2137th BLOG POST
5th Book of 2025
Being
a Bollywood fan, reading a book based on movies gives me the same excitement
and thrill as watching films. I always look out for books that speak about the
changes in cinema over the years or narrate the lives of popular figures
through biographies/autobiographies. This quest led me to Gautam Chintamani’s Dark
Star: The Loneliness of Being Rajesh Khanna, which has been re-published by
Rupa Publications after 10 years of its first launch. I never knew about this
book, but thanks to Rupa for bringing it into the spotlight once again.
Gautam,
as an author, has a wide range and vast experience, having written for years
across different forays covering everything from movies to politics. This was
my first opportunity to read his work, and I must say his writing style is
adapted to make the book a fast read. Even though the book is around 270 pages,
I never felt that any of the chapters or segments were stretched. He knows how
to keep you hooked by regularly changing gears and providing insights into
different aspects of the same topic.
The
author has written the book on Rajesh Khanna in a way that feels like a case
study, explaining how he struggled to find his first successful movie, then
moved towards the peak of his career with 15 consecutive hits, and finally
witnessed his career graph falling drastically, never reaching those heights
again. Generally, when a biographer chooses a personality, the writing is often
in awe of him/her, but this is one of the rarest books I’ve read where the
author remains completely neutral towards the subject. He talks about both his
good and bad aspects—professional and personal—very courageously, without
worrying about how it might be perceived by his family or fans.
Gautam
has covered his filmography, describing each movie and its story in detail,
which helps us understand the nature of films made in those days. He also
highlights how Rajesh Khanna came across as a completely soft, romantic hero
without borrowing traits from the then-hit actors like Dev Anand. Similarly,
after Amitabh Bachchan became a phenomenon in his ‘angry young man’ avatar,
which impacted Rajesh Khanna’s career immensely, the author has been able to
compare and discuss both these actors consistently throughout the narrative. At
one point, you do feel that Gautam is definitely a fan of Bachchan, given the
way he speaks so highly of him every time he mentions him. Haha!
One
thing that disappointed me was the non-coverage of Rajesh Khanna’s life as a
family man. You get all the details about his behavior off the sets—at home,
with colleagues, producers, directors, co-stars, and girlfriends—but you never
get an idea of how he was as a son, husband, father, or father-in-law. Since
the title of the book refers to him as a “Dark Star,” there must have been a
certain amount of darkness in his family life too, which should have been
covered.
Overall,
the book is written for the new generations who can only relive the era of
Bollywood in the 60s, 70s, and 80s through such stories, and this one helps in
understanding Bollywood’s first superstar—Rajesh Khanna. This is definitely a
page-turner, as you want to know what happens next with a personality like his,
someone who constantly tried to reach the heights he experienced right at the
start of his career. The author must be appreciated for even covering the last
phase of his life, diving deep into his final advertisement shoot for Havells
fans and his funeral, which was covered by the media as one of the big events
of our country. I would rate this book 3.75* out of 5.
Thanks!
WRITING BUDDHA
