This was the first Hindi film to dominate theaters for 100 days

Rajesh Khanna is one of the most accomplished actors in Indian cinema and has left a lasting impact on Bollywood with his impressive career. His film journey took a surprising turn with the release of Shakti Samanta’s film Aradhana. The film not only achieved a golden run at the box office, but also made history as the first Hindi film to successfully run for more than 100 days.

In the non-Hindi speaking areas of northeastern India and four southern Indian states, Aradhana performed four shows a day. Remarkably, the film ran for three years in theaters across South India and achieved Platinum Jubilee status in the United States. According to reports, a staggering 42 million tickets were sold and the box office revenue reached Rs 7 billion. ‘Aradhana’ was released on his September 27, 1969 and had an all-star cast including Sharmila Tagore, Farida Jalal and Madanpuri. In this film, Rajesh Khanna played the dual roles of her husband (Air Force pilot Arun) and her son (Suraj Prasad Saxena), roles that catapulted him to stardom.

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The music of ‘Aradhana’ especially the popular song ‘Mere Sapno Ki Rani’ struck a chord with the audience. Shot in the picturesque mountains of Darjeeling, the song gained immense popularity. Rajesh Khanna’s signature head tilt and hand movements on this track became iconic and resonated with the audience. The song’s soulful vocals were given by Kishore Kumar and the music was composed by Sachin Dev Burman, further increasing the overall success and cultural impact of the film.

In addition to ‘Aradhana’, Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore also collaborated successfully in several other hit films such as ‘Amar Prem’ and ‘Aavishkar’. However, at some point Sharmila Tagore decided not to work with Rajesh Khanna. This revelation was made in the audiobook ‘Rajesh Khanna: Ek Tanha Sitara’. Sharmila Tagore explained that their on-screen duo was very popular. Despite the success of their collaboration, she was frustrated by Rajesh Khanna’s chronic tardiness. His habit of arriving at noon for a 9 a.m. filming shift ultimately led to the decision that he would be better off working with other actors.

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