Subhash
K
Jha
remembers
his
conversations
with
movie
legend
Manoj
Kumar,
who
passed
into
the
ages
on
April
4,
2025.
Manoj
Kumar
and
Simi
Garewal
in
Mera
Naam
Joker.
Farah
Khan,
who
had
lampooned
Manoj
Kumar
in
her
film,
Om
Shanti
Om,
thought
she
was
insulting
me
once
by
calling
me
‘The
Manoj
Kumar
Of
Journalism’.
It
was
actually
the
greatest
compliment
of
my
life.
To
be
compared
with
the
artiste
who
directed
some
of
the
greatest
Hindi
films
like
Upkar,
Shor
and
Roti
Kapada
Aur
Makaan
and
whose
collaboration
with
Laxmikant-Pyarelal
yielded
a
harvest
of
melodies
including
Ek
Pyar
Ka
Naghma
Hai,
Zindagi
Main
Na
Bhoolunga
and
Hai
Hai
Yeh
Majboori…
What
can
be
said
about
Manoj
Kumar
to
illustrate
his
impact
on
mainstream
Hindi
cinema?
My
first
encounter
with
Manoj
Kumar
could
have
been
disastrous.
Years
ago,
the
outspoken
Jaya
Bachchan
had
done
an
interview
with
me
in
which
she
had
said
some
not-so-nice
things
about
Manoj
Kumar.
When
I
spoke
to
the
man
after
what
I
thought
was
a
safe
distance
from
the
interview,
the
first
thing
he
said
was,
“Arrey,
Jha,
aren’t
you
that
Bachchanwale
journalist?”
I
braced
myself
for
a
blacklash
on
journalistic
ethics.
But
like
his
career,
Manoj
Kumar
surprised
me.
“Jaya
had
a
lot
to
say
about
me.
I
think
she
was
upset
because
she
didn’t
have
the
author-backed
role
in
Shor,”
he
said.
Breathing
a
sigh
of
relief,
I
ventured
that
the
belief
that
in
his
films,
the
heroines
were
secondary
to
his
character
had
some
validity.
“Not
true!”
Manoj
Kumar
put
me
in
my
place.
“Purab
Aur
Paschim
was
Saira
Banu’s
story.
In
fact,
I
told
her
I
won’t
make
the
film
if
she
didn’t
do
the
role.
Shor
was
the
child’s
story.
I
gave
equal
respect
to
all
my
characters.
“Filmmaking
is
not
about
projecting
yourself.
If
you
see
the
films
I’ve
directed,
I
never
gave
myself
undue
prominence.
Upkar
is
remembered
for
Pransaab‘s
character.
Kranti
gave
me
an
opportunity
to
work
with
my
idol
Yusufsaab(Dilip
Kumar).
“People
say
I
copy
him.
How
can
anyone
copy
him?
It’s
like
copying
Lata
Mangeshkar.
No
one
can
copy
such
legends
and
get
away
with
it.”
Manoj
Kumar
had
a
reputation
of
avoiding
intimacy
with
his
heroines.
To
this,
he
gave
me
a
playful
reply:
“In
Roti
Kapada
Aur
Makaan,
the
girl
(Zeenat
Aman)
is
dancing
in
the
rain
and
asking
me
to
join
her.
How
can
I
get
wet
when
I
am
carrying
my
college
degrees
on
the
way
to
a
job
interview?”
“I
broke
my
no-intimacy
rule
only
once,
and
that
too
for
Raj
Kapoor.
I
had
a
kiss
with
Simi
Garewal
in
Mera
Naam
Joker.
I
couldn’t
say
no
to
Rajsaab.”
During
our
last
conversation,
Manojsaab
sounded
frail
but
hopeful
about
the
future
of
Hindi
cinema:
‘Insha
Allah,
Ram
Rajya
will
return.’
