Kolkata, July 18 :  Veteran Bengali filmmakers Mrinal Sen and Buddhadeb Dasgupta Wednesday mourned the death of Bollywood's first superstar Rajesh Khanna and said his acting skills will continue to inspire the aspiring actors in future.

"He was a very good actor. He will be remembered by several generations for his acting skills," Sen told IANS.

Rajesh Khanna died Wednesday after a prolonged illness. He was 69.

Sen, a Dadasahab Phalke award winner, recollected how he had wanted to cast the actor in one of his films, but the latter could not manage due to date problems.

"We had met several times. Once I had wanted to cast him in one of my films but somehow that didn't work out due to his date problems," he said.

National Award winning filmmaker Dasgupta said Khanna's acting would continue to inspire young actors in future.

"He was a great actor and was the first superstar. He was a much bigger star than Amitabh Bachchan. He was a craze when we were in school and college. His acting will continue to inspire young actors of the coming generations," Dasgupta told IANS.

© IANS