Mr Bharat’s Rock Hudson act
On October 18, 1962, around 2 am, Manoj Kumar’s eldest son Vishal Goswami, was born. The beaming first-time dad returned home to find a letter waiting for him. It was from N N Sippy. The congratulatory message hinted that the producer wanted to meet the actor again.
“Nari Sippy (as N N Sippy was fondly called) had previously approached me with a couple of film offers. But despite two superhits, Hariyali Aur Rasta and Grahasti, my career hadn’t taken off and this had made me cautious. So, I had decided to sign a film only if I was confident about the story, director and the set-up,” recalls Manoj Kumar. He admits he wasn’t too pleased to find Sippy and screenplay writer Dhruva Chatterjee waiting for him at the Holy Family Hospital when he went to check on his wife Shashi and their newborn son.
This time it was difficult to shake off a persistent Sippy who requested the actor not to focus too much on project details. “Beta paida hua hai, put your faith in his kismet and give your nod to my film,” he urged, and Manoj Kumar, moved by his emotional words, obliged.
“Shooting was to start on January 22, 1963, in Shimla. Leaving behind my twomonth-old son, I took off for Delhi where I waited till January 18, wondering about my leading lady. I was so relieved when I saw Sadhana at the station,” he recalls.
Once they reached the location, he started reading the scenes and wasn’t impressed. Since it was an important film for him and he had the time, Manoj Kumar started rewriting the script. By evening, he had reworked 10-12 scenes, and hesitantly gave them to the director.
“Sadhana, her parents, the rest of the cast were sitting around that evening when Raj Khosla entered with the original script in one hand and the one I had rewritten in the other. He threw what had been written earlier into the fire and pointing towards me announced that I would be writing the film,” reminisces the actor.
Thereafter, between shots, he'd be writing frantically on the sets. “After a while Raj Khosla would walk over and ask, ‘Panditji Maharaj, kahan tak pahunche?’ If I'd finished half a scene, he'd shoot that much, then let me return to my writing,” says the actor, adding that in his later interviews Khosla would often refer to him as his 'half guru and half chela'.
He didn’t get credit for his ghost writing or for having ghost directed a scene. It happened when they were shooting in Kufri near Shimla. Looking for snow, Manoj Kumar wandered down to the valley below and returned excitedly to tell Khosla that they should shift base. Khosla confessed that he turned dizzy when looking down and requested the actor to can the shots for him. He was happy to oblige.
According to Nari Sippy’s brother, Gul, Manoj Kumar was involved in all departments— from screenplay and dialogue writing to acting and editing. “He would sit with the editor through the night and even accompany me to Tardeo to look at the hoarding. He also suggested the poster design,” Gul informs.
It was Manoj Kumar's idea to focus on Sadhana’s face in the poster while only his back is seen. “It helped build up the suspense that got people hooked," he reasons.
Madan Mohan’s music was another crowd-puller with evergreen hits like Naina barse rimjhim rimjhim and Lag jaa gale. The latter is one of Lata Mangeshkar’s personal favourites. Yet, it almost didn’t get featured in the film. The director had rejected the song much to the distress of the music director who then made an SOS call to Manoj Kumar.
He hesitatingly fixed up another sitting with Madan Mohan for Sippy and Khosla. He went half-an-hour before the meeting and listened to the song. “It was mesmerising and when Raj arrived, I told him to listen to it a couple of times. He did, silently, then picking up his shoe started hitting himself on the head wondering how he, a singer with a keen ear for music, could have turned down this song,” says the actor.
The black-and-white film released in 1964 was a superhit. Manoj Kumar went on to act in two more suspense thrillers, Gumnaam (1966) and Anita (1967). Ask him whether he was surprised by Woh Kaun Thi?’s success and he insists that he wasn’t. He recalls how after the film's premiere, Dara Singh, who he'd seen triumph in the akhadas of Delhi, congratulated him saying, “You are a wrestler.”
Equally impressed was master filmmaker Mehboob Khan. He referred to Khosla as the Alfred Hitchcock of India. “He called me India’s Rock Hudson and asked both of us to see him in his studio soon,” smiles Manoj Kumar, relishing the moment even after half-a-century.
“Nari Sippy (as N N Sippy was fondly called) had previously approached me with a couple of film offers. But despite two superhits, Hariyali Aur Rasta and Grahasti, my career hadn’t taken off and this had made me cautious. So, I had decided to sign a film only if I was confident about the story, director and the set-up,” recalls Manoj Kumar. He admits he wasn’t too pleased to find Sippy and screenplay writer Dhruva Chatterjee waiting for him at the Holy Family Hospital when he went to check on his wife Shashi and their newborn son.
This time it was difficult to shake off a persistent Sippy who requested the actor not to focus too much on project details. “Beta paida hua hai, put your faith in his kismet and give your nod to my film,” he urged, and Manoj Kumar, moved by his emotional words, obliged.
Soon after, Raj Khosla came on board to direct the psychological thriller that revolved around a doctor who is the heir to an inheritance, a mysterious woman who waylays him on a rainy night, turns up dead in an eerie mansion, then returns as his wife. Manoj Kumar had suggested the title, Woh Kaun Thi?, and after hours of brainstorming had come up with Sadhana’s name to play his leading lady. The actress had seen his films and was keen to work with him. But, she pointed out that since she was also going through a low phase in her career, commercially they wouldn’t be a viable jodi.
“Shooting was to start on January 22, 1963, in Shimla. Leaving behind my twomonth-old son, I took off for Delhi where I waited till January 18, wondering about my leading lady. I was so relieved when I saw Sadhana at the station,” he recalls.
Once they reached the location, he started reading the scenes and wasn’t impressed. Since it was an important film for him and he had the time, Manoj Kumar started rewriting the script. By evening, he had reworked 10-12 scenes, and hesitantly gave them to the director.
“Sadhana, her parents, the rest of the cast were sitting around that evening when Raj Khosla entered with the original script in one hand and the one I had rewritten in the other. He threw what had been written earlier into the fire and pointing towards me announced that I would be writing the film,” reminisces the actor.
Thereafter, between shots, he'd be writing frantically on the sets. “After a while Raj Khosla would walk over and ask, ‘Panditji Maharaj, kahan tak pahunche?’ If I'd finished half a scene, he'd shoot that much, then let me return to my writing,” says the actor, adding that in his later interviews Khosla would often refer to him as his 'half guru and half chela'.
He didn’t get credit for his ghost writing or for having ghost directed a scene. It happened when they were shooting in Kufri near Shimla. Looking for snow, Manoj Kumar wandered down to the valley below and returned excitedly to tell Khosla that they should shift base. Khosla confessed that he turned dizzy when looking down and requested the actor to can the shots for him. He was happy to oblige.
According to Nari Sippy’s brother, Gul, Manoj Kumar was involved in all departments— from screenplay and dialogue writing to acting and editing. “He would sit with the editor through the night and even accompany me to Tardeo to look at the hoarding. He also suggested the poster design,” Gul informs.
It was Manoj Kumar's idea to focus on Sadhana’s face in the poster while only his back is seen. “It helped build up the suspense that got people hooked," he reasons.
Madan Mohan’s music was another crowd-puller with evergreen hits like Naina barse rimjhim rimjhim and Lag jaa gale. The latter is one of Lata Mangeshkar’s personal favourites. Yet, it almost didn’t get featured in the film. The director had rejected the song much to the distress of the music director who then made an SOS call to Manoj Kumar.
He hesitatingly fixed up another sitting with Madan Mohan for Sippy and Khosla. He went half-an-hour before the meeting and listened to the song. “It was mesmerising and when Raj arrived, I told him to listen to it a couple of times. He did, silently, then picking up his shoe started hitting himself on the head wondering how he, a singer with a keen ear for music, could have turned down this song,” says the actor.
The black-and-white film released in 1964 was a superhit. Manoj Kumar went on to act in two more suspense thrillers, Gumnaam (1966) and Anita (1967). Ask him whether he was surprised by Woh Kaun Thi?’s success and he insists that he wasn’t. He recalls how after the film's premiere, Dara Singh, who he'd seen triumph in the akhadas of Delhi, congratulated him saying, “You are a wrestler.”
Equally impressed was master filmmaker Mehboob Khan. He referred to Khosla as the Alfred Hitchcock of India. “He called me India’s Rock Hudson and asked both of us to see him in his studio soon,” smiles Manoj Kumar, relishing the moment even after half-a-century.
