Khanna, Kishore Kumar and R.D. Burman went on to make a number of popular films, including Kati Patang, Amar Prem, Shehzada, Apna Desh, Mere Jeevan Saathi, Aap Ki Kasam, Ajnabee, Namak Haraam, Maha Chor, Karm, Phir Wohi Raat, Aanchal, Kudrat, Ashanti, Agar Tum Na Hote, Awaaz, Hum Dono and Alag Alag.

Rajesh Khanna had 15 consecutive solo superhits between 1969 to 1972, which is still an unbroken record in Indian film history.^[42] The commercial success of his films declined during 1976–78.In calculation of the 15 films, 2 hero films like Maryada,Andaz and films with box office result as hits were excluded -Mere Jeevan Saathi, Choti Bahu and Shehzada.

Khanna considered Guru Dutt, Meena Kumari and Geeta Bali as his idols.Khanna dislosed in an interview," My inspirations include, Dilip Kumar's dedication and intensity, Raj Kapoor's spontaneity, Dev Anand's style and Shammi Kapoor's rhythm."^[27]

1976–1978[link]

Between 1976 and 1978, Khanna acted in nine films that were not commercially successful. Seven of these were rated highly by critics upon their release and have achieved strong cult status over the years among the viewers and these films included Mehbooba,^[43] Bundal Baaz, Tyaag, Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein, Naukri, Chakravyuha and Janata Havaldar which were directed by Shakti Samanta, Shammi Kapoor, Din Dayal Sharma, Meeraj, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee and Mehmood Ali, respectively. Khanna persuaded Samanta to cast his sister-in-law Simple Kapadia opposite him in Anurodh.^[44] Films starring Rajesh Khanna and directed by Shakti Samanta tended to be commercially successful, but Mehbooba was an exception.^[45][46] The change from romantic and social movies to action oriented multi-starrers caused the decline of Khanna's career in terms of box office ratings to some extent. The declaration of emergency in India had angered the masses and this helped films having the lead character revolting against corruption becoming successes. Actor Joy Mukherjee made Chhailla Babu, a suspense thriller in 1977, which became the only successful film of his as a director^[47] and the unexpected success of the Chhailla Babu gave a boost to the career of Khanna.^[48] However, Khanna continued basically in solo hero social sober household meaningful films during this era and played a variety of characters in films of various genres. During this phase too he had box office hits like Maha Chor,^[49] Chhailla Babu,^[50] Anurodh and Karm.

Later career (1979–present)[link]

After 1978, Khanna starred in critically acclaimed commercially successful films^[51][52] such as Amardeep, Phir Wohi Raat, Bandish,^[53] Thodisi Bewafaii, Dard, Kudrat, Dhanwan, Avtaar, Agar Tum Na Hote, Souten, Jaanwar, Asha Jyoti, Awaaz,^[54] Naya Kadam,^[55] Hum Dono, Babu, Aaj Ka M.L.A. Ram Avtar,^[56] Shatru,^[57] Insaaf Main Karoonga, Anokha Rishta, Nazrana, Angaarey, Adhikar (1986) and Amrit(from 1979–1991). Director Bharathiraja decided to remake his 1978 Tamil box office hit film "Sigappu Rojakkal" in Hindi with Khanna playing the role of a psychopath.^[58] Kamal Haasan who played the same role in Tamil won South Filmfare Best Actor Award for his portrayal.^[59] But the Hindi movie was seen as controversial by traditional and orthodox Hindi moviegoers and was not a commercial success, although Khanna's performance has been rated later higher by critics than the original.^[60]

Tina Munim and Rajesh Khanna became the leading on and off screen couple of the 80’s with hits like Fiffty Fiffty, Suraag, Souten, Aakhir Kyun, Bewafai, Insaaf Main Karoonga and Adhikar(1986).^[61] Ram Awatar Agnihotri wrote that Tina Munim showed the first sparks of the dedicated actress she would become in the films "Alag Alag" and "Adhikar", both with Khanna.^[62] He also acted in the Marathi hit film "Sundara Satarkar" in 1981.^[63] He has performed in the least number of multi-starrer films in comparison to his contemporaries and portrayed the central character in the few multistarrers he acted. Khanna delivered multi-starrer superhits like Rajput, Dharam Aur Kanoon,^[64] Zamana, Dil-E-Nadan, Ashanti, Awam (film) and Ghar Ka Chiraag. He did three potboiler movies with Jeetendra, which were blockbusters-Dharam Kanta,^[65] Nishaan and Maqsad.^[66] Aaj Ka M.L.A. Ram Avtar is one of the memorable political films of Rajesh Khanna. Khanna played the character of a corrupt politician in this film. Viewers praised his role in the film.^[67] The year 1985 saw him turn a producer with Alag Alag. Eleven films, with Khanna in the lead, released in 1985 and seven of these became hits and in addition had two films with him in special appearance.^[68] Before joining politics one of his last films as the lead hero was Swarg released in 1990. David Dhawan regards Swarg as his most favorite directorial venture and said in an interview " Swarg did well. Though a serious film, people even today talk about it as it struck a chord. I was working with Rajesh Khanna for the first time. I shared a good rapport with him. He never threw tantrums on the sets."^[69]

He experimented with films of different genres like tragedy in Babu as a rickshaw puller, thriller in Redrose as a psycopath, political adventure in Awam, negative roles in Dhanwan and Redrose, fantasy in Bundalbaaz and Jaanwar, crime in Phir Wohi Raat and Angarey, suspense in Chakravyuha and Iteefaq, comedy in Hum Dono and Masterji, action in Ashanti, family dramas like Aanchal and Amrit and Agar Tum Na Hote, variety of social films like Avtaar, Naya Kadam, Akhir Kyun and with different themes like reincarnation theme in Kudrat, patriotism in Prem Kahani, immature young love theme handled in different ways in films like Anokha Rishta, Nazrana and Dil E Nadan and did college romance in Bandish. He has played variety of characters as the lead hero – as a postman in Palkon Ki Chaon Mein, as a lawyer who proves that his senior has committed a rape 25 years earlier in Kudrat, as a politician in Aaj Ka MLA Ram Avtaar, as a young musician forced by fate to marry two women in Asha Jyoti, as professional advocate in Awaaz, fisherman in Prem Bandhan, a revolutionary patriot who is torn apart by love and policeman like in Prem Kahanai, as a righteous farmer in Bandhan etc.

He shared a close relationship with R.D. Burman^[70] and Kishore Kumar. The trio were friends and have worked together in more than thirty films.^[71] Work of Pancham with Khanna is regarded as legendary and far superior than any other actor-music director combinations.^[72] The king of playback singing Kishore Kumar had even credited Rajesh Khanna for his resurgence, so much so that he sang for Alag Alag, the first film produced by Rajesh Khanna without charging anything.^[73][74] In 1985 Pancham found himself being sidelined after failure of few films but Rajesh Khanna was among the few who continued to stand by him.^[75] Rajesh and Pancham worked together even after the death of Kishore in the films Jai Shiv Shankar, the unreleased film Police Ke Peechhe Police (both produced by Khanna ) and Sautela Bhai. Khanna even helped Leena Gangully and Amit Kumar in completing Mamta Ki Chhaon Mein, the last film directed by Kishore who died before the completion of the film.

Pyarelal quoted in an interview that “Rajesh Khanna was lucky for us and we were lucky for him too. From the 1969 Do Raaste to the 1986 Amrit, we gave hits together both as films and as music scores.... When we went on our first overseas concert tour in 1984, he came and danced to three songs. He was very particular about his music and would take a tape home if he could not assess a song. He would then give his feedback after a day or two. But if he liked a song at the sitting, he would loudly shout “Wah! Wah!” in appreciation…. It was God’s blessing that we came up with such a vast range of hit songs for him, including in his home productions Roti and films like Chhailla Babu, Chakravyuha, Fiffty Fiffty, Amar Deep and Bewafai. Incidentally, he had a stake in Mehboob Ki Mehndi too.^[35] He had great interest in music and a terrific sense of melody too. His music is dominated by Pancham (R.D. Burman) and us and we accepted Shakti Samanta’s Anurodh only because Rajesh Khanna had some misunderstanding with Pancham then and did not want to work with him."^[35] Khanna would always request music directors to fit in Kishore Kumar wherever possible. In fact, Kishoreda was very reluctant to sing "Waada Tera Waada" in Dushman and suggested Laxmikant Pyarelal to get it sung by Rafi. Then Laxmikant made Kishoreda meet Rajesh Khanna and Khanna winked at Laxmikant and told Kishoreda that in that case the song should be scrapped. On hearing this Kishore immediately agreed to sing it by himself for Khanna.^[35]