Kader Khan: A man that Bollywood forgot too soon
Veteran actor of Bollywood Kader Khan has breathed his last. Today's generation identifies him only as an actor of comedy genre. There was a time when Govinda and Kader Khan made for a superhit pair. Their roles would be created on the lines of popular cartoon series such as Tom and Jerry. Those roles used to be very powerful such as son-in-law and father-in-law, or son and father where the characters would hey into direct competition with each other in performance. Shakti Kapoor also entered into the completion equation sometimes.
Kader Khan who breathed his last in Canada on Dec 31, was a very popular actor of hindi cinema in 1990s. His pairing with Govinda or Shakti Kapoor would be a sure way of getting more comic relief into the cinema. Banarasi Babu, Hero No 1, Haseena Maan jaayegi and other films may not be his best performances, but they sure we're hits of their times. He had not only acted in more than 300 films, but had also written dialogues for more than 200 films. He had deep knowledge in classics of the world so that he could even hold lengthy discussions on them.
But looks like Bollywood was only amused by the daffy acting of this creative man. The field did not want the most creative writer and thinker who could have enriched the field with his knowledge. If he ever included some parts of good literature into the dialogues he wrote, the directors often rejected them and asked him to write perhaps the double entendre dialogues that would be relished by the young generation. Khader Khan used to be very disappointed about this. He had used the 'street style’ language for Amar Akbar Anthony for Amitabh Bachchan’s Anthony Gonsalves’ character when the film was made in 1977. He had later regretted that he even brought that language into circulation in the film industry. But he was very proud of the language he had employed for Akbar's role that was performed by Rishi Kapoor. People had loved Bachchan's role though where he says people run only two times, when there is a Olympic race or policie case.
These dialogues had been a superhit among young people. It would be significant to note that Khader Khan grew up in the red light area of Mumbai, known as Kamathipura. Even then, his family had succeeded in protecting him from the ill effects of the surrounding areas. He reminisced often about entire streets occupied by sex workers, another street was occupied by hijras and the adjoining street had bars and alcohol shops along with places for gambling. Khader Khan often saw sex workers running their business with great acumen.
As a child, Khader Khan was inspired by the works of Russian and Indian writers. Sadat Hasan Manto was his favourite writer. Khan came from theatre background. He was a Mathematics professor by profession. But his interest lie in acting and performing. He entered film industry through Dilip Kumar. He got to play a small role in Yash Chopra's Daag in 1973. Yet, IMDB lists Roti as Khan's first film which was made in 1974. Saleem Javed pair were ruling the dialogue writers world in Bollywood in 70s. They would offer a proper package to the directors such as story, screenplay and dialogue all done together by the duo. This meant Kader Khan got to work on very few films. But the film Amar Akbar Anthony opened the doors of fortune for Khader Khan.
He had written for Desai's films such as Parvarish, DharmaVeer, Suhaag, Naseeb and Coolie. He became the most sought after writer in 70s and 80s. Along with writing for films, he had also gained good reputation in anti-hero roles as well. After brand Govinda began to fade, Khader Khan also began to lose market. He was the first one to identify the growing intolerance in this country. He has even voiced his opinion against it. He brought out a book on the peace-loving aspect of Islam faith. In an interview he gave in 2012, he spoke about growing intolerance, if not going into long discussion about politics. After this, he stopped fancying Bollywood and the feeling was mutual. There were time when he had to clarify that he is alive when rumours of his death spread far and wide. His presence had been long forgotten. It's an irony that he had to be remembered that he was alive when he actually died. Bollywood truly lost a gem in his death.
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RCB pip CSK by two runs in last-ball IPL thriller
Bengaluru: Ayush Mhatre's 94 and Ravindra Jadeja's 77 not out went in vain as Royal Challengers Bengaluru pipped Chennai Super Kings by two runs in their IPL match here on Saturday.
Chasing 214, CSK scored 211 for 5 in their 20 overs.
Mhatre scored a 48-ball 94 with five sixes and nine fours while adding 114 runs with Jadeja (77 not out off 45 balls, 8x4s, 2x6s) for the second wicket.
For RCB, Lungi Ngidi returned with figures of 3/30.
Earlier, half-centuries from Jacob Bethell (55), Virat Kohli (62) and Romario Shepherd (53 not out) took RCB to 213 for five.
While Bethell and Kohli put on 97 runs for the opening wicket to set a platform, Shepherd blasted four fours and six sixes to make 53 not out off only 14 balls, recording the fastest fifty of the season and joint second-fastest overall.
For CSK, Matheesha Pathirana found his rhythm and lengths to return 3-0-36-3.
Brief scores:
RCB: 213 for 5 in 20 overs (Jacob Bethell 55, Virat Kohli 62, Romario Shepherd 53 not out; Matheesha Pathirana 3/36).
CSK: 211 for 5 in 20 overs (Ayush Mhatre 94, Ravindra Jadeja 77 not out; Lungi Ngidi 3/30).
