Page 11 - Seniorstoday November 2022 Issue
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Vidyapati (Pahari Sanyal) to his palace, prince rebels over his love for a courtesan
only to face the distressing consequences (Madhubala).
of the queen (Chhaya Devi) falling in love
with him. Rustom Sohrab (1963):
He played Rustom, to Premnath as his son
Sikandar (1941): Sohrab in Vishram Bedekar’s film based
The majestic grace of the Greek emperor, on a Persian epic poem. Rustam did not
Alexander The Great, was perfected in know that his wife Tehmina (Suraiya) has
speech and body language, in this Sohrab given birth to a son, while he was away at
Modi epic, when he was faced with war. Father and son, both equally strong
resistance from King Porus (Modi), during and skilled warriors, are pitted in.a duel
his victorious march into Asia. against each other.
Raj Nartaki (1941): Jahan Ara (1964):
In this Modhu Bose film, among the first He played the aging Emperor Shah
Indian films made in English, he played Jahan, grieving the death of his wife
Prince Chandrakirti, who falls in love with Mumtaz Mahal, and building that famous
the court dancer Indrani (Sadhona Bose), monument to love in her memory -- Taj
which angers his father, who wants him to Mahal. His daughter Jahan Ara (Mala
marry a princess and expand his kingdom. Sinha) sacrifices her own happiness with
her beloved, to look after her father to
Dahej (1950): fulfill a promise made to her dying mother.
In V.Shantaram’s indictment of the dowry
system, he played the hapless father of a Aasmaan Mahal (1965):
woman (Jayashree), tortured by her in- This Muslim social, directed by K.A.
laws for not bringing any dahej, leading to Abbas, starred him in the tragic role of
a tragic end. a Nawab, who has lost his wealth but
insists on clinging to his aristocratic
Paisa (1957): lifestyle and refuses to sell his grand
The only film directed by him, to help but crumbling haveli to a businessman
the members of his troupe and starring looking to convert it into a hotel.
his theatre actors, did not serve its noble
purpose, since it flopped and left him in Kal Aaj Aur Kal (1971):
debt. The morality tale about the evils of Real life grandfather, son and grandson
greed, was too melodramatic and preachy acted together in the film directed
even back then, but with good music and by Randhir Kapoor who also made
fine performances. his acting debut with soon to be wife
Babita. He played a strict patriarch
Mughal-e-Azam (1960): who opposes the romance of his
In K Asif’s masterpiece, he played grandson to a woman of his choice.
Emperor Akbar, who is caught between The father (Raj Kapoor) is sandwiched
love for his son Salim (Dilip Kumar) and in the battle of wills between two
his duty towards the kingdom, when the generations.
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #41 | NOVEMBER 2022 11
