Mumbai, Apr 4 (PTI) Veteran actor Prem Chopra says he will forever be indebted to the late Manoj Kumar for having faith in him to play a positive role in “Shaheed”.
The 87-year-old actor, who passed away on Friday due to age-related issues, had worked with Chopra in 1964’s “Woh Kaun Thi?”. During the filming, Kumar asked Chopra to play the role of revolutionary Sukhdev in “Shaheed”.
Directed by S. Ram Sharma, the film featured Kumar in the iconic role of Bhagat Singh.
“He offered me a positive role ‘Shaheed’. I had a great role in it. People still talk about it, I’m grateful for the opportunity. Later, he offered me a role in ‘Upkar’, which had both negative and positive shade to it. I continued whatever good work came my way,” Chopra told PTI.
Kumar would often cast actors, typically known for villainous roles, in positive characters in his movies.
Pran, long typecast as a villain in Hindi cinema, played the memorable role of Malang Chacha, a wise and noble soul, in Kumar’s 1967 directorial “Upkar”.
“He changed the image of Pran Saab, who was a hardcore villain, by giving him a positive role in ‘Upkar’. Filmmakers wouldn’t often take the chance to cast an actor in an unusual way, but he had the guts to give a different role. He was a genius,” Chopra said.
The actor, who also collaborated with the late screen icon on films such as “Anita”, “Purab Aur Paschim”, “Sanyasi”, “Kalyug Aur Ramayan”, “Kranti”, and “Santosh, said Kumar was a “lover of cinema”.
“My career started working with him, and till the end I worked in his films. He was a very intelligent man. He made impactful films, wherein, ‘India ki jai-jai hoti thi’. He would give a positive message about India,” Chopra said.
“I’ll miss him, he was a very dear friend. We would often visit each other, and attend almost every family function. For the last eight to ten months he would not answer calls, so I would often speak to his son, and check on his health,” he added. PTI KKP RB RB
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