The original Mr India

How Manoj Kumar's brand of patriotic cinema set a template that new-age actors are happy to follow

Even as Manoj Kumar - aka Mr Bharat - at the age of 81, is in and out of hospital because of his fluctuating health, his patented brand of cinema of patriotic fervour has been witnessing a revival of late.
On August 15, the Indian Independence Day, two films with nationalism as their central theme released. But are Reema Kagti's Gold, showcasing Akshay Kumar, and Milap Milan Zaveri's Satyameva Jayate, toplined by John Abraham and Manoj Bajpayee, remotely comparable to the repertoire of the then trendsetting veteran? Sorry to say, they aren't.
While Gold travels back in time to recall India's first gold medal win by its field hockey team at the 1948 Olympics, Satyameva Jayate revolves around a vigilante combating ongoing corruption in the highest echelons of law enforcement. In terms of quality, Gold is a notch or two above the mind-bashing Satyameva Jayate.
Yet, given their timing and star power, both were welcomed by the audience with open arms, toting up impressive ticket sales.
In the new millennium, there have been a precious few premium quality Bollywood mainstream films focusing on the nationalist spirit. Count among them, Ashutosh Gowariker's Lagaan (2001) and Swades (2004), Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Rang De Basanti (2006) and Shimit Amin's Chak De! India (2007), with which, incidentally, Gold shares a similar script palette but pales majorly in comparison.
Quite steadily, in the vein of yesteryear's Mr Bharat, Akshay Kumar has been consolidating the image of a hero determined to address socio-political issues, courtesy a rapid series of cause-oriented films like Baby (2015), Airlift (2016), Rustom (2016; not surprisingly, he bagged the Best Actor National Award for this one), Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017) and Pad Man (2018).
John Abraham joined the let's-do-right-by-our-nation with Madras Café (2013), Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran (2018) and now Satyameva Jayate.
Salman Khan, too, has attempted to showcase himself as a champion of the national cause, with effective results in Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015) and as a secret agent in Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and its sequel Tiger Zinda Hai (2017). If action is Khan's forte, Manoj Kumar's was his power of persuasion, articulated through rooted-in-the soil plots and rousing dialogue.
At his peak, during the 1960s and '70s, Manoj Kumar appeared to be overwhelmingly influenced by the Nehruvian ideal of a progressive, independent India. His most significant works narrated stories of polarised conflicts between characters who believed in moral codes versus those who had gone wayward, as evidenced, for starters, in Shaheed (1965), a biopic of the revolutionary force of the Indian independence movement.
Next, the actor turned to direction with Upkar (1967). Dedicated to the upliftment of farmers - derived from the slogan "Jai Jawaan, Jai Kisaan' (long live the youth, long live the farmers) - the moralistic hero here clashed against a self-centred brother steeped in debauched values (clubbing, drinking, etc). Through intercuts of the simple rural versus the flashy urban lifestyles during the song sequence Gulabi Raat Gulabi, Manoj Kumar's approach may have been simplistic but impactful. Although the lines of dialogue verged on the bombastic, at least they didn't ever lapse into Hinglish and the ungrammatical.
The persisting hangover of the British Raj was critiqued in Purab Aur Paschim (1970). Face-offs between the excessively privileged and the underprivileged were detailed in Roti Kapda Aur Makaan (1974). A common man's struggle to make ends meet in a fast-paced city became the springboard for Shor (1972). And the period extravaganza Kranti (1981) paid homage to the courage of the 19th century freedom fighters.
One of the first to design multi-starrers, Mr Bharat also displayed a flair for technical craftsmanship and extracting top-of-the-charts music scores, particularly from Kalyanji-Anandji and Laxmikant-Pyarelal. In fact, his elaborate song picturisations went on to be imitated, especially by self-declared showman Subhash Ghai (refer, for instance, to the Yeh mera India sequence in Pardes, 1997).
Success, however, can breed excess. The actor-filmmaker repeated his chosen formula till it became predictable and uninspiring. In addition, since the 'angry young man' persona symbolised by Amitabh Bachchan became a mega-phenomenon in the mid-70s, the patriot was left out in the freezing cold.
From someone who had delivered ground-breaking, reformist entertainers, a plainly tacky follow-up like Clerk (1989) was laughed off the screen, and is mocked as one of the most unintentionally-howlarious comedies ever.
With creative decline and age, Manoj Kumar isolated himself, speaking only when spoken to. However, when choreographer-turned-director Farah Khan spoofed his acting mannerisms in Om Shanti Om (2007), he expressed his displeasure in public and threatened to take her to court.
On the few occasions I've met him at his home, he's been stoic and even buoyant about returning to the studios for his last hurrah. Try to visit him at hospital today, and he apologises, "Wait till I'm a bit better to tell you more."
That today's screen patriots owe much to Manoj Kumar perhaps will never be acknowledged. After all, the showbiz credo is 'out of sight, out of mind'.
Of the occasional announcements of a comeback by the original Mr Bharat, none has materialised. The last time he was seen on big screen was in a sidebar role in the barely-remembered Maidan-E-Jung (1995). One of his long-cherished dreams has been to direct his personally-authored script Naya Bharat.
Now that there are several players in the arena which the actor-producer-writer-lyricist-director was once solely identified with, Manoj Kumar states quite matter-of-factly, "It's not as if I have any copyright claims over the name Bharat. Anyone and everyone is Bharat. I am happy that superstars like Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar are playing heroes who can bring about a social awakening, a new dawn, a Naya Bharat (new India)."
wknd@khaleejtimes.com