AK Hangal flanked by Rakhi and Zeenat Aman
Freedom fighter, communist, theatre artiste, tailor, film actor, late bloomer... Avtar Kishan Hangal (1917-2012) or AK Hangal as he was affectionately known, finally lost a battle with ailments and old age. The veteran actor was born in Sialkot (Pakistan) and took part in India’s freedom struggle. Strangely, he never wanted to come to India after the Partition but was sent here by the Pakistan government. In one of his last interviews given to Filmfare in 2011, he mentioned...
“I came to India from Karachi in 1949 with just Rs 30 in my pocket. I was tadipar (banished) from Pakistan. I refused to bow before them. I had secular and communist leanings. My progressive views didn’t suit them.”
It’s ironic that he was accused of being a Pakistani by Shiv Sena when he applied for a visa to attend Pakistan Day celebrations. “Mujhe gussa bada aaya, main darta nahin hoon, jawab deta hoon (I was very angry, I fear no one, I give it back). I never feared even the British. I held my head high in front of them. People were scared to look at them, their expression was such. But not me!”
He became a tailor when he came to Mumbai to make ends meet. It’s said he was a master cutter and could cut the required garment just by looking at a person. He was actively involved with IPTA (Indian People Theatre Association) where he came into contact with stalwarts like Prithviraj Kapoor and Balraj Sahni. He even suffered cuts in his tailor’s salary when he opted to attend drama rehearsals in the evening.
His foray into films came a bit late — at the age of 50. That’s when he was offered Shagird (1967) and Teesri Kasam (1966), a Basu Bhattacharya film where he played the role of Raj Kapoor’s elder brother. Talking about his debut, he said, “I faced the camera realistically. There are many theatre artistes who take to films. But they do not necessarily act well. Because they do it for money, not for art. They’ve not seen life.”
He went on to make his mark with his realistic portrayals as a supporting actor in around 225 films. He’s perhaps best known for his role of Rahim Chacha in Sholay (1975). His iconic dialogue in the film, ‘Itna sannata kyun hai bhai,’ has achieved the same kind of cult status as Gabbar Singh’s ‘Kitne aadmi the?’ His other well-known portrayals include playing the elder brother Ramnath Sharma, who has a yen for evening tipple in Bawarchi (1972), as Jaya Bhaduri’s indulgent father in Guddi (1971), a role he reprised in Abhimaan (1973). Incidentally, Jaya Bachchan was one of the first people who came around to help him when news of his illness and bankruptcy first surfaced last year.
One also remembers him as a raunchy old man in the bold comedy Shaukeen (1982), where he revelled his debauched fantasies in the company of Ashok Kumar and Utpal Dutt. Parichay, Namak Haram, Abhimaan, Chitchor, Naram Garam, Khoon Bhari Maang, Khal-Nayak, Lagaan and Shararat are his other memorable films. It’s said given his image, filmmakers were afraid to cast him in villainous roles. In his biography, Life And Times Of A. K. Hangal, he mentions, “My screen image made me so noble, that whenever I tried to do a bad man’s role, the film did not run. For example, Ramanand Sagar’s Prem Bandhan and Ved Rahi’s Kalighata. “Perhaps I look like a gentleman and cannot hide that.”
The forever old gentleman of Hindi cinema breathed his last on August 26, 2012, 10 days after being admitted to Asha Parekh Hospital after he fell down in the bathroom and fractured his thigh bone. He was put on life support but never recovered.
