Isn't it unusual that three top stars of the Hindi screen recently completed 50 years in their successful careers? Each had a huge fan following, contributed immensely to Indian cinema and two of them are still active. But their approach to films, acting, and techniques were different.
Manoj Kumar excelled in patriotic films and was known as ‘Mr Bharat'. Shashi Kapoor was the charming romantic hero, who also made a name in Indo-English films. Dharmendra was amazingly versatile in handling emotional, comedy and action-packed roles
An avid movie fan, Manoj Kumar was influenced by the Dilip Kumar style of acting seen in films such as ‘Shaheed' (1948) and ‘Jugnu.' But initially, he made his mark as a romantic hero in ‘Hariyali aur Raasta' and ‘Himalay ke God mein,' embellished with outstanding music.
Urged by close friend Kewal Kashyap, Manoj made ‘Shaheed', on the life of martyr Bhagat Singh on a shoe string budget, shooting on the streets of Ludhiana with primitive lighting techniques. The film, which moved audiences, was a hit and was appreciated by the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, who coined the slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan'. “Why don't you make a film on our kisans,” suggested Shastri. So, an inspired Manoj wrote, produced and directed ‘Upkar,' which not only brought fame and awards but also the label of ‘Mr Bharat'.
Theme of patriotism
The same theme continued with ‘Purab aur Paschim,' which garishly contrasted the lifestyles of the East and West, and the multi-starrer, ‘Roti, Kapda aur Makan.' It was overkill and the patriotism was sometimes unsubtle, but the public lapped it up. The grand finale was ‘Kranti', set in the British era, in which Manoj persuaded his idol, Dilip Kumar, to play the lead.
‘Mr Bharat' did play a variety of roles in films such as ‘Patthar ke Sanam', ‘Sanyasi', ‘Dus Nambri' ‘Woh Kaun Thi' and ‘Aadmi'. Unfortunately, he did not realise that there could be only one Dilip Kumar and the imitation affected his acting. But then, even after 50 years, he is remembered as ‘Mr Bharat' and recently announced plans of a comeback film.
In the case of Shashi Kapoor, he had to act, as he was in the business even as a toddler in RK Films. Born into India's most famous showbiz family, Shashi was exposed both to Hindi films and English theatre. His 1960 film ‘Char Diwari' was thought-provoking, but box office success eluded him for a long time. The producers found his features ‘too western' and he was uncomfortable in roles that required overacting, running around trees and singing - hallmarks of Hindi cinema.
Shashi's luck turned with the lively musical ‘Jab Jab Phool Khilen' and more hits followed with ‘Waqt' and ‘Sharmilee'. The actor was restless. He wanted to make different kinds of films and found more scope for his talent in the English films made by producer Ismail Merchant, such as ‘The Householder', ‘Shakespeare Wallah', and ‘Bombay Talkie'.
However with ‘Deewar,' Shashi Kapoor became an established star and did a series of films which paired him with Amitabh Bachchan. With no ego hassles, they clicked perfectly as a team.
Shashi Kapoor and his British wife Jennifer, who was a theatre actor, found creative satisfaction in his home productions such as ‘Kalyug', ‘Junoon' and ‘36 Chowringhee Lane' and in the construction of Prithvi Theatre in Juhu to honour the memory of his father, the great thespian Prithviraj Kapoor.
In the later years, Shashi's health deteriorated. It was hard to come by some one who was as courteous, sophisticated and knowledgeable about theatre and world cinema.
Dharmendra on the other hand, was often written off because of his drinking, but always managed to bounce back and is still busy making films and anchoring TV shows. At 70 plus, he is still ‘garam'.
His own production, ‘Yamala Pagla Diwana,' was a major hit and he is acting in a new film directed by his wife and film star, Hema Malini. The pair has had over 30 hit films together, but the new one will be much more challenging. The young, muscular ‘puttar' (son) from Punjab won a film contest and landed up in Bombay in 1960, but with his shyness found the going tough. In an industry where the hero had to be good looking, Dharmendra could not be kept out for long and soon was in great demand.
Period of creativity
Willing to experiment, he accepted the villain's role in ‘Aayee Milan ki Bela' outshining the hero, Rajendra Kumar. Then followed an amazing period of creativity that included soft, emotional roles in ‘Satyakam', ‘Anupama,' one of the best comedies in Hindi cinema such as ‘Chupke Chupke' and brave, loud mouthed but good hearted hero in ‘Sholay' and ‘Pratigya.'
Dharam matched Rajesh Khanna and the up-and-coming Amitabh Bachchan in acting skills but at this stage fell into the trap of ‘easy' roles, that of the action hero. Though audiences got glimpses of his tremendous potential it was not exploited fully.
He was popular with all kinds of audiences: students, adults and even children. The fans forgave him for his controversial marriage to Hema Malini and his unremarkable stint in politics.
In the meantime, sons Sonny and Bobby had established their own careers and Dharamji could afford to be the patriarch of the Deol clan, which came out with ‘Apne' and ‘Yamala Pagala Deewana'. Despite 50 years in Bollywood, he seems well set for the next decade.
