Pune:
Whenever actor Rajesh Khanna died onscreen his mother used to curse the directors for the scenesas she could not bear to watch her son's onscreen death.
"What is it they are showing in these movies? I cannotwatch it," she used to tell her close friends.
Reminiscing his family's close association with theKhannas, Ramesh Bhatlekar said, "His mother Leelavati used togive vent to her feelings while talking to my mother, after herose to become a star. His screen deaths annoyed her."
Mr Khanna had spent a few months at Mr Bhatlekar's home duringhis two-year-long stint as a college student in the city.
The Bollywood icon became a heartthrob of millions in1960s and the 70s with his portrayal of a romantic hero andalso a tragic one in Anand, Safar and Baharon Ke Sapne.
The Khannas and the Bhatlekar family stayed in the samebuilding 'Saraswati Nivas' at Thakurdwar in Girgaum inMumbai.
"My father was a family doctor of Chunnilal Khanna,(Rajesh's father) and we grew together. Later, after passingthe matriculation board exam, I moved to Pune, where my fatherhad built a house on Apte Road in Deccan Gymkhana area," the70-year-old Ramesh Bhatlekar recalled talking to PTI.
"I took admission in Fergusson college for what wascalled 'pre-degree' (first year) in science stream. Rajesh'sfamily also decided to send him to Pune for the Arts course.
He however, landed late and could not get admission to thesame college. Finally, he enrolled in the Wadia College in thecity's camp area," he continued.
Rajesh was just 16-year-old when he came to Pune forcollege education and stayed with the Bhatlekars for a fewmonths in their bungalow, before arranging for an alternativeaccommodation in the vicinity of Wadia college, in Camp area,where he studied from 1959 to 1961 for his BA. That time, thename enrolled was Jatinder Chunnilal Khanna.
Asked about Khanna's stay with the Bhatlekar family,Ramesh Bhatlekar said, "We had a close association with the Khannafamily since our Mumbai days and therefore he was comfortablewith my mother and liked the Maharashtrian food at our home."
Rajesh went back to Mumbai after his first two years ofBachelor of Arts at Wadia and completed his graduation there.
"We used to play together in Girgaum in Mumbai. Even as ayoung boy, Rajesh, who had good looks with a pink complexion,always aspired to be an actor. Once he showed me a photographof his and told me with an innocent pride that he had sent itto Raj Kapoor asking him for a role in films," Bhatlekar said.
"He and his family were always very gracious andmaintained relations with us even after he became a star. Whenhe married Dimple Kapadia in 1973, Rajesh and his family invited usfor the wedding in Mumbai.
"Among the large assembly of guest celebrities, when henoticed my parents, he sent Premnath (the late actor) to takeus to the stage, where the newly-wed couple was seatedaccepting greetings...His mother- Leelavati- gifted atraditional saree to my mother on the occasion," Mr Bhatlekarsaid.
"What is it they are showing in these movies? I cannotwatch it," she used to tell her close friends.
Reminiscing his family's close association with theKhannas, Ramesh Bhatlekar said, "His mother Leelavati used togive vent to her feelings while talking to my mother, after herose to become a star. His screen deaths annoyed her."
Mr Khanna had spent a few months at Mr Bhatlekar's home duringhis two-year-long stint as a college student in the city.
The Bollywood icon became a heartthrob of millions in1960s and the 70s with his portrayal of a romantic hero andalso a tragic one in Anand, Safar and Baharon Ke Sapne.
The Khannas and the Bhatlekar family stayed in the samebuilding 'Saraswati Nivas' at Thakurdwar in Girgaum inMumbai.
"My father was a family doctor of Chunnilal Khanna,(Rajesh's father) and we grew together. Later, after passingthe matriculation board exam, I moved to Pune, where my fatherhad built a house on Apte Road in Deccan Gymkhana area," the70-year-old Ramesh Bhatlekar recalled talking to PTI.
"I took admission in Fergusson college for what wascalled 'pre-degree' (first year) in science stream. Rajesh'sfamily also decided to send him to Pune for the Arts course.
He however, landed late and could not get admission to thesame college. Finally, he enrolled in the Wadia College in thecity's camp area," he continued.
Rajesh was just 16-year-old when he came to Pune forcollege education and stayed with the Bhatlekars for a fewmonths in their bungalow, before arranging for an alternativeaccommodation in the vicinity of Wadia college, in Camp area,where he studied from 1959 to 1961 for his BA. That time, thename enrolled was Jatinder Chunnilal Khanna.
Asked about Khanna's stay with the Bhatlekar family,Ramesh Bhatlekar said, "We had a close association with the Khannafamily since our Mumbai days and therefore he was comfortablewith my mother and liked the Maharashtrian food at our home."
Rajesh went back to Mumbai after his first two years ofBachelor of Arts at Wadia and completed his graduation there.
"We used to play together in Girgaum in Mumbai. Even as ayoung boy, Rajesh, who had good looks with a pink complexion,always aspired to be an actor. Once he showed me a photographof his and told me with an innocent pride that he had sent itto Raj Kapoor asking him for a role in films," Bhatlekar said.
"He and his family were always very gracious andmaintained relations with us even after he became a star. Whenhe married Dimple Kapadia in 1973, Rajesh and his family invited usfor the wedding in Mumbai.
"Among the large assembly of guest celebrities, when henoticed my parents, he sent Premnath (the late actor) to takeus to the stage, where the newly-wed couple was seatedaccepting greetings...His mother- Leelavati- gifted atraditional saree to my mother on the occasion," Mr Bhatlekarsaid.
