#Review: Dark Star by Gautam Chintamani
Dark Star: The Loneliness of Being Rajesh Khanna
Author: Gautam Chintamani
Publisher: Rupa Publications
Rating: 4/5
Reading Dark Star was like being taken on a bittersweet journey through a chapter of Indian cinema that is as dazzling as it is melancholic. As someone who grew up hearing about the legend of Rajesh Khanna from my parents—about his magical screen presence, the inexplicable frenzy he evoked—I was drawn to this book with curiosity, if not nostalgia.
Gautam Chintamani does a commendable job of capturing both the glory and the gloom of Khanna’s life. The book’s strength lies in its tone—neither hagiographic nor cruel. It treads a careful line, neither romanticising his superstardom nor trivialising his decline. I particularly appreciated how the author didn’t just focus on Khanna’s box-office numbers, but also explored the cultural moment he embodied: the early ’70s, when India needed escape, charm, and fantasy—and Khanna delivered, almost effortlessly.
The anecdotes are the real treasure here. The stories of fans writing him letters in blood or treating him like a divine figure after Haathi Mere Saathi could have sounded absurd, but Chintamani presents them with restraint and empathy, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions about the cost of living inside a myth.
That said, there were moments where I felt the narrative dipped into repetition, especially in the second half. The author circles back often to Khanna’s loneliness and ego, but I wished there had been more concrete insight into his inner life—his choices, regrets, or reflections in his later years. The book raises important questions about the nature of fame, but stops short of delving deeper into the psyche of the man who bore its full burden.
Despite that, Dark Star is a compelling read. It’s both a tribute and a cautionary tale. It left me thinking about how stardom can consume the very person it elevates—and how, in Rajesh Khanna’s case, it built a golden cage from which there was no easy exit.
Find the book here.
