This Rajesh Khanna movie was the first Bollywood movie to run for 100 days.

Rajesh Khanna has made a lasting impact on Bollywood throughout his impressive career. A pivotal moment in his film career came with Shakti Samanta’s ‘Aradhana’. The film not only became a huge success at the box office but also created history by becoming the first Hindi film to run for more than 100 days.

Four daily screenings of Aradhana were held in four states in northeast and south India where Hindi is not the main language. Impressively, the film ran for three years in South Indian theaters and achieved Platinum Jubilee status in the United States. The film sold a staggering 42 million tickets and grossed Rs 70 crore at the box office.

Aradhana, released on September 27, 1969, featured an all-star cast including Sharmila Tagore, Farida Jalal, and Madan Puri. Rajesh Khanna’s dual role as Air Force pilot Arun and his son Suraj Prasad Saxena in this film played a pivotal role in propelling him to stardom.

Aradhana’s music, especially the beloved song ‘Mere Sapno Ki Rani’, resonated deeply with the audience. Shot against the beautiful backdrop of the mountains of Darjeeling, the song gained immense popularity. Rajesh Khanna’s iconic head tilt and hand movements in this track became synonymous with the song and connected well with the audience. Soulful vocals by Kishore Kumar and music composition by his SD Burman further enhanced the overall success and cultural impact of the film.

After the success of ‘Aradhana’, Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore came into the limelight with other hit films like ‘Amar Prem’ and ‘Aavishkar’. However, their collaboration hit a snag when Sharmila Tagore decided to stop working with Rajesh Khanna due to chronic lateness on set. As revealed in the audiobook ‘Rajesh Khanna: Ek Thanha Sithara’, the actress expressed dissatisfaction with her habit of arriving at noon for 9am shoots and has discouraged other actors from future projects. I started to choose.