In the film Nishi Padma, Bengali superstar Uttam Kumar became Rajesh Khanna’s inspiration. The director of Amar Prem, Shakti Samanta, advised Khanna to copy Uttam Kumar’s acting.
Rajesh Khanna was Indian cinema’s first superstar. The actor, who was fondly called Kaka, has given 17 back-to-back hits in his life. During his career, Rajesh Khanna has worked with many actresses and one among them is Sharmila Tagore. Their film Amar Prem, released in 1972, is considered a superhit movie of that time. In the film, Rajesh played the character of Anand Babu.
However, do you know an interesting fact about this film was that in order to bring Anand’s character to life, Rajesh Khanna watched the 1970 Bengali film Nishi Padma 24 times? This Bengali film was based on Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay’s story Hinger Kochuri, which was directed by Arabinda Mukherjee.
In the film Nishi Padma, Bengali superstar Uttam Kumar became Rajesh Khanna’s inspiration. The director of Amar Prem, Shakti Samanta, advised Khanna to copy Uttam Kumar’s acting.
Rajesh Khanna used to have a busy schedule. However, he used to take out time to practice. And, as a result, Rajesh Khanna’s efforts paid off and his scenes in Amar Prem were beautifully shown.
Amar Prem, released on 28 January 1972, was a box office hit and became the 13th highest-grossing film of 1972. R.D. Burman’s music and Anand Bakshi’s songs like “Kuch To Log Kahenge”, “Chingari Koi Bhadke”, and “Raina Beeti Jaaye” are still loved by people till date.
Do you know that Rajesh Khanna was not the first choice for Amar Prem? Yes, it was Raj Kumar whom Shakti Samanta wanted to cast. However, Khanna got the role because of his passion.
Amar Prem further enhanced the pairing of Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore, who had previously worked together in hits like Aradhana and Kati Patang.
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