Multiple people have jumped on board a petition to see Madame Tussauds Museum recreate Bollywood icon Rajesh Khanna, known as ‘India’s First Superstar.’
Khanna’s first claim to fame was back in 1965 when the then 23-year-old came first and won the United Producers All India Talent Contest, beating out 10,000 contestants.
Four years later, he hit stardom with Shakti Samantha’s ‘Aradhana’ which won Best Film of the Year by the Filmfare Awards. His films were back to back hits, and each time, his popularity exploded even more. A record setter and breaker in Hindi cinema, Khanna scored 15 consecutive solo super hits between 1969 and 1972- a record none have come close to breaking even till today.
Throughout his lifetime, the Bollywood legend appeared in 163 feature films, starring as the main hero in 160 of them. He was nominated for 14 Filmfare Best Actor Awards, winning 3 of them and was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement award and IIFA Lifetime Achievement award.
Currently, Madam Tussauds has a wide range of Bollywood stars on show: Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, Hrithik Roshan, Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit-Nene and more.
The petition, which went live on December 4th, has since received 148 signatures from people all over the world, including actress Anju Mahendru, best known for starring in Kohi Apna Sa.
One commenter, Rajiv Kalra from Mumbai, said: “Stars will come and go…actors will come and go…but there cannot be another superstar…Rajesh Khanna…miss you.”
