Photographs: Pradeep Bandekar Patcy N, Sonil Dedhia in Mumbai
Rajesh Khanna's funeral procession was truly one of a kind.
Very rarely have we seen so many people turn up to get a final glimpse of the superstar they loved, and to say goodbye.
Thousands of fans thronged the venues, both his home and the crematorium, and showered flowers on the glass casket containing his body.
Even with heavy police arrangements to contain the crowds, people went beserk outside Pavan Hans, the crematorium. There was stampede, lathi charge and long traffic jams.
Yet, fans stayed on to mourn India's first superstar.
PIX: Fans bid goodbye to Rajesh Khanna
Photographs: Sahil Salvi
Farida, a housewife from Sion, left her home at 10am to attend the funeral. Huge traffic jams made it necessary for her to walk down a long way.
Farida's son is an even bigger fan. Despite being ill, he wanted to see Khanna's last journey, and accompanied his mother on Thursday.
Sadly, they could not actually see Khanna.
Farida loves all of Rajesh Khanna films but her personal favourite is Anand. She especially loves the dying scene at the end.
'Without you, India is incomplete'
Photographs: Pradeep Bandekar
Syed Babu Shaikh from Andheri is a huge fan.
He has been following the star ever since he got hospitalised for the first time but had not been able to get a glimpse.
He carried a poster with him, which read: 'Aap ke bina Bharat desh adhura.' (Without you, India is incomplete).
He took the poster and a garland to Khanna's home Aashiwad on Wednesday but did not get an opportunity to garland the star due to the strict police arrangements.
Shaikh is so crazy about Khanna that he has photographs of the actor at home. His favourite song is Mere Sapno Ki Rani from Aardhana.
PIX: Fans bid goodbye to Rajesh Khanna
Photographs: Sonil Dedhia
In his desperation to get a glimpse of Rajesh Khanna, Mohammed Rafique ran behind the truck containing Khanna's body as it left Ashirwad.
Later, a plastic sheet covering the casket flew away, and into Rafique's hand. He claims he will always keep it in memory of the actor.
PIX: Fans bid goodbye to Rajesh Khanna
Photographs: Sonil Dedhia
Vasudev Ghashani came all the way from Thane to get a final glimpse of the actor.
He claims he had met the superstar 32 years ago.
"I had met him during the shooting of Sachaa Jhootha (1970). He was a very good man. I loved his performance in Anand. He made people realise how to live life in spite of so many problems." he said.
PIX: Fans bid goodbye to Rajesh Khanna
Photographs: Pradeep Bandekar
Pradeep Agnihotri left his house in Vasai at 6 am in order to reach Bandra on time to pay his last respects.
He followed the funeral procession to the Pawan Hans crematorium.
He was one of the luckier fans, who actually met the superstar six months ago. "I had gone to his residence and managed to bribe the help to let me stand in the compound. After some time, Rajesh Khanna came out of his house, accompanied with Dimple Kapadia. He waved and smiled at me, as he made his way to the hospital."
He adds: "I don't think anyone can come close to Rajesh Khanna, not even Amitabh Bachchan. Rajesh Khanna will always remain the biggest superstar India has ever seen."
PIX: Fans bid goodbye to Rajesh Khanna
Photographs: Sahil Salvi
People also came from Ahmedabad and Surat, in Gujarat, to attend the funeral!
Kushal Singh, who led one such group, said Rajesh Khanna was a real superstar. "I like Rajesh Khanna's style, his emotions, and his dialogue delivery," he said.
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