Gautam Chintamani's 'Dark Star: The Loneliness of Being Rajesh Khanna' is about the man who was India's first superstar - an icon, but a mystery. While the book chronicles Khanna's meteoric success in the cinema world, it also portrays him as a mystery - a man who basked in his fame and never lost his regal ways, even in his own decline.
A passage from the book describes how Khanna used to splurge on his foreign tours. True to his kingly nature, he would frequently shop for people as gifts, only to often forget about them once he made the purchase.
Chintamani mentions in 'Dark Star' that during Khanna's demise in 2012, a maximum of 64 suitcases filled with gifts he had imported from abroad but never distributed were spotted at his bungalow, Aashirwaad.
These suitcases left untouched appeared to be a testament to Khanna's loneliness or selective friendliness. He loved having people over at his bungalow, usually talking about his heydays, his now-absent collaborators, and an industry that had completely transformed by the 2000s. The author attempts to decipher the symbolism of those suitcases left untouched.
Rajesh Khanna, the only superstar of his kind, passed away in Mumbai on July 18, 2012, after a long illness. He leaves behind his wife, Dimple Kapadia, and daughters Twinkle and Rinke Khanna.
