When Manoj Kumar Spoke About His Journey, Saying, “I Made Mistakes, Not Blunders” : Bollywood News

The incomparably accomplished Manoj Saab shared many unrevealed incidents with me over the years. In one of my last conversations with him, I asked why he hadn’t directed a film in so long. “I haven’t been able to make any films because of my back problem. Sadly, I no longer have the comfort of working with Manoj Kumar the actor. He was capable of telling home truths in the most understated manner. Now I have to choose from today’s stars. But Akshay Kumar respects me. In his film Namastey London with Katrina Kaif, he said, ‘If you want to know what India all is about, take a look at a DVD of Purab Aur Paschim and you’ll know.’ In fact, Purab Aur Paschim is the mother of many subsequent films.”

When Manoj Kumar spoke about his journey, saying, “I made mistakes, not blunders”

Manoj Saab revealed he had an eye for talent:
“Do you know, in Shor, when Sharmila Tagore dropped out—she was supposed to play my wife, a role that eventually went to Nanda—I had offered the part to Smita Patil. She politely told me she wasn’t interested in acting at that point.”

He also revealed that he never intended to become a director:
“God has given me honest eyes and pure ears. I never meant to be a director. It happened by default when I had to direct Shaheed unofficially. Later, when Lal Bahadur Shastri raised the slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’, that’s when I made Upkar.”

On his epic achievements as both actor and director:
“I give credit for my success to my parents. My father was a poet and philosopher. I came to Mumbai with two targets—one was to become a hero; the other was to earn three lakh rupees: one lakh for each of my parents and one lakh for my siblings.

When I left home in Delhi in 1956, my father gave me a letter. In it, he wrote: ‘My blood can never commit blunders, only mistakes.’ I made mistakes in my career but not blunders. I was never a greedy film person, even as an actor. While my contemporaries Dharmendra and Shashi Kapoor acted in nearly 300 films each, I’ve done barely 35 in my entire career.”

Manoj Saab’s last directorial, Kalyug Aur Ramayan, was, according to him, his best script. “But it went through too many changes and lost its sheen. My characters were called Ram and Sita. There was a song in the film: Kalyug ki Sita milne judge ko chali / Sau chuhe khaake billi haj ko chali… The moral police took offence. Some people in our society specialize in stopping creative people from doing what they do. The censor board even threatened to ban the film. I had to change the title from Kalyug Ki Ramayan to Kalyug Aur Ramayan. After that, the film was not the same anymore.”

Naming his personal favourite:

“Shor (1972). It was about a man and his son. I remember signing Jaya Bhaduri after watching her in Guddi. I told her, Shor is about a father and son. The son can’t speak, and the father longs to hear his voice. But the day the son speaks, the father goes deaf.

No Indian film had been made on such a thin storyline. And it’s the only film I directed in which I wasn’t named Bharat. Do you know they took one sequence from Shor and made an Iranian film in 1987 called The Cyclist, which went on to win numerous awards?

Shor was the first film I edited myself. The great Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who chaired the editors’ jury, gave me the Filmfare Award for Best Editor. Coming from such a skilled technician, that was a special moment for me.”

Also Read: Manoj Kumar passes away: PM Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu pay heartfelt tributes to cinema icon