Ijaate shouratein ulfatein chahatien sab kuch is duniya me rehta nahin aaj mein hun jahan kal koi aur tha...... yeh bhi ek duar hai.....woh bhi ek daur tha....." - Rajesh khanna, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.
article courtesy NDTV
The actor who romanced death on screen as often as he did heroines, left behind a special recorded message for his family, friends and fans. 40 years ago, in Anand, his character taped a message for Babumoshai or Amitabh Bachchan. In real life, the superstar's message was played at his chautha held over the weekend.
Here's the full transcript of his recorded message:
Mere pyaare dosto, bhaiyo aur beheno nostalgia mein rehene ki aadat nahi hai mujhe. Hamesha bhavishya ke baare mein hi sochna padta hai jo din guzar gaya hai, beet gaya hai ,uska kya sochna lekin jab jaane pehchane chehre anjaan se ek mehfil mein milte hai toh yaadein wapas tazaa ho jati hai.
( My dear friends, I'm not the one to get nostalgic. I've always looked ahead towards the future. Whatever has passed let it stay in the past, thinking about bygones doesn't help. But, when one suddenly comes across familiar faces in unfamiliar settings, the memories comes rushing back.)
Mera janam theatre se hua, mein aaj jo kuch bhi hu yeh stage yeh theatre ki badaulat hu. Mein jab filmo mein aya toh mera koi Godfather nahin tha, koi risthedar nahi the, koi sar par hath rakhnewala nahin tha. Main aya through the United Producers Filmfare Talent contest. Humko bulaya gaya that Times of India mein waha par bade-bade prodcuers the, chahe woh Chopra saab the, Bimal Roy the, Shakti Samnta the, bahut saare the. Unhone kaha ke humne aapko dailogue bheja hai, woh yaad kiya aapne? Mein saamne bhaitha tha aur woh ek badi si table mein line mein bhaite the. Mujhe aise lag raha tha ki court martial ho raha ha, jaise abhi yeh bandook nikalenge aur mujhe maar daalenge. Meine kaha ki dailogue toh yaad hai lekin yeh jo dailgoue hai, yeh aapne nahi bataya ki iska characterisation kya hai ki yeh hero jo hai woh aapni maa ko batata hai ki main ek nachnewali se shaadi karna chahta hiu aur usko teri ghar ki bahu banana chahta hu. Meine kaha, aapne na character bataya maa ka, na hero ka ki bhai amir hai, garib hai, maa sakt, kadak hai, naram hai, middle class hai, aadmi pada likha anpad hai? Toh Chopra saab ne jhat se kaha ki aap theatre se ho? Haan ji. Main kaha, dilgoue toh aapne bheej diya ki kis tarah maa ko convince karna hai, dialogue bolna hai aapne characterisation nahin bataya, yeh toh koi stage ka actor hi bol sakta hai. To bole theek hai achcha hai tum koi aapna hi dailogue sunao. Ab kato toh khoon nahin, pasina chut raha tha. Meine kaha kya daigloue bolu, mere saamne sab bade bade log, inki sab picture 10-10 baar dekhe hai, produce-direct ki hui. Jo dailogue, jiski wajah se mein filmo mein aaya, mujhe GP Sippy ne chance diya 40 saal pehle, Haan mein Kalakar hu, Haan mein Kalakar hun, kya karoge meri kahani sunkar.
(My journey began with theater, I owe my success to the stage. This theater where it all began when I joined the film industry, I had no God Father, no relatives or family that I could turn too. I came into the movies through the United Producers Filmfare Talent contest. We were called to the Times of India in the presencen of celeberated filmmakers like Chopra saab, Bimal Roy , Shakti Samanta and many others. They asked me we had sent you a dialogue, did you memorise it? I was sitting in front of the table where they were seated and felt I was undergoing a courtmartial. I thought they would take a gun and fire at me. I said, "I know the dialogue but you haven't told me what's the characterisation of the person who is to narrate this dialogue. Is he the hero who is announcing to his mother that he plans to marry a dancer and maker her the daughter-in-law of the house? You haven't told me whether this hero is rich , poor, a villianou character or a pleasant fellow, is he from the middle class?" So, Mr Chopra said, "You are from the stage so make your own characterisation how will you convince the mother." I said this is not a dialogue for a stage actor to mouth, so he said then you chose your own dialogue. I was nervously sweating and anxious wondering which dialogue should I impress them with. I had seen their movies several times and this is the dialogue I said which took me towards stardom. The dialogue was Yes I am an artist , yes I am artist, why would you want to hear my story, the dialogue which began my story in cinema.)
Doston aap ka ek hissedar mein bhi hu aur jaise maine pehli bhi kaha ki aap apna kimti waqt nikalkar, aap ka yeh pyaar tha ki aap majood hue aur itni bhaari ssankhya mein..meine yehi kahunga ki bahut-bahut sukhriya, thank you aur mera bahut-bahut salaam.
(Friends, I'm a part of you, and as I said, you have all taken time out for me. This is the love, your presence in numbers that I'm greatful for, thank you, thank you my salaam to you all.)
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