18 minutes agoAuthor: Kiran Jain/Akash Khare
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The image of the actor that comes to mind when we hear the famous dialogue from the movie 'Sholay' 'Itna sannata kyun hai bhai…' is Avtaar Kishan Hangal.
Today is the 12th death anniversary of A.K. Hangal sahab, who came to India from Pakistan after independence and made his Bollywood debut at the age of 52. A look at his life journey…
Shot with a fractured bone at the age of 86- Akhilendra Mishra
On Hangal sahab's death anniversary, Dainik Bhaskar spoke to actor Akhilendra Mishra who worked with him in the film 'Lagaan'. Akhilendra said, 'When we were shooting for 'Lagaan', Hangal sahab fell in the bathroom on the set.
After this he was admitted to the hospital. He was given bed rest for two months. Despite this, he came to the set in an ambulance.
He came on a stretcher… got up and sat on his cot… listened to the song once and gave the okay in the first take. Seeing such perfection of Hangal sahab at the age of 86 and despite having a fracture in his back, everyone on the set clapped for him for a long time.
Aamir Khan (left) and AK Hangal in a scene from the film 'Lagaan'.
He said- the lights are not working properly, I am not feeling any heat
Akhilendra further said- 'BP Singh ji, who was the director of 'Aahat' and 'CID', tells an anecdote about Hangal sahab. When Hangal sahab was shooting an episode of 'Aahat', he called BP Singh and said that the light on me is a little less.
BP Singh went and checked and the light was indeed a little low. He fixed it and after giving the shot, he asked Hangal sahab how he came to know that the light was low, to which Hangal sahab replied that I was not able to feel the heat of the light properly.'
He used to be a tailor once, so he used to design his own clothes
His attire was very classy. There was a different charm in his personality. He used to design his own clothes because he used to do tailoring at one time. He used to think that why would anyone else design my clothes… I do it myself.
I used to look for my eyes in the character of 'Sholay'
Once we asked him, Hangal sahab, how did you characterize the role of a blind man in Sholay? He said that it was challenging for me because before this many actors had played the role of a blind man.
So I designed my character in such a way that he is searching for his eye. That is to say, this is how he used to play his characters with details.
AK Hangal played the role of Rahim Chacha/Imam Saab in the film 'Sholay'. Even today he is recognized for the dialogue 'Itna sannata kyun hai bhai' from this film.
Sanjeev Kumar was made a hero by lifting him from the back stage
I had been working with him since the theatre days. I used to visit his house. He used to teach me the nuances of theatre. Once he told an anecdote that when he was directing the Damru play in 1955, the lead actor did not come for the final show.
A boy who used to work backstage came and asked him, 'If you don't mind, can I do this role?' Hangal sahab scolded him and drove him away.
When the lead actor did not come till the third bell, Hangal sahab called that boy and said that you play the lead role. That boy did a better job than the lead actor and his name was Sanjeev Kumar.'
Sanjeev Kumar (right) was Hangal Sahab's student during his theatre days.
When we approached him, he was very happy: Ravindra Gautam
The last project of Hangal sahab, who worked till the age of 98, was the TV show 'Madhubala'. Its director Ravindra Gautam told Bhaskar in an interview, 'We started this show on the completion of 100 years of Hindi cinema.
We wanted to cast someone in the show who has seen many generations of Hindi cinema. When we approached Hangal sahab, he was very happy.
Hangal Sahab checking his makeup on the sets of his last show 'Madhubala'.
As soon as he came, he asked- where is the script?
When Hangal sahab came to the set of 'Madhubala', he was 97 years old. Everyone on the set stood up in his honour. We gave him a separate room on the set in which there was a bed for him.
We said, Sir, you take rest, we will call you after getting the shot ready, then he said, we will call you but where is the script? Then he said, send a person with me for the lines…
Before the shot he said- do a rehearsal
While we were thinking of taking his shot quickly and freeing him, he interrupted us before the shot and said, “At least do a rehearsal brother…!”
At that time, we felt very embarrassed that in our hurry to finish the job, we forgot to follow the process of craft and this person was ready for rehearsal even at the age of 97.
The picture is of March 20, 2006 when the then President APJ Abdul Kalam (left) is honouring Hangal with the Padma Bhushan award.
He said- I will eat vermicelli kheer after the naming ceremony
After this, when he gave the shot, he enjoyed the entire acting process. He did not take any re-take. He improvised everything on the spot.
After the scene was okayed, Hangal sahab said that this was a naming scene, right? So after naming, we eat vermicelli kheer, then we ordered kheer for him on the set.
In a show held in Mumbai in 2011, Hangal Sahab walked the ramp on a wheelchair.
He taught us dedication even at the age of 97
When he was leaving the set, it was a very emotional moment for us. We were amazed to see the passion he showed for his craft at that age. He was so down to earth that after coming on the set, he would ask me what is my scene sir?
Hangal sahab taught us in a short time what dedication is. In today's era, many senior actors sit and stars come and say, Sir please take my shot first…
At the age of 97, even when he was unwell, he never once told me to take my shot quickly. He waited for the director's instructions.
I have not worked with big stars much in life, so the biggest achievement for me is that I worked with an actor associated with 'Sholay'. He taught us a lot.