Sanjeev Kumar's biography unlocks his special bond with Sivaji Ganesan

MUMBAI : Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta and Uday Jariwala have co-authored ‘Sanjeev Kumar- The Actor We All Loved’. This is a very important biography of historical significance in the annals of Indian cinema. The book traverses Sanjeev Kumar's life from 1938 to 1985 and promises to be a thorough entertainer. Ever since its release the book has been a favorite among the reader and has made its place among the best sellers. After covering a big part of Sanjeev Kumar's life, here comes a small extract from the book that talks about his southern connections. Be it his films getting a remake in the south industry or his connection with Sivaji Ganesan the readers will get more insight into this phase of his life.

In the late 1960's, a very important relationship in Hari's life started taking shape. It was one of mutual respect with the legendary actor of Tamil cinema, Sivaji Ganesan. Hari was given a character role in Ganesan's home production Gauri (1968) which was a remake of Ganesan's own Shanti (1965).

An article of unknown provenance titled 'Naan Sivajiyan Maanavan' ( i am a student of Sivaji's),  obtained from Hari's family archives quotes him as follows.

I first met him when I was but an extra on the sets of Gauri. One look at me and he said, ' In the future, you will be a very accomplished actor.' His words were like God's own words and he blessed by career. Whenever a Sivaji Ganesan movie had to be remade in Hindi, all of us actors would worry plenty. His prowess inspired fear. We would see the Tamil print again and again to observe his performance and learn! At a personal level, whenever I visited Chennai, i would seek his blessings. I am grateful for all the love he has given me. If he sees me as one fo the finest actors in hindi Cinema, it is my honour.

The mutual admiration between Sivaji Ganesan and Hari and the latter's own quiet, easygoing nature eventually played a major role in Hari's success. When South Indian producers and directors wanted to remake their Tamil or Telugu films in Hindi, they often chose Hari. These remakes typically had long dialogues and demanded good histrionics and this further augmented Hari's 'actor' tag.

For example, Sivaji Ganesan's Avan Thaan Manithan was remade as Shaandaar, and Gnana Oli was remade as Devata - both featuring Hari. Among the Telugu films, Takkar was a remake of N.T. Rama Rao's Devudu Chesina Manushulu with Hari in the lead role. The winds blew the other way too. Hari's Mausam was remade in Tamil as Vasanthathil Oru Naal featuring Shivaji Ganesan.

The other important southern connection was L.V. Prasad. Hari scored a hat-trick of hits with him - Raja aur Runk (1968), Jeene Ki Raah (1969) and Khilona (1970).

Hari's third connection to the south - actor Hema Malini, whom he would meet soon - was an intensely personal one.