Rajesh Khanna's biological parents or adopted parents did not motivate him to become an actor and he didn't have any filmy background also.
Rajesh Khanna was born in Amritsar on 29th December 1942 in a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family, his birth name was Jatin Khanna. His father Lala Hiranand Khanna worked as a headmaster in MC highschool in Burewala. His mother's name was Chandrani Khanna. But Rajesh Khanna was adopted and raised up by Chunnilal Khanna and Leelawati Khanna, they are the relatives of Rajesh Khanna's parents.
Rajesh Khanna was not inspired by any specific actor to become an actor, it was his own interest, since school days he was interested in acting and he had participated in many stage and theatre plays during his school and college days and had also won many prizes in inter-college drama competitions.
In 1962 , when he was 20 years old, he did a role of wounded mute solider in the play Andha Yug. With his perfomance the chief guest got impressed and suggested him to get into films soon.
In the 1965 All India Talent Contest organised by United Producers and Filmfare, Rajesh Khanna was one of eight finalists from more than 10,000 contestants. Khanna won the contest along with Farida Jalal. Many renowned filmmakers like B. R. Chopra, Bimol Roy, G P Sippy, Nasir Hussain and others were the judges of the contest. G P Sippy and Nasir Hussain were the first who approached Khanna after he won the contest.
In 1966 he made his acting debut with the film Aakhri Khat. In 1967 he received his first break as a leading actor in the film Raaz.
However the legendary actor Dev Anand was a prime inspiration in his early filmy career, he liked Dev Anand’s charm, unique styles, dialogue delivery and his mannerisms. Both had a big fan following in their time. The film Aaradhna brought Rajesh Khanna a big superstardom and he continued with the superstardom until 1975.