West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed her deep anguish over the death of Rajesh Khanna. She described him as “the pole star of a chapter in the world of cinema” and recalled the days she spent with him in Parliament.
At the Secretariat here, Ms. Banerjee told journalists of her early days in Parliament and the moments she spent there with Rajesh Khanna. Conveying her condolences to his family, Ms. Banerjee said she understood that he had been ailing for some time, but would like to remember him from the happier times.
“We would have tête-à-tête in the Central Hall of Parliament and I shall like to remember him from those days,” she said. “Since I knew him personally, his smiling face is still fresh in my mind.”
She recalled that once she had invited him to a rally and he had laughed and said he would come and take particular care of what he wore to the rally.
“Of course he is most well known as a star of romantic films. His smiling face and the ability to connect with people at ease had made him popular. Today we have lost the pole star of a chapter in the world of cinema,” she said.
Later, in her Facebook page, she referred to Rajesh Khanna as the “first superstar of Indian cinema and the sensational romantic hero of the seventies.” “With his death we have lost a legendary actor. His death is an irrevocable loss to Indian cinema,” she wrote.
