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Home , Bismillah Khan

ANNIVERSARY ISSUE AGELESS ICONS

BHASKAR PAUL

Rule changers. Ground breakers. The nation has BIO Born in Amritsar, grown up with them. They have changed the Punjab, in 1914 contours of their arena, as much as they have First Field Marshal of altered the way we live, think, dream, buy, Led India to vic- toryin 1971 war even amuse ourselves. They are our national Now lives alone treasures who have created records meant to be in Kunnoor with his favourite broken and standards meant to be equalled. Gorkha retainer

If a man says he is not afraid“ of Legends “dying, he is either lying, or he is a Gorkha. March 15, 1986 J.J. Singh on S.H.F.J. MANEKSHAW An Officer and a Gentleman

first heard about the Field Marshal After being commissioned in the army, as a schoolboy in Jammu where he I served under the Field Marshal when Iwas commanding the Tiger Division. he was the commander of the Eastern He had a handsome and flamboyant Army. At that time, I was with my bat- Featured in the personality with a rare and distin- talion in Nagaland. It was during this Aug 21, 2000 issue guished charisma. He endeared him- tenure that I imbibed the counter- was in the chair with senior cabi- victory and liberate Bangladesh. His stoic insis- self to everyone, from a sepoy to a insurgency philosophy outlined by Sam net ministers. The then chief of army staff was tence on buying time to prepare the army general, with his humility and humane which was based on a humane ap- an invitee. Mrs Gandhi was furious about the resulted in the historic win and surrender of Did you outlook on life. proach and was aimed at winning the continuous and frantic reports of refugees pour- 93,000 Pakistani troops, a record in the annals Know General Manekshaw would often go hearts and minds of the Nagas. The ing into the border states of West Bengal, Assam of military history. It is also his greatest contri- ? for a walk in the evening towards the success of his combat philosophy was and Tripura, and wanted immediate intervening bution to the nation and the armed forces. He has a keen officers’ transit camp in Jammu. On evident when we conducted an opera- military action. Rather than toeing her line as Sam can disarm the most hostile crowd with interest in one such visit, he came across a young tion to trap an infiltrating insurgent most would have done in his place, the chief had a smile, forthright style and wit. He was and re- gardening and officer returning from leave and strug- group led by the self-styled Naga gen- the presence of mind and, most importantly, the mains a soldier’s general, who can identify with gling with his luggage. On finding him eral Mowu Angami. Intelligence moral courage to reply, “Prime minister, that the rank and file of the organisation. He is also has tried his in a spot, Sam Bahadur, as he was poured in from local people at all stages would mean going to war, and we are not ready a great communicator and can hold the atten- hand at cooking. lovingly called, then in his civvies, of the operation thanks to our people- at the moment.” tion of any group. It is said that old soldiers never promptly helped the officer carry his friendly approach. The operation was a Thereafter, he listed the advantages of going die, they just fade away. I am sure Sam won’t. bags to the transit camp. The guards on major success and left an indelible im- to war at a later date and was able to convince He will continue to charm us with that twinkle duty smartly saluted their general offi- pression on my mind. To an extent, the the prime minister. That was Sam. After the set- in his eye, rekindling hope. Ninety years young, 1942 cer. A bit surprised, the young officer central theme of my counter-terrorist backs suffered in 1962 on the Sino-Indian bor- he will remain the epitome of an officer and a the year he was guardedly enquired of him, “Thank operations is inspired by this approach. der and the successes of the 1965 conflict with gentleman, carrying the spirit of soldiering from awarded the you, sir. Who are you?” Sam replied, In early 1971, a cabinet meeting Pakistan, the rallied under Sam to the past, reliving it in the present and preserv- Military Cross LIVING “Oh, I help soldiers like I just did, and in was in progress after the crackdown in give the nation its finest hour. He masterminded ing it for the future. my spare time I command the division.” Bangladesh by the Pakistani forces. a brilliant, 14-day military campaign to achieve (The writer is the chief of army staff.)

DECEMBER 26, 2005 ◆ INDIA TODAY 13 ANNIVERSARY ISSUE AGELESS ICONS

Prabhu Chawla on BIO Born in Gwalior Leader with a Difference in 1924 Became prime e may be the patriarch of the Saffron her mind. How can we run a government minister of India Parivar, but his politics has never been like this? It has to be changed.)” The crowd twice (1996; Hmonochromatic. His public life spanning echoed his call for change: “Agli Bari Atal 1998–2004 ) 65 years has been a narrative of compromise Bihari. (Next time it will be Atal Bihari).” He Addressed the and confrontation, of compassion and high con- was 43 then and “agli bari” would be almost UN General cepts, in which ideology has coexisted in perfect three decades later. Assembly harmony with pragmatism. He may have been the longest serving in as

I remember my first look at the man who prime minister in waiting. But power for him foreign minister would one day embody the historic right turn in was not an end in itself. For the man who had set the tone of dissent in

mainstream Indian politics, power never meant the end of the struggle; rather, power Main sapnon ka was a moral responsibility, a saudagar“ nahin covenant with history. There hoon. Mere were others from the “ Opposition who made it be- paanv zamin fore him—Charan Singh, par hain. , Chandra January Shekhar and V.P. Singh. They 12, 2004 were accidents rather than inevitabilities. He was the al- ternative with ideas—and an ideology whose time had not passed. He was the first prime minister of genuine non-Congressism who would complete his term, and while in office, he was the most pop- ular politician of India, larger than his party, which could never catch up with him even as it turned him into a des- Cover story, perate slogan. March 31, 1994 As prime minister, he was a ruler of grand gestures and minimum words, a passive Did you revolutionary whose pauses Know were as telling as his political ? epigrams. The most indulged He was called human face of Hindutva was “Voyagepayee” the highest guru of a new during his stint BANDEEP SINGH coalition dharma and he set as minister of Indian politics. It was 1967, and he was ad- the stage for the young in the party. He reached dressing a Lok Sabha election rally in east . out to the world without the baggage of Third external affairs. Indira Gandhi was just a year old in office, her Worldism, and he gave connectivity an eco- goongi gudiya days. Vajpayee, known for his po- nomic as well as political relevance. He gave etic flourish, in a 40-minute speech, didn’t at- maximum functional autonomy to his minis- tack her personally even once, but didn’t spare ters, and if there was a visible weakness, it was 30 her politically either: “Hamari pradhan mantri his passion for consensus. The party with a dif- the number of ki hasti hai hi nahin. Satta unke haath mein ference may have lost its sheen, but the grand foreign trips he nahin, balki unko bolne ka adhikar hi nahin. old man of Indian politics hasn’t lost his singu- made as PM Kaise chalega desh? Yeh sab badalna hoga. (Our lar relevance as the leader with a difference. prime minister has no authority. She can’t speak (The writer is editor, INDIA TODAY.)

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Alka Yagnik on BIO Born in Indore Sweet Bird of Youth in 1929 BHASKAR PAUL 10 years ago, had tears in his though I have eyes when he never had a heard Ae mere chance to sing with watan ke logon her. I would proba- She had a dispute bly start to tremble with Raj Kapoor if I had to do so. over royalty Every time she payments

meets me she says that she listens to

my songs and en- courages me. For me it is like touch- I like Bing ing the sky. As for Crosby“ and trying to take over her turf, she had “Pat Boone. The herself reduced Beatles sing her working hours when I came in. very tunefully. Someone had to February take her place; I 1, 1979 feel blessed. I think with age she wants to do her own kind of songs and work with a few, special people. At her age and with her stature she can afford to do so. From among her recent songs, I love Tere liye from Cover story, Veer-Zaara. February1, 1981 have been a fan of Lata Mangeshkar for as So far Lataji has only said good things about long as I can remember. When I was nine I me. She has even been magnanimous enough Imet her at the Film Centre in Tardeo where to mention my name and praise me in some in- she was recording the song Raina beeti jaaye.I terviews. Some people criticise her voice, but I Did you told her I was an ardent fan of hers and she don’t like it. Even today, I can’t hear a word Know? replied, “Tumko bahut shubhkamnaye par pad- against her. I’m that loyal a fan of hers. The That she wears a hai adhuri mat chhodna (Best wishes, but don’t minute she opens her mouth even now, I am in leave your studies midway).” I think it is one of a trance. I listen to her in the car. I have all her navratna ring her unfulfilled dreams. songs. Subconsciously, I keep learning from which originally In the past few years she has become some- her—the way she sings, the way she articu- belonged to thing of a friend. Whenever we meet, I touch her lates. I think the rare thing about her is that she K.L. Saigal. feet and she gives me a hug. She may not say has just the right expression in each song; any- much, but the affection is evident in her eyes. I thing more or less would mar the song. That is always tell her I want to come over and listen to what makes her songs so rare and outstanding. her tales, her stories, all the kisse about what it It is an inborn quality; it comes from deep 15,000 was like to have recorded in the 1960s and ’70s within. If someone were to ask me who dollars was her fee but there is hardly any time. So she tells me that Goddess Saraswati was, I would say she is Lata for a show in Iamabigbundlebaaz (fraud), that I keep say- Mangeshkar. No one else comes close. America in the ‘80s ing I want to visit, but never do so. (The writer is a leading Bollywood I performed with her on the same platform playback singer.)

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TIRBHUVAN TIWARI BIO Born at , West Bengal, in 1933 Won the Nobel Prize in 1998 Best known for: Povertyand Famines: An Essay Suman Ghosh on on Entitlement

The and Deprivation Economics Argumentative is also“ con- “cerned with Indian the underdogs of society. October 26, 1998

n ancient Greece, Stoics developed the image gregation problem arising from the fact that of kosmou polites (world citizens), arguing society consists of different individuals. He tries Ithat each of us dwells, in effect, in two com- to find how we can talk cogently about what is munities—the local community of our birth, and good or bad for the society. The solution the community of human argument and aspira- provided by Sen is useful in analysing issues of tion, in which “we measure the boundaries of underdevelopment such as famines and pov- our nation by the sun”. This image of the world erty. Unfortunately, given his focus on welfare citizen has been the source of Kant’s idea of the economics, he has often been misconstrued as “kingdom of ends”, and more recently in the an opponent of globalisation. On the contrary, writings of Rabindranath Tagore. he has always been supportive of the liberali- This trait is exemplified in Amartya Sen, sation process in India and showered encomi- Cover story, economist, philosopher, social commentator— ums on when he started the October 26, 1998 or world citizen. As Sen forcefully argues, it does process as finance minister in the early 1990s. not preclude him from his identity as a Bengali, What he opposes is the sole reliance on as an Indian or an Asian. I’ve seen him at close markets as a mechanism for development. He quarters and find that he is as much at ease at has gone on record to criticise the World Bank Did you his home at Shantiniketan as he is at the Masters “as the institution which is responsible for a lot Know? Lodge at Cambridge—the home and the world. of evil in this world” because of its excessive re- As a scholar,he has been as variegated as his liance on market mechanism, and has also crit- He was personality, constantly probing his argumen- icised Manmohan Singh on his reforms for the christened by tative trait, starting from his brilliant thesis at same reason. His work and views on Indian Rabindranath Cambridge, “Choice of Techniques”, in 1960, economic policy have been controversial, esp- Tagore at and continuing unabated till 2005 when he ecially his early work in the 1960s with another Shantiniketan. wrote the equally brilliant, The Argumentative brilliant economist, K.N. Raj. Indian. Through the years, his range of schol- As a person, he has a great sense of humour arly achievements have been amazing, to say and wit. To a phone operator in the US, Sen the least. In the words of the great economist tried spelling his surname, without success. 65 Kenneth Arrow, “He is a scholar of wide inter- Finally he said, “S for somebody, E for every- per cent is the pay ests in an era in which most economists have body and N for nobody.” cut he took to teach become highly specialised.” (The writer is an economist and producer at Cambridge His work on social choice theory, for which of the documentary, Amartya Sen: A Life Re- he won the Nobel Prize, tries to analyse the ag- examined.)

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Jaithirth Rao on N.R. NARAYANA MURTHY BIO Born in Karnataka Big Byte Guru in 1946 He is an M.Tech t is not given to many outside politics to from IIT Kanpur, help shape a country’s history during an from its first Iinflection point. N.R. Narayana Murthy batch. belongs to this elite band of brothers. He was awarded Clearly, we in contemporary India are the Padma Shree riding the crest of a wave. We are not ob- in 2000 jects of history, but suddenly its subjects,

even if only in a limited way. I steal this idea from V.S. Naipaul consciously because

along with his clinical, data-driven, preci- sion-obsessed, engineering mind, Murthy has a feel for history and relates to our op- I think the real portunity to influence the world economy, power“ of not just react to it. money is the Even during his early days of agnostic “ radicalism, he was emphatic that each of power to give it us has a mission and his own was a special all away. one. He would not compromise. He would May2, be different, a Frostian commitment to the 2005 path not usually taken. Whenever I pro- posed something crass, if only in jest, his response would be, “Maadappa neenu (Go ahead and do your thing, have fun).” The unspoken subtext was that the permission to indulge was denied to him. He had a dif- ferent calling. The fact that he has fulfilled his destiny in large measure is immensely gratifying. Future historians will give Murthy a posi- tion analogous to that given to Henry Ford. There are other IT leaders besides Murthy, as there were other auto giants besides Featured in the Ford. But in making the Model T, Ford Dec 25, 2000 issue created “Middle America”. In creating Infosys, Murthy showcased, to use his own expression, the “Indian algorithmic mind”; he gave respectability to wealth creation; Did you his legacy is the empowerment of so many Know? young minds, somewhat more important insistence on acknowledging that the common That he was than the wealth earned by his colleagues. weal is more important than self-interest. No Most eminent persons like to hold forth. wonder he is the only IT businessman who interviewed for a His is an inviting approach: “Here is a point wants the industry not to have a tax holiday. job by Wipro’s of view and I’m open to being challenged.” Murthy has been fortunate in both per- — With old friends and acquaintances, he has sonal and professional spheres. His wife, and rejected. a disarming style. The conversation com- Sudha, has provided the energy and search mences from where it had been left at the for balance that drives him, and liberated last meeting even if it was a long time ago. Murthy’s febrile wings. Nandan Nilekani has His sense of humour is palpable, but be been the crown prince of whom most leaders 1999 warned. It can easily turn to impatient sar- dream of. And then, there is a saying about Infosys became the casm if he suspects slipshod thought pro- who it is that fortune favours. first Indian firm to be cesses or a casual approach to the things (The writer is CEO of Mphasis and listed on Nasdaq that matter to him. Candour, simplicity, N.R. Narayana Murthy’s nephew.)

BANDEEP SINGH

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Partho Datta on SHANKAR BIO Born in Shivpur, The Global Classic , in 1920 erhaps more than any other celebrity, ’s present venerable status has ob- He began as a Shankar is truly a global Indian. For scured his innings as a musician who achieved dancer in his older Phaving introduced the sitar and Indian fame early. In his 20s he was a well-known brother Uday classical music to the remotest corners of the instrumentalist much in demand at concerts Shankar’s troupe world, he has been bestowed with the highest throughout the country competing with esta- Recorded first civilian honour from a dozen countries. blished maestros of the previous generation. In sitar concert with At home, he has expanded the ambit, tech- his 30s he was travelling abroad, winning over Andre Previn in nique and format of instrumental music to lib- sophisticated audiences in Europe and the US. the 1970s erate it from its secondary status vis-à-vis vocal One famous convert was and

music in the classical hierarchy, besides creat- the two recorded Indian music for an inter- ing for it a popular market that did not exist be- national audience, winning for India its first

fore him. By amalgamating aspects of the veena Grammy. The second acolyte from across the and the surbahar to the sound of the sitar, he musical spectrum was George Harrison who They came to devised his own musical voice. By drawing on remained a fan till his death. the hallowed Dhrupad tradition and retaining At a time when counter-culture ruled the my recitals“ all that is timeless in classical Indian music, he minds of the youth in the West, Shankar’s suc- “high on dope forged a style of presenting the alap (the gradu- cess coincided with the popularity of traditional ated form of introducing a raga) which has be- music, yoga and spiritualism. He epitomises and made love come the standard in any instrumental concert. India’s successful tussle with globalisation. while I played. His superb compositional skills have also en- Despite espousing new values in his music and sured wide popularity of his art—be life, his Indian persona is intact. A firm believer April 16, 1980 it in cinema, theatre, even cell phone jingles— in the guru-shishya tradition, he is one of the and helped build newer audiences. He is one rare performing musicians to have groomed of the few modern classical musicians who have successful students. The age difference be- successfully contributed new ragas to the tween his oldest and youngest disciple could traditional pantheon. He set to tune Iqbal’s span half a century, an enduring legacy. Sare jahan se accha and made it the most (The writer teaches history at Delhi’s Zakir popular patriotic song. Husain Evening College.)

ISHAAN TANKHA

Featured in the April 16, 1980 issue

Did you Know? His career as a film composer began with the score for Chetan Anand’s Dharti Ke Lal. 1969 the year he performed at Woodstock

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Sitaram Yechury on JYOTI BASU BIO Born in The Ever Red Star in 1914 SUVASHIS MULLICK He was the chief minister of West Bengal for 23

years from 1977 to 2000

He resigned in 2000 because of health reasons Why do“ they take two years “to issue a licence?

August 15, 1991

arl Marx once said that when an idea soning, based on the Marxist outlook. No argu- grips the minds of the masses, it becomes ment can be won with him on the basis of pas- Ka material force. The desire for indepen- sion or emotion. dence from British rule had gripped the Indian The other facet of his personality is hu- masses when Jyoti Basu joined the communist maneness. On a few occasions I travelled Interview, April 1, 1978 movement. Having gone to England to earn a abroad with him. Being the chief minister of Bar-at-Law, he embraced the ideology and re- West Bengal, he would naturally get preferen- turned to India not to don the black robes but to tial treatment but he preferred to travel with plunge directly into the freedom struggle. He, other comrades and even today, travels only in however, was thinking ahead of what should be the economy class of Indian Airlines. He also Did you the character and content of independent India. has a unique sense of humour. During a visit to Know? The political independence that would be China, the delegation comprised comrades achieved needed to be converted into the true H.S. Surjeet, M. Basavapunnaiah and E. Bala- After Kolkata’s economic independence of every Indian. This nandan, besides the two of us. When I would Presidency meant the creation of a socialist society where converse with Surjeet in Hindi, Basava- College, he exploitation of man by man simply ceases to punnaiah in Telugu, Balanandan in Tamil and studied law in exist. It is with this passion, which has remained with him in Bengali, he told me I was a dan- the UK in 1935. undiluted till this date, that he continues to serve gerous person since nobody could understand the Indian people. what tales I was spreading about one to the He had to face many trials and tribulations other. Even now, he continues to attend our but his commitment to the cause never wavered. Politburo and Central Committee meetings 1948 Basu remains a role model precisely for this rea- with alertness that, at times, puts all of us of the the year Basu went son: through the sheer power of his commitment younger generation to shame. We can only to his convictions. During my association with wish that Basu will continue to lead the Indian underground to him in our party’s Central Committee for over Communist movement for many years. evade arrest two decades, I saw other admirable qualities. (The writer is a member of the CPI(M) One is his unassailable faith in the power of rea- Politburo.)

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S. Kalidas on M.F. HUSAIN BIO Born in Maharashtra The Stroke of Genius in 1915 e it for his colourful persona or for the Progressive Artists Group endeavoured to forge F.N. Souza vaulting prices of his bold canvasses, a language that was inspired by the German inducted him BMaqbool Fida Husain remains the most Expressionists of the early 20th century and the into the enduring icon of modern Indian art since Paris modernists led by Pablo Picasso. To this, Progressive Independence. Less than a decade short of a 100 Husain added elements drawn from Indian folk Artists Group years, the indefatigable Husain saheb continues art and classical temple sculptures, coining an in 1947 to thrive under the relentless gaze of all—the idiom completely his own. Won the Padma

media, the market and an army of admirers. A living mascot of the Hindu-Muslim, Shree in 1966 More significantly, the energising, creative rest- Ganga-Jamuna culture, Husain revels in an lessness of this stylish-yet-unshod painter in- artistic language that is quintessentially Indian,

spires the art community not only in India but in and yet, global. In a passionately lived and the entire subcontinent. vividly painted lifetime that stretches back to From children’s toys and sculptural installa- the noon of the , Husain has been, in If I were in tions to cinema hoardings and feature films, his own words, “Apne waqt ka munshi (the “ Husain has pitted his versatile genius against a clerk of my times)”, recording people, places Europe I would range of mediums. In the process, he has con- and events in his quirky, humorous and sensu- “have been more stantly redrawn the boundaries of form and ous style on blackboards, copybooks, hoard- gimmicky than space that had fettered the imagination of a ings, canvases and celluloid. Though his generation with a colonial mindset which was penchant for capturing cameos from life and Salvador Dali. emerging in a modern, democratic India. translating them into art works might have kept February Rejecting the second-hand academic realism of him in the news, it has also taken away from his 1, 1979 Ravi Varma and the wishy-washy sentimental- real contributions as an artist. ity of the Bengal School, Husain and his (The writer is deputy editor, INDIA TODAY.)

Cover story, February1, 1979

Did you Know? The boot of his Mercedes always carries chana, canvases, paint and brushes. 4 the number of museums he has built for his works

HEMANT CHAWLA

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BANDEEP SINGH Savita Devi on BISMILLAH KHAN BIO Born in in 1916 An Enduring Raga He performed at the on hen you think of shehnai, you think shehnai that did not exist previously. The mo- the eve of India’s of Bismillah Khan. How ment he plays the first note, he transports you first Republic Day Wblessed he must be to have been to a different plane. Such is the appeal of his He recorded a able to elevate the simple wind instrument to music. song in the movie such global glory. Shehnai is a Persian word Khan saheb has long been the secular Goonj Uthi for the king of reed flutes, but this particular face of India: a devout Shia Muslim, who lives Shehnai, 1959

instrument has been a vital part of everyday in Kashi, a pilgrim centre for Hindus, he plays life and worship in our country for centuries, the shehnai at temples and also on the eighth as its sound is considered auspicious. Be it a day of Muharram. On this day, he plays a spe-

celebration for a newborn, a mundan cere- cial silver shehnai while leading a procession mony (the ritual tonsuring of the head), of common people to the symbolic tomb of marriage or any other social occasion, the Hazrat Iman Hussain. For him, music is God. My namaaz is shehnai is indispensable in north India, much More importantly, today when everyone is so “ like the nadaswaram is in the south. taken by the superficial glitter of big cities, he the seven Khan saheb’s forefathers were court mu- continues to lead a hermit-like, austere life in “shudh and sicians in Dumrah, Bihar. Born in 1916, his . He is also one musician of our times five komal favourite pastime as a boy was to play as who has not dabbled in western music. Such many shehnais as he could find in his men are born once in a millennium. surs. grandfather’s room. At seven, he was brought (The writer is a well-known Thumri July26, to Varanasi by his maternal uncle and guru, singer.) 1999 Ali Bux, and his training started on the precincts of the Balaji temple. The rest, as they say, is history. My mother, , also hailed from Varanasi and had joined forces with him for jugalbandis. Today, Khan saheb champions the voice of Varanasi. At a time when semi-classical forms such as Thumri, Kajri, Chaiti, and Hori are disappearing from the concert scene, he continues to play them, keeping the purab-ang (eastern style) alive. In Photo-essay, 1985, I had the good fortune of singing a July15, 1986 duet with him. When I reached Varanasi, he asked me to sing in the pitch that his shehnai was tuned to. Although it differed from my own Did you scale, I obliged. The concert Know? started at 11 p.m. and went on till 4 a.m. It was a memorable He smokes Wills experience. cigarettes with Khan saheb’s contribution relish. “This is to Indian music lies in the fact my only vice,” that he single-handedly ele- says the Ustad. vated this festive, folksy in- strument to the classical stage by playing pure ragas on it. He brought in some qualities of stringed instru- 100 ments and subtle nuances the number of rela- of vocal music to the tives he supports

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FAWZAN HUSAIN BIO Born in Uttar on Pradesh in 1942 A BBC online poll The Eternal B voted him the Superstar of the met Amitabh Bachchan for the first time at Millennium the house where I lived with my father. You ahead of Marlon Ican say that the meeting was warm because Brando in 1999 he was running a 104 degree temperature. He survived a When I realised he was unwell I offered him a life-threatening lie-down in my bed. I’m quite sure that bed will injuryin 1982

have a huge value at any sale today. I had been impressed by him in Anand and

Bombay to Goa. So when Salim-Javed sug- gested we take him to play Jai in Sholay, these two films flashed in my mind and as we already Money is had an impressive star cast, it wasn’t a difficult important.“ But decision to include an actor with potential. Little did I know that the actor would turn out to be “that isn’t the the biggest star of all time. In our 33 years of only reason I working together—through Sholay, Shaan, Shakti and Akeyla—he was always clued in, al- keep going. ways there, even when it wasn’t his shot. He May1, was continuously imbibing, learning and 1980 preparing. Working with him was a pleasure. I remember a shot we did in Sholay at the end of the train sequence when Sanjeev Kumar lies injured, on the verge of death, and Veeru and Jai have to make a decision to stay. Amitji was supposed to have the famous coin in his hand and take away one hand to reveal its head, and the decision. Because of the glare, it was impossible for anyone but the cameraman to tell where the coin should be placed. That’s where the long arm came in handy. Amitji became the cameraman, his eye was on the Cover story, viewfinder and his hand with the coin was May1, 1980 below the lens hood. He had to get both his hands around the camera and in front of the lens hood, uncover the coin in his other hand Did you and close one eye so that he could catch the Know right light. It all worked out beautifully. ? The measure of the man has been manifold Of his nine cars, at a personal level as well. Amitji always refused the Bentley is a to quote a price and left it to me. Even today he favourite, but he is at the top in the industry. His performances is driving a Lexus have matured and he is now doing a greater variety of roles. This year too he has given some SUV right now. mind-boggling performances. But he pushes himself a little too hard. He is back on Kaun Banega Crorepati 2 and yet one can’t have 25,000 enough of him. What can I say about a man who has a great passion for his work, who loves life, rupees was the sum lives life and brings life to whatever he does? he was paid for his Slow down, yes, but also let’s have more. role in Anand (The writer is the director of Sholay.)

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