For Sanjeev Kumar, All His Insecurities Were Laid To Rest With Khilona

On the actor’s death anniversary, a look at his life and times through excerpts from an authorised biography.

The Indian film industry, like all other commercial enterprises, is highly result-driven. Either you’re a hit or you’re not: there’s no in-between. Sanjeev Kumar was no stranger to this fact. That he was amply talented had already been established by his performance in Sunghursh. However, the film was not a box-office hit, and Sanjeev was desperately looking for an opportunity that would bill him as a commercial success and cement his position in the industry. A well-known adage in India goes, “Daane daane par likha hai khaanewale ka naam” (every morsel of food carries the name of its consumer), which can be modified to the film industry as, “role role par likha hai nibhanewale ka naam” (every role has its predestined actor).

LV Prasad’s Khilona (1970), based on Gulshan Nanda’s novel Patthar Ke Hont, was conceptualised with Guru Dutt in mind. When LV Prasad heard that Dutt was caught up with K Asif’s Love and God, he decided to postpone the project. Unfortunately, Guru Dutt passed away before Love and God was finished, one of the many incidents that would lead to the film being dubbed one of the most ill-fated movies ever made in the industry. LV Prasad was left in the lurch.

How Kumar Had No Particular Singer Attached to His Image

After a lot of deliberation, Sanjeev Kumar was zeroed in on as a perfect replacement for Dutt. He had already played the role in a Gujarati adaptation called Maare Jaav Pehle Paar, for which he had won the Gujarat State Award for Best Actor. Besides, Prasad had seen Sanjeev’s commitment to the craft first-hand during the filming of Raja Aur Runk (1968) and Jeene Ki Raah (1969).

Khilona was being made with the utmost care. Author Gulshan Nanda wrote the screenplay, in consultation with the renowned writer Agha Jani Kashmiri. Intensive research had been carried out on mental health imbalances since the protagonist was to lose his mind after witnessing a shocking incident. Assistant director Prakash Kapoor was sent to the Thane Mental Hospital to study some cases. It took seventeen months to complete the script.

Sanjeev brought his own experiences to the character, basing part of it on a man he had met in Surat who suffered from a fear of fire.

Shatrughan Sinha, Jeetendra, Dheeraj Kumar and Mumtaz were using every connection they had to get a role in this movie. Prasad cast Jeetendra in a supporting role as he had already worked with Sanjeev in Jeene Ki Raah.

Shatrughan Sinha bagged the negative role of Bihari, and Leena Chandavarkar was supposed to play the female lead. However, her fee exceeded the film’s budget, and the role of Chand went to Mumtaz, who was willing to do it for ₹90,000. The largest sum, of ₹2 lakh, was paid not to an actor but to the cameraman Dwarka Divecha, and Sanjeev received a payment of ₹1,20,000. The music composer duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal decided to rope in Mohammed Rafi as the playback singer for Sanjeev Kumar. Pyarelal later mentioned:

There were very few actors who had no particular playback singer attached to their image. Sanjeev Kumar was one of them. Mukesh, Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Mahendra Kapoor and even Bhupendra had sung for him as his voice matched all of them.

Coming Late to the Sets

A special set was made at RK Studio and the film’s shooting began in full swing. Outsiders were not allowed on the set. The film ran into problems when, halfway through the making, the director felt that Shatrughan Sinha might have been the wrong choice for the role of Bihari. When he tried to replace him, however, his colleagues Sanjeev and Mumtaz rushed to his defence. Their unwavering loyalty proved to be the start of a lifelong friendship. Sanjeev himself was often in trouble for being late to the sets. As assistant director Prakash Kapoor remembers,

The shooting was held back for Sanjeev. LV Prasad was very upset as everyone was already on the set. When Sanjeev came, Prasad didn’t say anything to him, but after pack up he called me aside and asked me to tell him that this should not be repeated.

Not one to be told twice, Sanjeev was not late to the sets again.

It was time to shoot one of the pivotal scenes for the film. His character Vijay was to lose his mind at the sight of firecrackers. This was a particularly difficult shot; not only was it long, but it was also riddled with intricate nuances that would test his mettle as an actor. Sanjeev, true to form, completed the scene in one take and, impressed, Prasad told him,

If you want to come late for the shoot I don’t mind, but please inform me in advance.

Kumar's Friendship With Dwarka Divecha

During the shooting of Khilona, Sanjeev struck a friendship with cameraman Dwarka Divecha, who had nicknamed him ‘Gujarat no Gando’ (Madman of Gujarat). Sanjeev would patiently stand for hours under the spotlight to help Divecha find the right angle and lighting condition for the scene. Finally, the shoot was complete. Months of research had gone into the writing of Khilona, but the shooting was completed within just seven months.

The film released and Sanjeev Kumar was established as a star. He was featured on the cover of every notable film magazine and was inundated with offers to play similar roles. Sanjeev and Jamnadas refused all of them, except for the suspense thriller Anhonee (1973), which cast him as a police inspector pretending to be mentally ill to catch a culprit.

The massive success of Khilona was something Sanjeev had no experience of. The film was a superhit at the box office, and it went on to receive six Filmfare Awards nominations in 1971. It won two of these Best Film and Best Actress for Mumtaz. The big break Sanjeev Kumar was looking for had finally arrived, and all his insecurities about his position in the industry were laid to rest once and for all.

(The above is an exclusive excerpt from ‘An Actor’s Actor’, an authorised biography of late actor Sanjeev Kumar, penned by Hanif Zaveri & Sumant Batra. The biography, published by Penguin Random House, provides a glimpse of the star’s personal and professional life, taking off from the traditional business of the Zariwalas, his romantic involvement with some of Hindi cinema’s biggest names, his lifelong battle with loneliness and his glittering achievements on screen. Blurbs, paragraph breaks and subheadings have been introduced by The Quint for the ease of readers.)