Chandigarh, December 22
He reigned Bollywood first as the ‘suspense hero’ and then the ‘musical hero’ of the ’60s. He was the typical chocolate-faced hero an every girl’s dream lover. But his rosy cheeks and fair complexion gave his leading ladies a complex, his make-up men took care and technicians had to adjust lights to make sure that the heroine appeared fairer. He was our Bengali Babu Biswajit.
Biswajit is in City Beautiful to attend the annual Rafi nite organised by the Yaadgar-e-Rafi Society at Tagore Theatre here tomorrow evening. This will be the second time he will be gracing the occasion as a chief guest. He was here earlier in 1996.
In a tete-e-tete at a hotel here, where he is staying till Sunday evening. Biswajit, dressed in a brown leather jacket, blue jeans and trademark cap and accompanied by his daughter Shambhavi, went down the memory lane. Despite strict opposition from the family, young Biswajit played a small role in a Bengali film “Dak Harakara”. Later, when he was doing the role of Bhootnath in a play “Sahib, Biwi, Ghulam” he had some surprise guests at one of the shows. Guru Dutt, wife Geeta Dutt and director Abrar Alvi watched him perform. After the show they offered him the same role in the Hindi film, “Sahib, Biwi aur Ghulam.”
Biswajit remembers how his joy knew no bounds because he had always dreamt of making it to Hindi films. But his friends dissuaded him, warning him of Guru Dutt’s whimsical nature. The latter had a few films shelved and signing an exclusive contract with him could delay his entry into Bollywood. Unhappily, he refused the offer, thereby losing a golden chance to act opposite tragedy queen Meena Kumari who played “chhoti bahu” in the film.
However, Biswajit says fate had other things lined up for him. Singer-director Hemant Kumar telephoned him to say that he was making a film in Hindi and wanted him to play the hero. That’s how, Biswajit narrates, he made a debut in “Bees Saal Baad” opposite Waheeda Rehman. The film was a great hit. Hemant Kumar had composed melodies besides giving a background music which really heightened the effect that a suspense film needed. People actually shrieked when a hand reached out for the hero wearing an overcoat, a felt hat and carrying a torch. The film keeping suspense till the last sent shivers down the spine of the audience.
There was no looking back for Biswajit. He then went on to act in “Kohra” (Indian version of “Rebecca”), “Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi”, “Jaal” “Bin Badal Barsaat” etc — all of which gave him the title of a “suspense hero”. But he was craving for much more. So he veered towards musicals like “Mere Sanam”, “April Fool”, “Night in London”, “Kismat”, “Shararat” and “Kahin Din Kahin Raat”. All were jubilee hits.
Biswajit also went on to do a few socials — “Main Sunder Soon”, “Paisa ya Pyar”, “Pyar Ka Sapna”, “Sagai”, “Do Kaliyan” etc. “There was a time I was so busy shuttling between Bombay, Madras and Calcutta that I had to remove makeup in the plane,” he reminicises.
What went wrong for the popular hero, I venture to ask. “Well, since I had successfully produced and directed Bengali films, I thought I would try my luck with Hindi films also. So I made ‘Kahatey Hai Mujhko Raja’ with Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Rekha and myself. Unfortunately, the film flopped and I ran into heavy financial losses.” Similarly, his next film “Rahgir” sank without a trace. “But though ‘Rahgir’ was a disaster, I got National Award nomination,” he informs me.
However, his days in the Hindi film industry seemed to be over. He returned to Bengal and acted in several movies there and then went on to make documentaries, like the one on Subash Chandra Bose.
What about character roles in Hindi films? Yes, he did play small roles in films like Jackie Shroff-Meenakshi Seshadhri-starrer “Allah Rakha”. But times had changed. Film business had passed on into the hands of corporate houses. Even stars had turned producers and were running their own banners and getting exorbitant amounts of money. Besides, as a director Biswajit feels he would not have been given free reins.
Now he is planning the Bengali version of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s “Golmaal”. The late director had given him the copyright of the film before he died. Biswajit has chosen daughter Shambhavi to play Bindiya Goswami’s role and has yet to select a hero. He himself will enact Utpal Dutt’s hilarious role and has plans to rope in Mala Sinha for Dina Pathak’s part.
His son Prasanjit is already a well-known name in the Bengal film industry. After a stint as a hero, he has switched over to character roles. He also acted in Hindi film “Aandhiyan,” but as it did not succeed he thought it best to stick to films in his mother tongue.
As for Biswajit, satellite TV sees to it that people remember the yesteryear star by showing his movies on some channel or the other. And even as I conclude the interview, I am informed that Screen office has telephoned him that he has been selected for the Lifetime Achievement Award to be bestowed on him at a function in Mumbai on January 6, 2007. Can he ask for a better beginning to a New Year.
