Rajesh, Pancham and Kishore were a lethal combination: Anupam

Recalling the magic of Rajesh Khanna's films, actor Anupam Kher says that other than the superstar's charm, his teaming up with musical duo - composer R.D. Burman and singer Kishore Kumar - contributed in making them bigger and better.

"I think Rajesh Khanna's films were not just his films but they also included R.D. Burman and Kishore Kumar. So it was a very lethal combination," the 57-year-old said here Thursday at the launch of author Komal Mehta's book "Nick of Time."

The songs "Roop tera mastana" and "Mere sapno ki rani" from the film "Aradhana" saw the trio come together for the first time. R.D. had to finish the film's sound track after his father, legendary composer S.D. Burman, fell ill.

Later with films like "Kati Patang", "Amar Prem", "Mere Jeevan Saathi", and "Aap Ki Kasam" saw Rajesh, R.D. and Kishore work magic together.

"Right from 'Aradhana', 'Haathi Mere Saathi,' I can count a lot of his films," he added.

Bollywood's first superstar Rajesh Khanna is not keeping well. He was hospitalised June 23 and is likely to be discharged in a day or two.

Anupam, who worked with Kaka (Rajesh Khanna's nick name) in "Vijay", said: "Rajesh Khannaji is a part of our youth and belongs to the era that taught us about romance. He also portrayed different aspects of acting. He is the first superstar and I pray to god that he has a long and healthy life."

Anupam won Filmfare for the best supporting actor for his role in "Vijay".

Remembering his first meeting with the ailing superstar, he said: "I saw him for the first time when he was shooting for 'Kudrat' in Shimla. There are millions of his films I can talk about."