New Delhi: Rajesh Khanna's super stardom, tumultuous personal life and meteoric rise and fall have been a favourite subject for authors.
And now journalist-writer Yasser Usman has followed the suit and given a fresh perspective about the actor and his cinematic journey in his new book 'Rajesh Khanna: The Fallen Superstar', which he says has been meticulously researched and will reveal unknown facets of Khanna's life.
"I attended Rajesh Khanna's funeral as I was assigned to make a documentary. I was amazed to see that Indians from the US, the UK had come to attend his funeral. That's when I decided to write the book to know more about the man," Yasser said about his first book.
The book not only charts the incredible rise and fall of a movie legend, but it is also a story that encapsulates the world of Bollywood at its best, and its worst.
Yasser said that he has talked about Khanna's early life - which has not come to light till date. The foreword of the book has been written by noted Bollywood scriptwriter Salim Khan.
Congress leader Salman Khurshid launched the book here along with the author.
"I had the privilege of knowing him (Khanna). I had campaigned for him when he ventured into politics. I have spent several evenings with him. I saw the effervescent Rajesh Khanna and I saw his fall. I thought there will be another spring in his life but it did not happen," Khurshid said. The event, which was also attended by Lesley Nicol, best known for her role in 'East is East', ended with a musical tribute to Khanna.
After being critically ill, Khanna died on July 18, 2012. He has been posthumously awarded India's third highest civilian honour Padma Bhushan.
In 2013 he was officially bestowed with the title 'The First Superstar of Indian cinema' at Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Awards.
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