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He is a writer,an actor ,a producer,a lyricist,n a above all a director…In a couple of films he also shot some scenes..His last hit was “Kranti”….26 years ago…. But Manoj Kumar is not relevant today…even if he is alive…Started his struggle with Dharmendra played a long inning into the Film industry.but could not come out succefully in his second inning…”clerk” and “Jai Hind” became disastours..but at every 15th aug or 26th jan he becomes relevant all of a sudden…With the changing trends and definitions of “patrotism” MK’s cinema has become outdated..(read RDB or Chak De)…but this can’t be denied that he made his kind of cinema and yet made them hit…MK’s first film as an actor was “fashion” in 1957….and..I think his first hit was “hariyali aur raasta” with Mala Sinha…then “Shaheed” released…which became a huge hit…according to MK “Shaheed” was a risk since before this, two films were made on Bhagat Singh and they failed badly..so they encircled the reasons behind the failure of those films..they found out easily that if “Shaheed” has to work then there should be a level of genuinity and dedication…According to MK..they didn’t want to leave any stone unturned ….so the vow scene where they vow for the freedom of their motherland, MK did it real..his hand got burnt in that particular shot…The scene becomes a landmark and audiences got the feel of the efforts the revolutionaries carried out while their freedom struggle…”Shaheed” was such an impressive film that the then PM Lal BahadurShashtri called MK to make a film with the same feel but more in the contemprory India….This was the year of 1965…Working on that they zeroed on in an idea of “Jai Jawaan jai Kisaan”..n MK wrote..acted and directed “Upkar” in 1967…the song “mere desh ki dharti” was treated as unofficial prayer song all over the country..The next was “Purab aur Paschim released in 1970…This was the first time that a film had underlined the contrast of east and west…once again the magic of MK worked and “Purab Paschim” considered as a huge hit…WIth a cut throat competition with Rajesh Khanna who was delivering superhits one by one like “safar”,”Kati Patang”,”aan milo sajnaa” and “ sachha jhootha”obviously MK was sailing against the tide but this could never bent down the films of MK…one of the reasons behind this could also be his films before “purab..” patthar ke sanam,do badan,nil kamal did well at the box office and enough to establish MK as a star…and not the least he went on to make “roti kapda aur makaan”…but before “roti…” he made a brilliant movie “shor” in 1972..and it was also a hit…the story of a poor Shankar who had to cure his son but don’t had money ..for this he took his life in danger zone ….the songs of the movie were unforgettable..”roti,kapda..’ was also a film about a jobless youth..and the struggle for these three basic ammenties…this was again an innovation…whenever I think of MK films I always thought about his special technique of weaving emotions with the struggles of life…After this and before Kranti (1981) he has only one hit movie that too as an actor and that was “dus numbery”..After a long gap of seven years he bounced back with “Kranti” I think he was the first director who gave a continuous hits one by one..Upkar,Purab aur paschim,shor,roti kapda aur makaan, and Kranti….yet his films were never considered as classics rather they called as “masala films”..famous for his dramatic storylines and heavy patriotic dialogues MK will never made into the grade of giants like Gurudutt or Rajkapoor but certainly be remembered for his uniqueness.
like this song…
jab ziro diyaa mere bhaarat ne, duniyaan ko tab ginatee aayee
taaron kee bhaashaa bhaarat ne, duniyaan ko pahale sikhalaayee
detaa naa dashamal bhaarat to, yoo chaand pe jaanaa mushkil thaa
dharaatee aaur chaand dooree kaa andaajaa lagaanaa mushkil thaa
sabhyataa jahaa pahaale aayee, pahale janamee hain jahaape kalaa
apanaa bhaarat wo bhaarat hai, jis ke pichhe sansaar chalaa
sansaar chalaa aaur aage badhaa, yoo aage badhaa, badhataa hee gayaa
bhagawaan kare ye aaur badhe, badhataa hee rahe aaur foole fale