Dilip Kumar was the Tragedy King, Raj Kapoor was the Great Showman, and likewise Manoj Kumar was Mr Bharat. It was his dream to make a film on Bhagat Singh. A dream which got fulfilled with Shaheed (1965). The film’s director was S Ram Sharma but according to industry lore, Kumar ghost directed the film. It was written by Batukeshwar Dutt, one of the contemporaries of Bhagat Singh. Kumar’s portrayal of Bhagat Singh is the closest we have come to seeing the revolutionary on screen. It’s said that he spent time with Bhagat Singh’s mother, who reportedly said she feels like she’s seeing her son again after watching him in get-up. He spent four years researching for his role before facing the camera.
Also, he donated the money he received along with his National Award to Bhagat Singh’s family. It’s said that after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri asked him to create a film based on the popular slogan Jai Jawan Jai Kissan. The result was his directorial debut, the patriotic drama Upkar (1967). After that, he started working on patriotic/nationalistic films. Purab Aur Paschim (1970) which juxtaposed life in the East and West, proved to be a massive hit. It was shot partially in England and extolled Indians not to give up their culture or westernise their names as they’re setting abroad. Kranti (1981), proved to be the pinnacle of his patriotic success. The film, which co-starred his ideal Dilip Kumar, alongwith Shatrughan Singh, Shashi Kapoor, Hema Malini and Parveen Babi, talked about armed resistance against the British and is considered a Golden Jubilee hit. Such was its craze back then that it spawned merchandise, with shops selling Kranti T shirts, caps and more. Besides these films, he also made Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (1974), a multistarrer co-starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Moushumi Chatterjee and Zeenat Aman about the three basic necessities of life, Food, clothing and shelter, which had a socialist view about the current society, despite the over-the-top treatment, and Shor (1972), an experimental film about revolving around a father’s struggle to make his son speak again, which also delved on urban noise pollution.
But there was more to Manoj Kumar than the Mr Bharat Sobriquet. Like most young men of his era, he was hugely influenced by Dilip Kumar’s histrionics on screen and longed to become a ‘hero’ like his idol. Manoj Kumar was Dilip Kumar’s name in Shabnam (1949) and some say he changed his name from Harikrishan to Manoj, inspired by that. He fulfilled his dream of doing a film with Dilip Kumar when they were cast together in the love-triangle Aadmi (1968). The film, directed by A Bhimsingh, also co-starred Waheeda Rehman, was a remake of Tamil film Aalayamani (1962). He was also an ardent admirer of Kamini Kaushal and got his wish to work with her when she was cast as his mother in Shaheed.
