Jaideep Sen highlights a memorable incident between Salim Saab and the iconic filmmaker Raj Kapoor...
It’s been a few days since Mrs. Krishna Raj Kapoor
left for her heavenly abode. I thought this piece could be the right tribute to
her since I truly believe that she was the strength behind the greatest cinema
made in India by Raj Kapoor Ji which I even conveyed to their youngest son, Rajiv
Kapoor at her prayer ceremony.
This piece also gives me an opportunity to bring to
the attention of readers the implicit, immense and unadulterated respect that Mr.
Salim Khan has for the iconic Mr. Raj Kapoor whom he addressed as Raj Saab. His admiration for the legendary filmmaker was expressed through an audio tribute. Another
celebrated filmmaker Manoj Kumar Ji endorsed it as one of the greatest tributes
to be made by one artiste for another. On
hearing it, India’s Pride Lata Mangeshkar Ji’s eyes welled up with emotion.
Krishna Raj Kapoor Ji on hearing it marvelled
at how Salim Saab had encompassed her husband Raj Saab’s life in a few minutes.
The only answer to that is, devotion.
Devotion is a form of great strength which is what
Salim Saab has for Raj Saab whom he considered an elder to the extent that after
Prithviraj Ji’s passing away whose feet Salim Saab used to touch, he continued
this tradition by touching Raj Saab’s feet as long as he lived.
In this audio tribute Salim Saab said that Lord
Krishna had mentioned in the epic Mahabharat that whenever and wherever there
shall be a drought of virtue He shall make his presence felt in whichever
sphere of life. Salim Saab firmly believes that on 14th December
1924 Lord Krishna was himself born in the form of Raj Kapoor Saab to take the
arts to its pinnacle.
According to Salim Saab, Raj Saab was the “man of the
match” of every film that he made and a complete filmmaker who was far superior
to any other because of his understanding of each and every aspect of emotion and
film-making, especially romance and music.
They shared a special rapport and whenever Salim
Saab was a guest at Raj Saab’s get-togethers Raj Saab would always ask him to
stay back. After the other guests departed Raj Saab would bond with Salim Saab and
share with him experiences of his life which enriched Salim Saab both as a human
being and a writer.
One such memorable and enriching moment that Salim
Saab experienced happened during the premiere of Deewaar where on the completion of the film Raj Saab called him over.
Raj Saab felt that they had made a mistake in the characterisation of Vijay and
that even after literally striking gold and amassing money, after going illegal,
Vijay should have still been unkempt and attired in his porter’s uniform amidst
the high society that he was now a part of. Raj Saab explained to him that
whatever Vijay had done was not for himself but for his Mother which is why he
shouldn’t have been interested in an appearance overhaul and the presence of a
dishevelled man in a neat and clean surrounding would have taken the emotional
impact of the character to another level altogether. To date, Salim Saab doffs
his hat to this in-depth observation of Raj Saab which underlined the minutest
details that only Raj Saab’s cinematic genius could pick up.
And then life gave Salim Saab the opportunity to
receive the ultimate compliment he could ever get from the ultimate
filmmaker Raj Saab. It took place when the latter watched Salim Saab’s first film as an
independent writer, Naam. How uncanny it is that Naam shared the same grain of Deewaar, which Raj Saab had made an
observation on. But this time, Raj Saab felt Naam was a flawless film and went on to tell Director Mahesh Bhatt
that. Without taking anything away from
his remarkable directorial talent Raj Saab felt that Naam was a film first directed by a “pen”.
He turned to Salim Saab and
told him that he always believed in his talent and in spite of the rough times
that Salim Saab experienced after his separation with his partner, and hearing
uncomplimentary theories about Salim Saab’s writing abilities or rather the
lack of it, Raj Saab always knew that Salim Saab would rise like a phoenix from
the ashes.
Salim Saab has the highest respects for Krishna Ji
whom he also credits for being the strength in her husband’s celebrated life and
journey as India’s greatest fimmaker whose eternal “Raj” of brilliance shall
always shine the brightest.
Jaideep Sen is a filmmaker and a connoisseur of the art of storytelling.
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