New Delhi: India’s first superstar, late actor Rajesh Khanna would have turned 78 on Tuesday if he were alive today. The Punjab born actor who entered Hindi films in 1965 has left a strong imprint in each one of us with his exemplary persona.

With his impeccable journey in the cinema industry, the philanthropist and former politician made the world record of having 17 successive super-hits in 3 years from 1969-71, which included 15 consecutive solo super-hit films.

It has been eight years since the legendary actor passed away and the world is still mourning the loss of the icon, whose excellence, grace and charisma are unmatched.

Here is a look back on the legendary actor’s iconic dialogues that have still remained intact in the memories of people.

1. Babumushoi, zindagi badi honi chahiye … lambi nahin:-

The dialogue (My friend, life should be big … not long) that emphasizes the way of living life is one of the most recalled lines in the horizon of Indian cinema. The dialogue from the 1971 blockbuster hit ‘Anand’ is written by the famous poet ‘Gulzar’ for which he also won ‘Filmfare Award for Best dialogue’. The film also starred megastar Amitabh Bachchan opposite Rajesh Khanna.

2. Pushpa, mujhse yeh aasoon nahin dekhe jaate … I hate tears:-

One of the memorable dialogues of ‘Kaka’, ‘Pushpa, I cannot see these tears … I hate tears’, is from the 1972 record-breaking movie ‘Amar Prem’ which co-starred veteran actor Sharmila Tagore in the lead. The dialogue which is still engraved in people’s minds and souls was written by screenwriter ‘Ramesh Pant’ and made the film win ‘Filmfare Award for Best dialogue’.

3. Log zindagi ka sabse chota, sabse keemti labz bhool gaye hain … pyar:-

People have forgotten the shortest, most precious words of life … love’ from the Hrishikesh Mukherjee directorial film ‘Bawarchi’ emphasized the meaning of finding and spreading love in life and made Khanna win The Bengal Film Journalists’ Association Awards for best actor in Hindi language film.

4. Main marne se pehle marna nahin chahta:-

The contemplative dialogue meaning ‘I don’t want to die before I die’ from the 1970 Indian Hindi romantic drama film ‘Safar’. ‘Safar’ meaning ‘journey’ became the tenth highest-grossing film of the year in India in the 70s era. The film also gave Indian cinema its evergreen song ‘Zindagi Ka Safar’ (Journey of Life) by the legendary singer Kishore Kumar.

5. Bada aadmi toh woh hota hai joh doosron ko chota nahi samajhta:-

The Mohan Kumar directorial film ‘Avtaar’ gave this famous dialogue to Rajesh Khanna which means, ‘A big man is the one who does not think others are small’ The 1983 flick also shared veteran actor Shabana Azmi in the lead opposite Khanna. Avtaar was a commercial hit, and reportedly Khanna’s biggest film in terms of box office collections since 1973.

6. Maut toh ek pal hai:-

The 1971 film ‘Anand’ that is still best known for its heart touching ruminative dialogues gave the line ‘Death is just a moment’ to Bollywood which was delivered by Khanna who played the role of Anand, who has lymphosarcoma of the intestine, a rare type of cancer. Despite knowing the truth that he is not going to survive for more than six months, he maintains a cheerful demeanor and always tries to make everyone around him happy.