A C Tuli
A K Hangal joined the film industry when he was already fifty. Normally an actor, when he reaches fifty, has perhaps not much to look forward to. But Hangal was an exception. Perhaps no one at that time knew that he, with his considerable experience in theatre, was cut out for an unusually long innings in the film industry.
He made his debut in Basu Bhattacharya’s ‘Teesri Kasam’ (1966), in which he performed the role of Raj Kapoor’s elder brother. Even though most of his scenes were removed from the film at the editing table. Hangal’s debut was so impressive that, after this, he did not have to ask for roles.
Roles came to him unasked for. In a career span of around forty years, he worked in more than 200 films. In whatever role he was cast, he left a deep impression on the viewers’ minds with his acting.
In fact, ‘acting’ is perhaps a wrong word to use when we talk of Hangal. It is truly said about him that he never acted, but always lived his roles with an intensity that was in itself a complete system of education for new entrants in the film industry. He possessed the rare talent of completely metamorphosing himself into the character that he was asked to portray.
Avtar Vineet Kishan Hangal was born in a family of Kashmiri Pandits in Sialkot in 1916, though his childhood years were spent in Peshawar. Right from his adolescence years, he was greatly influenced by the Marxist philosophy. So, while earning his livelihood by working as a tailor master and giving occasional performances on the stage, Hangal became an active member of the Communist Party. He participated in the freedom movement and was even jailed for three years. He came to Bombay in 1949 with, it is said, just twenty rupees in his pocket.
In Bombay, Hangal became a member of IPTA (Indian People Theatre Association). He was actively associated with Balraj Sahni and Kaifi Azmi when they were working for IPTA.
Hangal has given so many fine performances in films that one is hand put to it to single out his best ones. But the films for which he will be remembered by posterity are ‘Guddi’, ‘Sholay’, ”Namak Haram’, ‘Shaukeen’, ‘Aaina’, ‘Kora Kagaz’, ‘Bawarchi’, ”Chitchor’, ‘Abhimaan’, ‘Anamika’, ‘Arjun’, and ‘Parichay’.
His role of Rahim Chacha in ”Sholay’ is considered to be the finest achievement of his career as actor. In those scenes of the film in which his young son (Sachin) is killed by the merciless Gabbar Singh and his dead body is sent home on horseback, Hangal’s performance moved viewers to tears.
Then, his words in this film, ‘Itna sannata kyon hai, bhai’ !’, have now become such a famous tagline that actors often use it to enhance the effectiveness of their performances in serials and comedy shows on TV.
Though Hangal could perform all kinds of roles with natural ease, it was mostly in the role a poor and helpless paterfamilias buffeted by the hardships of life that brought out the best in him. In ‘Chitchor’, he came before the viewers as a low-paid headmaster of a village school, who had a young daughter of marriageable age.
Hangal gave a heart-warming performance in this film. But, in an earlier film ‘Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Mein’ (1967) directed by K A Abbas, Hangal’s role was that of a hard-hearted real estate baron who is out to wipe out juggi-jhonpris of the poor to build there a multi-storied complex to earn megabucks.
Hangal’s role is still remembered by cine-goers though the film ‘Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Mein’ has been forgotten.
His versatility was astonishing. If he could move people to tears in serious roles, he could also make them ripple with laughter by his light, breezy roles in which he was required to act naughty.
For instance, ‘Shaukeen’ (1982) was a hilarious comedy centering round three lecherous but harmless old men- Ashok Kumar, Utpal Dutt, and A K Hangal– who leave home to go for a lark to Goa. There the come across Rati Agnihotri, a club dancer. The trio starts fantasizing about her.
Each one of them foolishly comes to think that she is in love with him. Thus, they land themselves in many funny situations, which often have the film viewers in splits.
The film, directed by Basu Chatterjee, was truly a laugh-riot. Most of Hangal’s admirers who had hitherto thought that he was fit only for serious roles were in for a great surprise. His performance of a naughty old man in ‘Shaukeen’ was something in the nature of a revelation to them.
In Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s ‘Bawarchi’ (1972), Hangal played the role of a clerk who could not remain without his quota of evening tipple. But the same Hangal, in Hrishkesh Mukherjee’s ‘Namak Haram’ (1974) appeared in the role of a trade union leader of impeccable character.
Hangal kept working in films in spite of his advancing age. ‘Sab Kuch Hai Kuch Bhi Nahin’ (2005) was his last film. Ailments associated with extreme old age began to trouble him and he was forced to lead a sedentary life at home.
With mounting expenses on medical treatment and dwindling income, Hangal found himself in a financially tight position. Many people in the film industry came forward to render him financial help when they learnt about his tight position.
But he was now no longer fit to work in films. His son Vijay, who himself is now in his mid-seventies, looked after him. Hangal’s wife Manorama had predeceased him.
The Government of India had conferred A K Hangal with Padma Bhushan in 2006.
His condition worsened when a few days ago he had a nasty fall while going to the bathroom to answer the call of nature. He was admitted in a hospital of Mumbai. The end came on the morning of August 26, 2012. But the grand old man of the film industry shall be remembered for years to come, for he not just a superb actor but also a great human being.
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