The man I knew

lsquoHe wanted Lataji to sing Jaane Wale Se MulaqatrsquoDr Trinetra Bajpai author and managing director ATECCoauthor Dilip Kumar Peerless Icon Inspiring GenerationsDr Trinetra Bajpai with wife Kanika and daughter Anshula coauthor of Dilip Kumar Peerless Icon Inspiring Generations at the actorrsquos residence The two families were close and would end up visiting each other oftenI fell prey to the hypnotic spell cast by Dilip Kumar way back in 1958 at an admittedly impressionable age of nine while watching Bimal Royrsquos timeless classic Madhumati Ever since I have with avid interest watched all but two films Jwar Bhata and Pratima being the only exceptions for reasons of unavailability of his 59 released films with my wife Kanika who shares this unabashed admiration in ample measure as does our daughter Anshula coauthor of our coffee table book Dilip Kumar Peerless Icon Inspiring GenerationsOne of my most cherished moments was watching him deliver an outstanding speech at Lata Mangeshkarrsquos live concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London He spoke with such fluency and command in a mix of Hindi and Urdu that he received a standing ovation During the interval I was fortunate to have got a chance to share a drink with him I remember it was a very rare Scotch Lataji was also present but she doesnrsquot drink We talked about her music and he insisted that she sing Jaane Wale Se Mulaqat Na Hone from his 1954 movie Amar with Madhubala He had some personal memories associated with the song He winked at me But she smiled and said ldquoIrsquove not prepared for this song and the orchestra too doesnrsquot have the notesrdquo A poster gifted to Bajpai a couple of years ago ldquoEven he didnrsquot know the source of the image and nor do I but itrsquos a part of my collectionrdquo says BajpaiI would meet Yusuf Sahab quite often He lived at Pali Hill and I at Turner Road He was a huge foodie and would often come over for biryani I remember while shooting for Sangharsh at Mehboob Studio he was not feeling well and said ldquoIrsquoll be fine if I eat some fried fishrdquo And he actually didThe Bajpai clan has no hesitation in admitting without any qualification that we owe a lot to Yusuf Sahab in shaping our personalities Dilipian films and his personal activities have deeply influenced countless professionals In my corporate career of 49 years in the petrochemical industry I have seen champion professionals imitate Dilipian mannerisms and vocal intonations to their fullest advantage with telling effect in crucial negotiations and even board meetings Histrionics apart he had incredible mastery over the fine arts linguistics music he could sing mellifluously and above all was a caring human beinglsquoHe loved grey charactersrsquoSanjit Narwekar film historian and documentary filmmakerAuthor Dilip Kumar The Last EmperorSanjit NarwekarWhile rewatching old Dilip Kumar starrers as part of my research for the book Dilip Kumar The Last Emperor I realised the late actorrsquos fascination for negative roles Dilip Kumar was a connoisseur of literature and unlike many actors of his era he was well read I do not know if Emily Brontersquos 1847 novel Wuthering Heights was his favourite but he did reprise the character of Mr Heathcliffe in at least three direct remakes Aarzooin 1950 Hulchul in 1951 and Dil Diya Dard Liya in 1966 and has used shades of that character in what is his most accomplished performance Aadmi 1968 Heathcliffe is a man on the edge spiteful mad insecure and thirsting for revenge and in film after film Dilip Kumar played it to perfection In fact he always preferred to play the hero with a touch of negativismmdashthe antihero if you wish He was not the first to play such a rolemdashAshok Kumar had done it in Kismat in 1943mdashbut Dilip Kumar played it with great passion and brought an unparalleled intensity to itManoj Kumar with Dilip Kumar in Aadmi 1968 Besides being noted for Dilip Kumarrsquos acting as a man confined to a wheelchair the film is also known for its dialogues by Akhtar ul Iman PIC COURTESY National Film Archive of IndiaRecall his work in Babul Deedar Sangdil Shikast Devdas and the most notable of them all Amar In each film his character toys with a female protagonist leading her along making her feel as if he cares when he does not He himself is tortured by this duplicity but seems helpless to prevent the inevitable tragedy that lies ahead And this penchant for negativism is carried forward in his character roles in most of his later films like Vidhaata 1982 Mazdoor 1983 Mashaal 1984 Duniya 1984 This theme of crossing over has its roots in the Marathi play Ashrunchi Jhali Phoolay written by Madhusudhan Kalelkar and originally played by Ashok Kumar in its Hindi film remake Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool Having played the wronged man in most of his earlier films this addendum of crossing over to the other side must have appealed to the actor in him to play both the hero and villain in the same film must have delighted his histrionic sidelsquoShe Saira is my favourite directorrsquoLord Meghnad Desai British economist and former Labour politicianAuthor Nehrursquos Hero Dilip Kumar in Indiarsquos LifeA photo of Lord Meghnad Desai with Dilip Kumar enjoying samosas post the launch of his book Nehrursquos Hero Dilip Kumar in Indiarsquos Life in 2004Dilip Kumar liked to eat samosas but he knew that Sairaji did not approve of him eating food which she did not know about So at the end of the launch of my book we escaped to a corner in the hotel where the function was held and helped ourselves to samosas and drinks Our friendship grew from then on In 2005 I invited him to come to London so I could interview him at the National Film Theatre which is located on the Thames river across from the Big Ben We had a packed auditorium At one stage I asked him who was his favourite director So he pointed to Sairaji sitting in the front row and said ldquoThat is my favourite directorrdquo So then I invited Sairaji to join us on stage and carried on the conversation with themWhenever Kishwar my wife and I went to see them at Pali Hill Sairaji was very welcoming Dilip Saheb would talk about many things and in many languagesmdashGujarati Marathi and UrduHindustani He had such a lovely voice that Kishwar used to say Meghnadrsquos brain stops working as soon as Dilip Saheb opens his mouthOnce when we visited him he did not immediately recognise us He was very polite but soon I realised that something was wrong He started talking about Pallonji Shapoorji the son of the Shapoorji who had financed MughaeAzam Pallonji was planning the technicolour version and he had apparently requested Dilip Saheb to say an opening word Dilip Saheb was opposed to it Pallonji had offered a lot of money Dilip Saheb thought we were Pallonjirsquos friends and had come to ask him to agree So he began to talk to us in Gujarati He told us how much Old Shapoorji loved him and had pampered him on the set Then he said ldquoTell that Pallonji I donrsquot care about his moneyrdquo Then I realised he had not remembered who we were Soon Sairaji came and clarified the situation He then became very friendly because in fact we had come to invite him to London He was most charming during the rest of the evening