Adieu “Bharat” Kumar

Manoj Kumar has left his mortal frame. He carved his own place in Bollywood with his dedication and commitment in his own unique way. He was inspired by a character played by Dilip Kumar who was named Manoj and it struck his mind and he made a resolve that he will enter the film world with the name Manoj Kumar. And time proved him right as Harikrishan Giri Goswami scaled new heights of success as Manoj Kumar. He left his mark in a different way in the cine world. The characters that he played had a civilizational and national connect. His movies raised the issues of national import and he infused a sense of strong national unity and patriotism among the masses. His main objective was to uphold Indian nationalism and sensitise the masses about the issues that posed a serious challenge to unity and integrity of the Indian nation. He upheld the civilizational moorings of India. The songs of his films were based on igniting nationalism among the masses. The songs of his movies like Pukar, Purab Aur Paschim, Kranti speak volumes about his commitment to patriotism. This earned him the epithet of “Bharat Kumar” for making the Indic values in the filmmaking a national imperative and he indeed achieved commercial success in this and made other filmmakers confident in making films on the themes in which the issues of national importance took primacy. He was equally successful in other commercial films and influenced the generations for his style and mannerisms. Though he was inspired by the acting skills of Dilip Kumar, he improvised his acting style and made a place for himself. He proved that stardom is not only about commercial cinema success but the themes of nationalism can give more energy to the commercial cinema. For his tremendous contribution to Indian cinema he was awarded Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Artists like Manoj Kumar may leave their mortal frames but through their committed work they become eternal. Songs like mere Desh Ki Dharti Sona Ug le …..Ugle Heere Moti……,Har Preet Jaha Ki Reet Sada will always reverberate in the Indian skies and inspire generations to uphold Bharat and sacrifice their best for the nation. Stars like “Bharat Kumar” are born once in a lifetime who dedicate their life and art to the nation to contribute to the national consciousness. There is a need to emulate his art to add substance to the film making and make films on the national issues that concern all people. So that people are motivated to remain united and internalise their national responsibility. Artists like Manoj Kumar have proved how people can contribute to the nation in their own way. Life and acting skill of Manoj Kumar must be researched and the new generation made aware about his contribution in film institutes and centres of mass communication. He was an institution in himself and as such skill and vision is worth knowing for the new performers. So that they can add substance to their skill. Manoj Kumar and his era may have gone but the challenges that India is facing on the frontiers and acts of subversion that are being inflicted on the nation are still there in a complex way. It is a million dollar question as to how he would have contributed to make people aware about these new challenges through his acting and film making? This question must be addressed by the new generation of filmmakers and actors and start working on continuing his legacy of patriotism in the film making. The nation bows to the great son of Bharat Mata who chose patriotism in his films as his career and mission. Adieu “Bharat Kumar”