Long before December 1999, when the UNESCO conferred world heritage site status to the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the 'toy train' had enjoyed its four minutes of fame in the love anthem called 'mere sapno ki rani kab aayegi tu'. It had also given the nascent concept of Brand Bengal its first ambassador and Bollywood its first superstar - Rajesh Khanna.
The spark called 'Aradhana', the 1969 film that lit this romance, burned as strongly in Khanna's heart 43 years later. This January, when he came to Kolkata to attend a felicitation ceremony at Nazrul Manch, the first question he asked was about Darjeeling. "How are the people of Darjeeling? Do they still carry that smile? I want to visit Darjeeling again before I leave the world," he told Rajesh Rajak, general manager of Anand Palace hotel in Darjeeling, who went to the airport to receive him.
On Tuesday, as news of his death reached the hill station, it found it difficult to carry that smile. The anguish at Khanna's demise and his unfulfilled wish brought tears easily to the eyes of fans spanning three generations.
As YouTube videos, DVDs plucked from archives and news channels revived the image of the singing superhero wooing his lady love -the heartbreakingly beautiful Sharmila Tagore - from an open-top Willis jeep on Hill Cart Road with the 'toy train' chugging languidly alongside, older residents of Darjeeling recalled the frenzy during the shooting of 'mere sapnon ki rani kab aayegi tu'.
"Kaka was a superstar from the moment he landed in the Darjeeling hills. The women went crazy at his very sight while the boys tried to impress them by sporting his hairdo and flair pants," said a 65-year-old schoolteacher. They couldn't believe their luck when Khanna was back among them eight years later, in 1977, to shoot for 'Anurodh', Shakti Samanta's remake of the Uttam Kumar classic 'Deya Neya'. Darjeeling went euphoric, especially the women, whose hearts still skip a beat at the sight of the dashing IAF pilot Arun Kumar, the character Khanna played in 'Aradhana'.
Another resident recalled how most women began reading Alistair Mclean those days, taking a cue from Vandana Tripathi - played by Sharmila Tagore - who hides her blushes behind a book by the author as Arun courts her in the irresistible voice of Kishore Kumar and the music of Sachin Dev Burman while the toy train crosses Batasia Loop in 'mere sapnon ki rani'.
Rajak, who rode with the legend for almost an hour during the journey from Kolkata airport to Nazrul Manch in January, said Khanna also inquired about the state of Mt Everest hotel, where some of the scenes were shot, the Kanchenjunga, which forms the backdrop of 'mere sapnon ki rani', the Batasia Loop and the tea gardens.
"We felt his stardom during his visit for the shoot in the Hills. I couldn't go to see the shoot of 'mere sapnon ki rani' but I remember the hysteria when he returned for 'Anurodh'," said Durga Kharel, a lawyer by profession and also a singer.
The song that made the 'toy train' famous was actually shot in Mahanadi, Ghayabari and Tindharia in the Kurseong sub-division and not in Darjeeling main, as is the popular belief. "The Kurseong railway station was the last stop. That's where 'mere sapni ki rani' ends," Kharel recalled.
The song was also one of the first instances of synchronization as Sharmila wasn't present during Khanna's shoot because she had given her dates for Satyajit Ray's 'Aranyer Din Ratri', film historians said on Tuesday.
Dhanraj Tamang, now in his late '60s, said it was difficult to get a ticket for an 'RK' film at a theatre in the Hills. "I remember buying tickets in black. I used to get four anna pocket money from which I spent 10 paisa on tiffin and the rest to buy an RK movie ticket at Rink Hall," he says.
The Himalayan Kalakar Kendra and the Darjeeling Kalakar Sangathan condoled Khanna's death, saying it would leave a permanent void in the film industry.
The spark called 'Aradhana', the 1969 film that lit this romance, burned as strongly in Khanna's heart 43 years later. This January, when he came to Kolkata to attend a felicitation ceremony at Nazrul Manch, the first question he asked was about Darjeeling. "How are the people of Darjeeling? Do they still carry that smile? I want to visit Darjeeling again before I leave the world," he told Rajesh Rajak, general manager of Anand Palace hotel in Darjeeling, who went to the airport to receive him.
On Tuesday, as news of his death reached the hill station, it found it difficult to carry that smile. The anguish at Khanna's demise and his unfulfilled wish brought tears easily to the eyes of fans spanning three generations.
As YouTube videos, DVDs plucked from archives and news channels revived the image of the singing superhero wooing his lady love -the heartbreakingly beautiful Sharmila Tagore - from an open-top Willis jeep on Hill Cart Road with the 'toy train' chugging languidly alongside, older residents of Darjeeling recalled the frenzy during the shooting of 'mere sapnon ki rani kab aayegi tu'.
"Kaka was a superstar from the moment he landed in the Darjeeling hills. The women went crazy at his very sight while the boys tried to impress them by sporting his hairdo and flair pants," said a 65-year-old schoolteacher. They couldn't believe their luck when Khanna was back among them eight years later, in 1977, to shoot for 'Anurodh', Shakti Samanta's remake of the Uttam Kumar classic 'Deya Neya'. Darjeeling went euphoric, especially the women, whose hearts still skip a beat at the sight of the dashing IAF pilot Arun Kumar, the character Khanna played in 'Aradhana'.
Another resident recalled how most women began reading Alistair Mclean those days, taking a cue from Vandana Tripathi - played by Sharmila Tagore - who hides her blushes behind a book by the author as Arun courts her in the irresistible voice of Kishore Kumar and the music of Sachin Dev Burman while the toy train crosses Batasia Loop in 'mere sapnon ki rani'.
Rajak, who rode with the legend for almost an hour during the journey from Kolkata airport to Nazrul Manch in January, said Khanna also inquired about the state of Mt Everest hotel, where some of the scenes were shot, the Kanchenjunga, which forms the backdrop of 'mere sapnon ki rani', the Batasia Loop and the tea gardens.
"We felt his stardom during his visit for the shoot in the Hills. I couldn't go to see the shoot of 'mere sapnon ki rani' but I remember the hysteria when he returned for 'Anurodh'," said Durga Kharel, a lawyer by profession and also a singer.
The song that made the 'toy train' famous was actually shot in Mahanadi, Ghayabari and Tindharia in the Kurseong sub-division and not in Darjeeling main, as is the popular belief. "The Kurseong railway station was the last stop. That's where 'mere sapni ki rani' ends," Kharel recalled.
The song was also one of the first instances of synchronization as Sharmila wasn't present during Khanna's shoot because she had given her dates for Satyajit Ray's 'Aranyer Din Ratri', film historians said on Tuesday.
Dhanraj Tamang, now in his late '60s, said it was difficult to get a ticket for an 'RK' film at a theatre in the Hills. "I remember buying tickets in black. I used to get four anna pocket money from which I spent 10 paisa on tiffin and the rest to buy an RK movie ticket at Rink Hall," he says.
The Himalayan Kalakar Kendra and the Darjeeling Kalakar Sangathan condoled Khanna's death, saying it would leave a permanent void in the film industry.
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