"An era comes to an end. Theatre and film were enriched by him"
Like 'Benjamin Button', Avtar Krishan Hangal (1917-2012) seemed for generations of cinemagoers to have been born old.
It didn’t matter whether it was in landmark films such as 'Sholay', 'Namak Haraam' and 'Lagaan' or somewhat offbeat ventures such as 'Shagird' and 'Shararat'. Never mind, whether he was called 'Rahim chacha, Masterji or Imam sahab'. A.K. Hangal, whose roles often demanded a careworn fragility and a gentle but unwavering righteousness, was cast in roles that demanded piety, playing characters that carried the burden of their virtuous poverty with a quiet and kindly dignity. That these roles mirrored the ups and downs of his own life made their portrayal all the more easier.
While everyone wanted to cast him in the role of a kindly old man, nobody spared a thought for the old man himself. Not even when he did Gurudev Bhalla’s 'Shararat', a film about 'old age home inmates', did it strike anyone that Hangal could be facing a crisis himself. It was only a couple of years ago, when his son Vijay announced there was no money for the treatment of Hangal, who suffered from multiple medical problems at the time, that the film world awakened from slumber!
The industry rose, with Jaya Bachchan, who had acted with Hangal in 'Bawarchi', 'Guddi' and 'Sholay', offering to pay for his treatment. So did others such as Mithun Chakraborty and Riyaz Gangjee, who incidentally, got Hangal to ‘walk’ the ramp on a wheel chair a little more than a year ago.
Earlier this year, Hangal made a comeback-of-sorts, shooting for the serial 'Madhubala' on Colors.
That was one of the rare times Hangal occupied the centre-stage. For the most part, he was on the sidelines. He did a number of films with Rajesh Khanna, a few significant ones with the Bachchans and many others.
When a correspondent reminded him of his roles in a variety of films such as 'Tapasya', 'Avtaar' and 'Sharaabi', he seemed dismissive. "Bahut role kiye hain. But, I have seen only 50 of my own films" - He was a part of over 225 films! But he did remember 'Sholay' - "I researched for the role, learnt Islamic hymns and tried to perfect the body language for the role of an imam," he had once quoted.