Notwithstanding his obvious appeal, Khanna's career as a Member of Parliament (MP) fell way short of its early promise and he was very conscious about that. He did but quickly improvised saying in an undisguised melodramatic fashion, " Is audience mein jitni Pushpa hein aur jitni bhi mahilayen hein, unke aansu paunchhunga mein," (I would like to wipe the tears of all the Pushpas and other women in this audience). Once in a while he would pander to the popular demand of saying a line or two from his most famous moviesĪt a particular rally in South Delhi, the crowd asked him to recite his popular line, "Pushpa, I hate tears" from the 1972 hit Amar Prem. He knew exactly the kind of body language to use, where to take the pause before delivering a punch line and flash a meaningful smile.
Khanna's public rallies were a lesson in show-manship to those journalists watching from the sidelines. Addressing rallies and meeting people all require a certain amount of histrionics which I possess," he said. "One cannot deny that it is after all a performance. However, once he took the plunge in electoral politics, campaigning for him turned out to be remarkably natural. "He is my leader and I do not want to let him down," he kept saying. It demands a great deal of diligence," he said.Īlso, the fact that he was handpicked by Rajiv Gandhi seemed to put a lot of pressure on him. I cannot have the luxury of multiple takes in politics.
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Unlike the movie world, the problems I would be expected to deal with here are real. "I know these are two very different fields.
More than anything else what Khanna seemed to be grappling with most that one afternoon in 1990 was the real prospect of losing his standing as a superstar in case he failed as a politician. To quote a line from my own film, ' Yeh public hai. I doubt if the people of India would be taken in only my being Rajesh Khanna. "Being recognised is a clear advantage for me but that is just the first step. I think I can be in public service for the long haul," Khanna saidĭuring extended conversations with this journalist before he finally decided to formally enter politics, one recurring theme in his observations was about whether his stardom would help or hinder his new career. "I have no vested interests in terms of making a name or making money for myself unlike some other politicians. He thought he had it in him to contest more elections and sharpen his skills as a full-time politician. While his career as a politician remained sketchy after some early success, he privately nursed a grievance that the Congress party used him for the limited purposes of electoral campaigning. He contested again in 1996, this time from the Gandhinagar constituency in Gujarat against Advani but lost. The resultant by-election in 1992 saw Khanna pitted against fellow movie star Shatrughan Sinha, whom he defeated by a little over 25,000 votes. However, since Advani had also contested simultaneously from the Gandhinagar constituency in Gujarat and won there as well, he vacated the New Delhi seat.
Khanna first contested against Bharatiya Janata Party stalwart Lal Krishna Advani in 1991 parliamentary elections from the New Delhi constituency, but lost narrowly to him. Now if I can do my little bit for the country, it would be an honour," he said. "My advantage is that I have earned enough name and fame. Khanna's name was on top of that list.Īlthough he said he had always been a Congress supporter, Khanna had to think hard before formally joining active politics. That year former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was the president of the Congress, was looking for some unusual non-political names to join his party to create a buzz. He works for me," he told me in 1990 sitting in his permanent suite at the Ashok Hotel in New Delhi.įor someone who had been past his prime by then for a while, Khanna still retained a lot of his raging charisma as he prepared for a new role, that of a politician. I am the sole custodian of Rajesh Khanna. In an unexpectedly deep and thoughtful comment, Jatin Khanna once described himself as the "custodian" of his own movie screen avatar Rajesh Khanna.