Rajesh Khanna: ‘Here was a Caesar’
In 1994, the Indian Air Force posted me from Mumbai to Coimbatore. The movement would have upset me and my family, but there was a shortage of qualified instructors; therefore my request for cancellation was not accepted by Air Force authorities. I know some very influential politicians, but I also know that their intervention is a strict taboo in the Air Force. Moving out of Mumbai was imminent when some film industry friends and I remembered our friend Rajesh Khanna.
Rajesh Khanna was a unique phenomenon. He was a politician and a film star with a huge fan following. He was an elected Member of Parliament then and it was widely believed that he would soon be included in the Union Cabinet. He enjoyed unique power over his admirers in all spheres of life; including the Indian Air Forces.
A phone call to Kaka ji, as he was lovingly addressed, was received with much affection and we soon landed in New Delhi.
The first two days were spent enjoying the warm and affectionate hospitality of the phenomenon called Rajesh Khanna, who was always busy with either politicians or with the rich, famous and attractive people of the capital.
In fact, all we did was eat some of the best food and drink some of the best liquor in the private company of Kaka ji after his newly found friends left him late in the evenings.
On the third day, we decided we would not tolerate his admirers’ invasion, and succeeded in cornering him alone towards the early evening at his Lodi Estate residence. Over a cup of piping hot tea, Kaka ji asked me to connect him to the Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Swaroop Krishan Kaul, at his residence. As the lines were connected, he took the phone from my hand.
Kaka ji: Kaul sahib,main Rajesh Khanna bol raha hoon.
Air Chief Marshal Kaul: Rajesh Khanna sahib!?
Kaka Ji: Kaul sahib, aadaab arz hai. Main Rajesh Khanna hi bol raha hoon!
ACM Kaul: Hamari khush kismati hai ki aapne yaad kiya. Hum to aap ki adakaari ke deewane hain.
Kaka Ji: Kaul sahib, bhai asli hero to aap hain. Hum aap ko aur aap ki bahaduri ko salaam karte hain. Fan to hum hain aap ke!
ACM Kaul: Farmaaiye, aap ne kaise yaad kiya.
Kaka ji: Sir, hamein aapse ek favour darker hai.
ACM Kaul: Bhai hamein khushi hogi agar hum aap ke kisi kaam aa sakein. Farmaiye, main aap ki kya khidmat kar sakta hoon.
Kaka ji: Sir, hamara ek chhota bhai hai jo Bambaii mein Air Force ki khidmat kar raha hai. Aap ne uski posting Bambaii se bahar kar di hai. Is se use aur hum sab ko bhi takleef hui hai.
ACM Kaul: Postings mein to hum dakhal nahin dete, lekin hum aap ko inkar bhi nahin kar sakte…
Kaka ji: Sir, hamari ye guzaarish…
ACM Kaul: Aap ki baat sar aankhon par, Khanna sahib. Lekin hamari bhi ek guzarish hai aap se.
Kaka ji: Laale ki Jaan, hukam kijiye.
ACM Kaul: Bhai, hamare alaawa bhi hamare ghar mein aapke bahut se fans maujood hain Yeh sub aapse milna chaahenge. Aap ko hamare ghar chai par aana…
Kaka ji: Kaul sahib, chai kya cheez hai, hum to khana khane aayenge!
ACM Kaul: To yeh vaada raha. Main posting rokne ke liye abhiinstructions de doonga.
Kaka ji: Sir, aap ne to hamein khared liya hai, Kaul sahib! Tussi chha gaye ho Kaul sahib!
Thereafter Kaka ji passed on my details to the Air Chief. The incident speaks volumes of the love and affection Rajesh Khanna enjoyed as a film artiste.
We later celebrated the evening with lots and lots of scotch and the next morning I returned to Mumbai where the posting cancellation orders were already received!
Officers in the Armed Forces are never affected by popularity or the position of politicians, leave alone mere film stars. But, then again, Kaka ji was an exception. He enjoyed a unique position in the hearts of his admirers. Here was a Caesar; when comes such another?
The writer is a retired officer from the Indian Air Force and presently heads the legal set-up of Adlabs Entertainment Limited, Mumbai
Published in The Express Tribune, July 20th, 2012.
COMMENTS (26)
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@psr sastry:
Don't you think there must some other IAF person who did not know Rajesh Khanna or his types had to leave Mumbai? Poor guy!!!
The story speaks about the influence and magnanimity of rajesh khanna. there is no element of corruption in this issue. Do not make a mountain out of a mole hill. Please respect the departed soul.
It is no corruption to stay some extra time at a particular place and serve the organisation well with all your heart and soul. This particular incident at best can be , perhaps, described as favor that did no harm to the IAF. There was no war in progress or in the offing where the officer was required. How does it matter whether the officer served in Mumbai or elsewhere; he was still serving the IAF. If an officer can be made comfortable at a particular place, within the norms of the air force, he will certainly put in better quality of work because he will be at peace with himself and with the world around. Let us not forget that in the Services, many a times, postings are used / misused as a weapon of torture and personal vendetta also....who knows if this particular posting too was such a case? In any case, the incident simply underlines the popularity and respect Rajesh Khanna enjoyed. Where iss the element of corruption in this?Let us not read too much in such incidents. this is my humble opinion
@Rajendra Kalkhande: It does not surprise me,anything rotten happening in our part of the world. @A.K.Nanda,you are remarkable,the Nagarwala incident and State Bank of India handing over (I forget the exact amount),money simply because P.M. Indira Gandhi called.What happened to that scam?Nothing,hushed up.These people have some nerve to brag about blatant influence peddling,Sir,Have you no Shame?
@A K Nanda: "Now god bless (or save) Adlabs!" I am really shocked how a person heading the legal set-up of a limited company can write such an article in which he openly admits of influencing the government machinery to stop his transfer. Doesn't head of a legal set-up know that his actions were illegal ? If he doesn't know even this much, certainly God save ADLABS.
"The writer is a retired officer from the Indian Air Force and presently heads the legal set-up of Adlabs Entertainment Limited, Mumbai"
Highlighted portion above seems to tell it all. Will this author like to tell how he landed up from the Indian Air Force to the entertainment industry? Was it once again Rajesh Khanna or some of his Bollywood Friend who extended the helping hand? Or was it that the author had some business interests in Mumbai and therefore could not move over to Coimbtore. Anyway nothing so new about such things in India. We hear them everyday.
What a shame and disgrace to the IAF!!! Certainly does'nt say much about the ACM either, who incredibly got taken in by a "voice on the phone-line" as if it was the "voice of god"!!!!!
No wonder this country had sufferred a "Nagarvala Incident" in the past when a phone-call made Nagarvala hand over so much cash from the coffers of SBI. Simply the Modus Operandi of Scamsters; and there so many in India.
As an Ex-Serviceman, i feel disgusted to know that such kinds of people walked around in uniform. Hopefully the protagonist (Anil Sehgal) must have "time-scaled" out of the IAF. Like a certain Flt.Lt. Suresh Kalmadi did.
Now god bless (or save) Adlabs!
@Sri...can't say it better...
Writer: He used his political connection..he could have solved it internally with IAF even he had family issues...
Rajesh Khanna: Being a public servant at that time..should not had intervened...whatever the stakes...
ACM: facepalm
@Vineet: You are wrong, herecrow does not become cucku,if you say so.It you who is selective and presumptious and cynical.Nice day
The write shamelessly admits using Rajesh Khanna's influence to stall his transfer. The IAF/Govt of India should take coginizance of this admission of guilt and cut his pension and other benefits. This actually does not speak much about Rajesh Khanna's ability to make decisions. He should have told the writer that as an MP he will not intervene in the administrative and personal matters of the armed forces and as a disciplined member of the armed forces the writer is expected to take charge wherever he is posted.
The less said the better about ACM - It is truly disgusting that he chose to intervene in the administrative matters of the IAF just because of a phone call from Rajesh Khanna.
@Ashutosh Sharma:
"... Such comments give an impression that the ORIGINAL SUPERSTAR OF BOLLYWOOD was a childlike naïve .."
Fault lies not with Rajesh Khanna. It lies partly with the writer Anil Sehgal, but being the senior of the two it lies mostly with ACM Swaroop Krishan Kaul. The starstruck man cancelled the transfer over a mere phone call just for the sake of a tea with a star-actor! Doesn't speak highly of IAF, does it now?
Criticizing the writer who has been Rajesh Khanna’s friend does not make any sense here. Such comments give an impression that the ORIGINAL SUPERSTAR OF BOLLYWOOD was a childlike naïve who could easily be hoodwinked into committing any blunder regardless of his own conscience. Grow up dudes…!! It’s a sheer myth that Mumbai is a better place than Coimbatore……..and those who have been crying foul need to read the opening paragraph of the article in which the writer honestly puts in : “The movement would have upset my family.” Who can say what the writer was possibly going through at that point of time……Have we forgotten the old saying : A friend in need is a friend in deed…….the write-up is a beautiful tribute to Kaka by his humble friend in the same spirit.
I think the writer has only been kind enough to convey the magnanimity of the late kakaji – I was only pleasantly surprised to learn that he could go to such lengths for the well-being and welfare of his friends, and I have heard quite a few ones – but very few like this. I believe we should not be so judgemental about the workings of a reputed institution like the Air Force – as the writer himself points out that it was not even corruptible at the hands of heavyweight politicians ( which is no mean feat) and the ACM at the time only did it knowing well his job and his accountability – it is rather unfortunate that we are so quick to presumptions and so cynical about everything related to the government and defence forces.
Loved Rajesh Khanna! He was my hero, we will miss him very much.
IAF should take notice of this immediately and take the appropriate action against the culprits.
An article about an indian written by an indian in a Pakistani newspaper and all the commentators are indian bashing their own country... what is wrong with you ET?
Yes, admittedly, this does not give a good picture, probably owing to the style of narration.
But what if you learned that the officer was required in Mumbai, much needed here as well. The shortage of instructors was in Mumbai as well.
He has a good history of incorruptibility and 'social work', whose effect spans more than that of the respondents here. Let's not be so presumptuous.
Relax. It was a non compulsory transfer. We have faced these often in our lives. Not everything is seen under bracket of corruption. This officer has spent much time in rural India. More than you require. So he can afford to make light of one incident.
From - A former colleague and friend.
This is what happens when even your conscience has had a slow death. You write and advertise incidents which should in reality have been a source of shame for you!
It is interesting and most heartening to note that the Indian Airforce can choose not to post a much needed instructor at the call of a bollywood figure! Go figure!
I support Pankaj. There could have been better tribute to Rajesh Khanna who gave us lots of happiness over the years.
This is how India is run. A former air force Officer is not alone when it comes to postings. No Indian wants to be posted outside big cities. No wonder rural India is suffering at all accounts. Most shameful part is how proud this former Air Force officer feels while narrating this incidence. He is not alone. Almost 99% educated people are like him. Forget about working in rural areas, government officials don't even visit villages to find out as to what all is happening there. Mind you Coimbatore is a big well developed city. This is our national character and I see no hopes of any improvements. Our shameful politicians are always ready to oblige.
Shame on you. People like you are disgrace to IAF. On the top of that you guys killed him with heavy drinking.
This is the problem we South Asians have. Common people suffer and corrupted people with political influence now a days do not even get embarrassed by talking about corruption they indulged in. You could have kept you mouth shut for the sake of Rajesh Khanna because it isbe difficult to speak ill or criticize dead people.
absolutely shameful, using rajesh khanna for writers corrupt practices.worst is that he is proud of it,he is narrating the story with great pride. shame shame shame
what a shame !!