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Long before SRK, Rajesh Khanna a.k.a Kaka, was the face of celluloid romance for generations of women through his suave and nuanced performances. On his birthday, we look back at 8 of his most iconic movies.

“Babumoshai, zindagi badi honi chahiye… lambi nahi.” (Life should be big… not long). With these words, Anand, Rajesh Khanna’s terminally ill protagonist of the eponymously named 1971 film became the perfect desi embodiment of joie de vivre. Khanna infused a certain nonchalant charm and flamboyance in the character. His Anand is larger-than-life, goofy, boisterous, and prone to theatrics, yet immensely awe-inspiring.

Shakti Samanta’s Anand was not battling cancer, but something far more insidious - a crumbling marriage and social stigma. Khanna essayed the role of a wealthy businessman who turns to a courtesan for love. Khanna did not have the starring role in the movie (it was centred more on the trials and tribulations of Pushpa the golden-hearted prostitute) but the most memorable line “Pushpa I hate tears!” belonged to him.

Khanna played the double role of father and son in this Shakti Samanta film. The movie was an official remake of the Hollywood movie ‘To Each His Own’. The movie gave us some chartbusters like ‘Mere Sapno Ki Rani’, ‘Roop Tera Mastana’ etc. The film is memorable for the sizzling on-screen chemistry between Sharmila Tagore and Khanna.

Khanna played a mischievous chef who cooks up some household dramas (along with lip-smacking food) in this whimsical Hrishikesh Mukherjee family drama. He puts up an electrifying performance as Raghu the lively, inquisitive chatterbox who can whip up conversations and chapatis with ease.

This Yash Chopra directorial saw Khanna in a new avatar. With no songs and no romantic sub-plots, the mystery-thriller was a movie ahead of its time. Khanna produces a plausible performance as Dilip Roy, a painter accused of murdering his wife who races against time to prove his innocence.

Directed by Yash Chopra, this movie was an official adaptation of the Thomas Hardy novel ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’. Khanna puts up a moving performance as Sunil Kohli, a man who is conflicted between love and duty.

If Hollywood had ‘Lassie Come Home’, then Bollywood had its very own iconic ‘animals make the best BFF’ movie in the form of ‘Haathi Mere Saathi’. Khanna shone in the role of Raju an impoverished orphan who has only known one family - his four elephants.

This Manmohan Desai movie stars Khanna as a small-time crook who has been accused of murdering a man for a piece of roti. Khanna puts up the performance of a lifetime as a hardened criminal who experiences a gradual change of heart.