When actors stood up for a cause
Surinderjit Singh Sandhu
Indian film fraternity, on several occasions of national importance, has stood by the principles of freedom of expression, equality and universal brotherhood. Recently when masked goons entered the JNU campus and injured several students and teachers, actor Deepika Padukone stood by the victims. Similarly, Swara Bhaskar has swayed people with her fearless oratory and clarity of position on the CAA and allied statutes. This is not for the first time that actors have stood up for a public cause in the face of danger.
In the aftermath of the Sino-Indian war of 1962, Nehru, the then PM, entrusted the onerous task of producing patriotic songs to enthuse the nation to the iconic producer-director Mehboob Khan. The songs ‘Aawaz do hum ek hain’ and ‘Watan ki aabru khatre mein hai’, in which Dilip Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Raj Kumar and Kamaljit participated, were written by Jan Nisar Akhtar. The music was given by the gem from Rahon in Punjab, Khayyam. These melodious songs still reverberate in the hearts of that generation. Most of these legends had migrated from Pakistan. Sanjay Dutt once saw his father Sunil Dutt in a pensive mood and asked him the reason. Sunil Dutt said, ‘Beta, ghar di badi yaad aa rahi aa.’ He was nostalgic about his house in Pakistan. His wife Nargis and Ajanta Arts troupe would regularly go to border areas to entertain Army units.
Prithviraj Kapoor also devoted time to entertain Army men stationed at the border. Chetan Anand had produced a patriotic film, Haqeeqat, depicting the war, at the instance of the then Punjab CM Partap Singh Kairon.
In 1975, during the Emergency, Kishore Kumar’s songs were barred on radio and other media, as he had refused to sing at Sanjay Gandhi’s rally. Dev Anand was Kishore Kumar’s dear friend. He organised a mammoth rally, with the help of his brothers Vijay and Chetan and denounced the action against Kishore Kumar and the Emergency in that unforgettable event. Such rare lovers of humanity!
In recent times, Aamir Khan produced a popular programme, ‘Satyamev Jayate’, in which he took up relevant social issues.
Nana Patekar, a renowned actor, has been spending crores of rupees to help the distressed peasantry, particularly in drought-hit areas. He also donated the entire amount of Rs 10 lakh of the Raj Kapoor Award he received to help the drought-hit.
Vivacious Madhubala was called ‘Venus of Indian cinema’. The Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund was started in the year 1948, with the objective of helping displaced persons from Pakistan. Madhubala had seen abject poverty, but was not a displaced person. By 1950, when she was 17, she had saved Rs 50,000. She donated the entire amount to the relief fund.
Such was the sense of social responsibility and empathy.
