The golden era of Hindi cinema witnessed remarkable shifts in stardom, success, and human behavior, and veteran music composer Anandji Virji Shah of the famous Kalyanji-Anandji duo recently reflected on those contrasting times.
In a candid interaction, the 93-year-old music maestro looked back at the incredible rise of India’s first superstar, Rajesh Khanna, while opening up about how sudden fame changed the late actor’s personality.
Anandji shared how his duo had actively supported Rajesh Khanna during his initial days in the film industry, even recommending him to top producers. However, as Khanna tasted unmatched superstardom with back-to-back hit films, his attitude shifted significantly. According to Anandji, the actor who once respectfully addressed him as sir gradually began expecting people to stand up and bow in his presence whenever he entered a set or room. The veteran composer revealed that Khanna fell into heavy drinking habits, developed immense arrogance, and started throwing tantrums during film shoots.
Recalling a specific incident from the 1972 film Joru Ka Ghulam, Anandji shared how Rajesh Khanna had attended a song recording with enthusiasm but later created a scene on set, flatly refusing to shoot the sequence.
Anandji was left irritated by the unprofessional behavior and advised the makers to simply edit the song out if the star was unwilling to perform. On another occasion during the making of Dushman, Khanna called Anandji to discuss a track, whistled a tune, and casually walked off, leaving the music director completely baffled about the actor’s interference in musical direction.
Furious at his growing ego, Anandji directly confronted the superstar back then, warning him that his prime days were nearing an end because success had made him lose his humility. Years later, after Khanna experienced a career slump, the two met again, and the actor lightheartedly asked if Anandji’s anger had cooled down, to which the legendary composer calmly replied that the decline he had warned about had already taken place.
In sharp contrast to Rajesh Khanna’s turbulent relationship with fame, Anandji praised megastar Amitabh Bachchan for maintaining his humility throughout his career. Even after enduring several initial box-office flops before achieving massive success with Zanjeer in 1973, Bachchan never allowed fame to alter his respectful demeanor.
Anandji highlighted that Amitabh Bachchan always treated his craft with the discipline of a dedicated student, never arguing with directors or demanding special treatment on set despite becoming one of the biggest legends of Indian cinema. The veteran music director noted that this rare ability to remain grounded under the weight of immense success is precisely what set Big B apart from his contemporaries.
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