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In the 70s, there was one name that truly ruled supreme in Bollywood, and that is none other than the true King of Bollywood, superstar Rajesh Khanna. To date no one has been able to reach the heights of fame and popularity that he has. He was a great influence on many people. There are many who have grown up watching him on-screen, including cinematographer-turned-director Laxman Utekar who has made sure to include a Rajesh Khanna angle in his Marathi directorial debut film TAPAAL. While the film mainly revolves around the bond between a childless couple and a small boy, it also highlights the young boy’s love life, which is inspired by the late superstar.
Ask Laxman whose idea was it to include Rajesh Khanna angle and he says,
“Rajesh Khanna angle was written by Mangesh Hadawale. 1970s was ruled by Rajesh Khanna. People who would work in the cities would return back to village during their holidays and would dress up in Rajesh Khanna style. They used to show off. I have seen that in my childhood. So that is how the idea of including a Rajesh Khanna angle cropped up.”
Interestingly, the Rajesh Khanna angle is used by the protagonist Rohit Utekar to impress the girl he loves. Probe Laxman, whether he has done something of this sort in his childhood and he clarifies,
“I haven’t done something like this. But Rohit Utekar has done it.”
Quips Laxman,
“When I asked Rohit jokingly whether he has fallen in love with someone, his friends and teachers revealed that when he was 10 years old, he had proposed an 8 year old girl in his school by writing ‘I love you’ on a ‘chawal ki roti’. When the teacher caught him, she beat him up.”
Produced by Maitreya Mass Media and distributed by Pickle Entertainment, the film stars the likes of Nandu Madhav, Veena Jamkar, Milind Gunaji, Urmila Kanetkar and introducing Rohit Utekar, TAPAAL is all set to release on 26th September 2014.
