Filmmaker Ketan Anand, son of the late Chetan Anand, recently reflected on how superstardom can often become a burden rather than a blessing. Using Rajesh Khanna’s career as an example, Ketan spoke about how his father believed that success is far more difficult to navigate than failure.Speaking on the Unheard Tales Podcast, Ketan said, “Look what happened to Rajesh Khanna. He would have been a total legend in his own time, he was, for a few years. His first film was Aakhri Khat, with my father. He got his break with my father. My father always wanted new people.”
‘I don’t work with stars, I work with actors’
Ketan recalled that once Rajesh Khanna rose to superstardom, Chetan Anand consciously chose not to collaborate with him, despite being questioned about the decision repeatedly.“When he became a big hit, dad was not working with him. People used to come to him and say, ‘Aapka hero hai, aap uske saath kaam kyun nahi karte?’ (He is your hero, why don’t you work with him?) Dad said, ‘I don’t work with stars, I work with actors. Jab usko zaroorat padegi woh wapas aayega (When he needs me, he will come back),’” Ketan said.
The reunion that led to Kudrat
Years later, after experiencing both the highs of superstardom and its eventual decline, Rajesh Khanna did return to work with Chetan Anand. Their reunion resulted in Kudrat, a film that went on to receive widespread acclaim and is still regarded as one of their finest collaborations. “And he did come back towards the end of his career. They did a film together called Kudrat. What a beautiful film that was,” Ketan added.
