December 29th marks the birthday of an eminent father-daughter duo, late Rajesh Khanna and Twinkle Jatin Khanna.

Rajesh Khanna, better known as the original king of romance or the first super star of Hindi cinema, was born in 1942 in Punjab. Though his real name was Jatin, he came to be known as Rajesh Khanna by the whole world. He acted in a total of 180 films which consisted of 163 feature films and 17 short films. For his breathtaking performances, he received numerous awards throughout his career, including the prestigious Filmfare award for Best Actor thrice and the BFJA awards for Best Actor four times. Rajeshji made his debut to silver screen with Aakhri Khat in 1966, but truly rose to fame with films like Raaz, Baharon Ke Sapne, Ittefaq and Aradhana. With more than 35 of his films turning silver jubilee hits, he became one of the most celebrated and highly paid actors of tinsel town. After a few years of acting, he turned producer and then a politician in 1992. Khanna was married to Bollywood actress Dimple Kapadia with whom he has two daughters, actresses Twinkle Khanna and Rinke Khanna. He was awarded with a Filmfare lifetime achievement award before he left us. This 69 year old actor breathed his last on the 18th of July, 2012 due to a critical illness, bringing an end to the era of romance.

The most beautiful coincidence is that Khanna shares his birthday with his elder daughter, Twinkle Khanna, who turns 39 this year. Having such well established and successful parents in Rajesh in Dimple, Twinkle made a fairly easy entry into Bollywood and opposite Bobby Deol in her much successful debut movie Barsaat. The film did quite well at the box-office and the actress went on to do many more films with numerous actors including with husband Akshay Kumar. Her notable films include Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai, Badshah and Mela.Though her career was moving at a smooth pace, she chose to settle down with Akshay Kumar in 2001 and essentially retired from the industry. Post their wedding, Twinkle started working as an interior designer and opened her own interior shop in Mumbai. Presently, she is seen in commercials like Micromax along with her husband Akshay Kumar. She has even produced a few films that he has starred in. Twinkle is a happily married woman and mother of 2 kids, a 10 year old son named Aarav and daughter Nitara born earlier this year.

BollyCurry wishes Rajesh Khanna and Twinkle Khanna a very happy birthday and prays that Rajeshji's soul rests in peace, while Twinkle acquires much happiness and prosperity in life.

Author: Siona M.
Editors: Komal P. & Gunia M.
Graphics: Pooja A.