MUMBAI, April 4: Manoj Kumar and Dilip Kumar. Their’s was a friendship that went beyond work and right into the kitchen with the two cooking omelettes and exchanging recipes as they discussed films and scripts, Saira Banu said on a “terrible, terrible” Friday.
Mourning the death of the man known to his fans as ‘Bharat Kumar’ for his turn as the upright, patriotic hero in films such as “Upkar” and “Kranti”, Saira said she and husband, the legendary Dilip Kumar, counted Manoj Kumar and his wife Shashi as family.
Manoj died on Friday after battling multiple age-related ailments. He was 87.
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Born Harikrishan Goswami, he chose his screen name ‘Manoj Kumar’ after the character Dilip Kumar played in the 1949 hit “Shabnam”.
“Manoj ji always addressed Dilip saab as Raja saab… this name was taken from the 1968 film ‘Aadmi’, in which he worked with saab. They were very close. He had great admiration for saab, he was like a family member to us. His wife, Shashi, was also very close to us. No appointments were needed between us at all. This was a couple that just walked in and became family to us,” Saira told PTI.
“Imagine Dilip Saab and Manoj Saab and a retinue of people… the two would cook omelettes. They had special recipes for omelettes because they loved eggs. I remember the special ‘achaar’ omelette that was Manoj ji’s recipe. They would exchange recipes, eat together and talk about films and scripts,” the veteran actor, who worked with Manoj, recalled.
The two friends also loved flying kites.
Saira said her husband had a treasure trove of kites and ‘manja’ that would come for him especially from Uttar Pradesh. She was in charge of keeping the kites safe in special waterproof suitcases.
“They would fly kites together in those days and eat ‘bhajiyas’ in between… They spent wonderful times together. Today, we don’t see that kind of love, admiration and camaraderie. It’s just on social media, no feeling at all,” she added.
She also recalled how Manoj frequently visited their home for work related discussions.
“He had come home to convince Dilip saab to do ‘Kranti’ because saab had taken a break from films for a couple of years. Manoj ji would come home frequently to try and get him to do ‘Kranti’, which saab did.”
Saira, who worked with Manoj in “Purab Aur Paschim”, said she had been in touch with the family after hearing of Manoj’s ill health.
“We’ve have been in touch with Shashi. I got to know that he was more and more unwell, being admitted to Kokilaben hospital, he spent a lot of time over there. We’ve always prayed for him. May he rest in peace… It is a terrible, terrible morning.”
Saira and Manoj first worked together in “Shaadi” in 1962, when she was barely 16 or 17. The film also starred Dharmendra.
“I played a young married woman in the film, and while filming for a romantic song, I would feel shy while lip syncing. I remember telling him, ‘Please, don’t mind, I feel awkward singing this, and if you can step a bit away’. He turned around and said to everyone ‘Let her shoot at peace’.”
Manoj wanted to cast her for his debut directorial venture “Upkar”, but she had to decline the offer due to other commitments. Asha Parekh played the female lead in the film.
“At that time I was launching my own production company with my brother. So, I excused myself saying, ‘I won’t be able to do ‘Upkar’ and that I’ll work with you in the future.’ And the future was not too far away. He offered me ‘Purab Aur Paschim’, which he had specially written for me.”
She had got married by then and wasn’t sure she would have the time. “I got married and it was sort of silently understood that probably I would not get time to be working in film though Dilip saab never stopped me or said, ‘Don’t work or don’t do this or do that’. I decided I have to marry now because Dilip saab is not going to wait around. So, I needed to marry at that very second and not let him get away,” she recounted. (PTI)
