Remembering Rajesh Khanna and his left-hand drive 1964 Willys CJ3B

Rajesh Khanna, the first actor ever to attain superstar status in India, was a man of style and has a special penchant for cars. As evident from his films, he had an aura around that distinguished him from the others in his league. He was from a well-off family and even at the initial stages of his career, the unconventional film star was driving an imported British sports car from MG Car Company.

Rajesh Khanna is still said to be the one of the pioneers of romance in the Indian film industry, owing to his distinctive style and cars used for daily commutation. Phone numbers written in lipstick on his car were not a rare sight at that time. Not just this, women used to chase his car just to catch a glimpse of their hero.

Ex-wife Dimple Kapadia had gifted him a Chevrolet Impala when they had an affair. He drove this car to work in the mid-60s. He also had a 1964 Willys CJ3B left-hand drive. In the 1969 flick Aradhana with Sharmila Tagore, he is seen driving this impeccable jeep in the hit song 'Mere Sapno ki Rani'.

At that time the fashion for personal cars was not in swing, but Rajesh Khanna came up and emerged as a trend-setter with a fleet of cars, comprising from different segments. Fifty years down the line, the same trend is now being followed by the Bollywood film stars who own a number of cars, right from Hummer to AMGs.