Maestro Sudha Raghunathan presided over a talk on author Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta's book 'Sanjeev Kumar- The Actor We all Loved' at Crossword Chennai. The discussion was around Sanjeev Kumar's deep personal connection with Chennai and the music of his films that lent him a perennial appeal across the country. A question posed by Sangita Kalanidhi Sudha Raghunathan was about why Sanjeev Kumar is compared to Sivaji and not any other stalwart actor of his time – MGR, Gemini Ganesan, etc;
To answer this, Gupta outlined several reasons; for eg., the Tamil film Bharatha Vilas (1973) in which Sivaji Ganesan and Sanjeev Kumar were seen together. To the delight of the audience, Sudha Raghunathan sang a line of the song 'Indhiya Naadu' from the movie and said, "Sanjeev Kumar's music continues to be loved in the South".
Gupta added that Sanjeev Kumar's yin and yang with Sivaji Ganesan is well known. Sanjeev Kumar enacted a character role in Ganesan's home production Gauri (1968) which was a remake of Ganesan's own Shanti (1965). Sanjeev Kumar's Mausam was remade in Tamil as Vasanthathil Oru Naal featuring Shivaji Ganesan. Both were super hits. Sivaji Ganesan's 'Avan Thaan Manithan' was remade as Shaandaar, and Gnana Oli was remade as Devata - both featuring Sanjeev Kumar.
Further, in an article called 'Naan Sivajiyan Maanavan' ( I am a student of Sivaji's), written by Sanjeev Kumar, the late actor said, "I first met him when I was an extra on the sets of Gauri. One look at me and he said, ' In the future, you will be a very accomplished actor.' His words were like God's own words and he blessed my career. Whenever a Sivaji Ganesan movie had to be remade in Hindi, all of us actors would worry plenty. His prowess inspired fear. We would see the Tamil print, again and again, to observe his performance and learn! At a personal level, whenever I visited Chennai, I would seek his blessings. I am grateful for all the love he has given me. If he sees me as one of the finest actors in Hindi Cinema, it is my honor."
Sudha Raghunathan, a Padma Bhushan awardee who believes in the power or all art added, "they were different in their 'style' and yet the same in their ‘power.’ She also expressed that Sanjeev Kumar’s songs continued to be popular in Chennai as ringtones.
Profile of author Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta
Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta is a prolific biographer, reviewer for Network18, and a bibliophile. She is credited with the acclaimed Red Dot Experiment, a decadal six-nation study on how culture impacts communication. She has been a part of several public health campaigns such as "beti bachao beti padhao " and "Ek chammach Kam." A polyglot, she speaks five languages. In 2018, she wrote ‘Rescript Your Life’, a self-help autobiographical narrative. In 2021, she released ‘The Stranger In the Mirror’ the biography of BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. Thereafter, 'Sanjeev Kumar- The Actor We All Loved was released in 2022.' Her fourth book "Savitri and Fatima" is to launch in July 2023.
Here's an extract from the book that testifies to the deep relationship between Sanjeev Kumar and the south.
The Southern Connections
In the late 1960's, a very important relationship in Hari's life started taking shape.
It was one of mutual respect with the legendary actor of Tamil cinema, Sivaji Ganesan. Hari was given a character role in Ganesan's home production Gauri (1968) which was a remake of Ganesan's own Shanti (1965).
An article of unknown provenance titled 'Naan Sivajiyan Maanavan' ( I am a student of Sivaji's), obtained from Hari's family archives quotes him as follows.
I first met him when I was but an extra on the sets of Gauri. One look at me and he said, ' In the future, you will be a very accomplished actor.' His words were like God's own words and he blessed my career. Whenever a Sivaji Ganesan movie had to be remade in Hindi, all of us actors would worry plenty. His prowess inspired fear. We would see the Tamil print, again and again, to observe his performance and learn! At a personal level, whenever I visited Chennai, I would seek his blessings. I am grateful for all the love he has given me. If he sees me as one of the finest actors in Hindi Cinema, it is my honor.
The mutual admiration between Sivaji Ganesan and Hari and the latter's own quiet, easygoing nature eventually played a major role in Hari's success. When South Indian producers and directors wanted to remake their Tamil or Telugu films in Hindi, they often chose Hari. These remakes typically had long dialogues and demanded good histrionics and this further augmented Hari's 'actor' tag.
For example, Sivaji Ganesan's Avan Thaan Manithan was remade as Shaandaar, and Gnana Oli was remade as Devata - both featuring Hari. Among the Telugu films, Takkar was a remake of N.T. Rama Rao's Devudu Chesina Manushulu with Hari in the lead role. The winds blew the other way too. Hari's Mausam was remade in Tamil as Vasanthathil Oru Naal featuring Shivaji Ganesan.
The other important southern connection was L.V. Prasad. Hari scored a hat-trick of hits with him - Raja aur Runk (1968), Jeene Ki Raah (1969) and Khilona (1970).
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