The word 'superstar' was invented for Rajesh Khanna: Big B

Amitabh Bachchan expressed heartfelt grief over the passing away of veretan actor Rajesh Khanna. He tweeted - "What can one say when a colleague, a most important member of the fraternity, younger than you passes away..Rajesh Khanna no more !"

Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna in a still from the 1981 hit Anand (File pic)

Rajesh Khanna died at his Bandra residence on Wednesday after longstanding health issues. In the last few weeks, he had been in and out of hospital on a number of occasions.

Bachchan's shock over his colleague's demise could be summarised in his tweet - "I stand mute in front of his still body, with nothing crossing my mind ... just disbelief, and a reverence to his departed soul !!"

Big B felicitating Kaka at an awards function in 2009u00a0(Pic - Santa Banta)

Big B and Kaka, as Rajesh Khanna was fondly called, had starred together in films like Anand and Namak Haraam. Khanna's portrayal of a happy-go-lucky cancer patient in Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Anand remains one of his most memorable performances till date.

Khanna had won a Filmfare Best Actor award, while Bachchan had won a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor award for Anand.

Big B tweeted - "The word 'superstar' was invented for him, and for me it shall ever remain his, and no others .. !!"

He went on to add that future generations will never be able to understand the phenomenon that Rajesh Khanna really was.