It was an honour to sing for Rajesh Khanna: Manna Dey

Expressing grief over the demise of actor Rajesh Khanna, legendary singer Manna Dey Wednesday said he was honoured to have sung for the "first superstar" of Bollywood.

"He was a great actor, truly a superstar no doubt about it. I am honoured to have done playback for him. I have worked for him in several movies and actors like him are a rarity," said the nonagenarian Dey.

For Rajesh Khanna, Dey had sung songs "Zindagi kaisi hai paheli" ("Anand", 1971), "Tum bin jeewan kaisa jeewan" ("Bawarchi", 1972), "Hansne ki chah ne kitna mujhe" ("Avishkaar", 1973) and "Gori tori paijaniya" ("Mehbooba", 1976).

"Working with him had been a memorable experience for me. All the songs that I have sung for him have been hits, especially songs from 'Anand' and 'Bawarchi'. We used to meet at functions. He was a very nice person to talk to and be friends with," said Dey.

"I loved the way he picturised music. The success of a song depends upon how an actor picturises it. He was the number one in picturising songs. I will be ever indebted to him," said the singer whose song "Zindagi kaisi hai paheli" for Rajesh Khanna in "Anand" has been a memorable hit.

Rajesh Khanna passed away Wednesday following prolonged illness. He was 69.