Kamal Hassan pleasantly surprised me and Saira by calling us one
morning to ask if he could come over from Chennai to present an
award, given by FICCI to me on occasion of the centenary celebrations of
Indian Cinema in Chennai. Naturally, we told him he was most welcome and
he was here on the dot on October 15 evening to present the award and spend a
wonderful evening with us.
It was a lovely
evening and I must thank FICCI for the thoughtful gesture and
Kamal for taking the trouble of coming all the way to present the
trophy at my residence.
We travelled back in
time to the day when I was in Chennai ( then Madras ) as an invitee at the
silver jubilee celebrations of his starrer Ek Duje Ke Liye and later again as
an invitee at the silver jubilee of Thevar Magan. He was ever so warm and
humble when we complimented him on the film's success and his sterling performance
which contributed to the success of the films.
We, Saira and I , had
fallen in love with Chennai when we stayed for long spells in a bungalow
I had acquired during the making of Ram aur Shyam. We were newly married
and the film's producer Shri Nagi Reddy made sure that we lacked nothing in the
bungalow for our comfort. The unpretentious Southern hospitality and
tradition of treating every one with respect overwhelmed us so much that we
almost decided to shift base to Chennai.
I noticed, all through
the evening we were together, that Kamal has retained his humility and
gentlemanly bearing despite the abundant success he has enjoyed and the strides
he has taken as a versatile actor and an inspiration to upcoming actors. I
guess that sense of balance and native wisdom are some things that we who
make it to stardom the hard way through self evolution assimilate from the hard
knocks we get from experiences along the way.
My special thanks to Kamal Hasan ji who compelled Dilip Saab to write after 4 months. Prey to God, many more rather every day such occasion comes in his life which will compel him to write.
ReplyDeleteGreat to read your blogs,experience related like vast ocean.Memories of our childhood or maybe much before that.Ppl still remind me of my childhood when Ganga Jamuna was released,my aunt(phuphi)dressed me like Ganga and took me to the show.
ReplyDeleteReally it's some memorable time your married romanceful life and always pray to Allah for your long and everlasting jodi and thanx to kamal ji for inspiring you to share ur memorable moments and connect with us after long gap.
ReplyDeleteAssalamo alaikum mohtaram yousuf bhai(i love to call you by your real name as it is my elder brother's and you are not less than him for me .I really cherish the memory of meeting you at the residense of misbah sb manager Bharat talkies at Bhopal when ganga jamuna was released.Aapki sehat o aafiat ki har waqt Dua karta hoon k yousuf sadion mein ek hote hain.Aap ka wiqar,achievements ke sath tawazo barhna,mamooli logon ko bhi yad rakhna,unhein izzat dena zarb ul misl ban chuka hai.Allah pak aap dono ko dono jahan mein surkhrooi ata farmayein aamin.Dr Nayab Hasan.Sharjah.uae
ReplyDeleteI am a Pakistani brought-up in Karachi, but now living in Australia, I remember those days of my childhood in late 80s and early 90s, when my father used to tell us that if you performed well in your exams I will bring VCR and DK' films as a reward, we used work so hard in our exams to watch your films, those days we don't have Indian movies releasing on big screens. My father used to work and live in Calcutta before partition and fond of watching your movies but later he moved to Karachi. I still remember you visited Karachi, and came to a bank where my father used to work, that time he was so excited meeting you. I wish you a good health and keep writing.
ReplyDeleteIt is always a joy for me to read your thoughts sir. i really want to thank this technology. i never thought in my childhood that one day i would read your thoughts like that. It feels that you are talking to me. Thank you very very much to connect..... stay connected..... and ofcourse.. Mat you live long.......... :-) :-) :-) :-) big fan of you......@@@@@
ReplyDeleteRam Aur Shyam.....Sangharsh.....Aadmi......Ahh those adolscent, wonder years...thanx Yusuf bhai for giving us good times!
ReplyDeleteSir please have a look here....!!!! Thanks God sir you posted ..by God i was waiting for your tweets and Blog from 24 Aug, was your previous tweet. Sir is this not painful for you fans to have your inspirational tweets so late.mean to say your recent tweet is after 2 months.Huh..enough gap..our enthusiasm for your tweets..u cant imagine.. God bless you .May you live long.you have not told us about your health?? To my facetious hero DILIP SAHIB..
ReplyDeleteOMG..sir i am so glad today..your tweets .wonderful.. including your Blog..... MUCH to say but then thinks that you will tired to read messages...I ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU IN MY PRAYERS,GOD BLESS YOU, happy Eid ul azha in advance..love you so much..take Good care of your health sir..
ReplyDeleteLove you sir g
ReplyDeletedilip saheb u r genius, living legend
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking time to treat us with your much-awaited input -now on Kamal Hasan's wonderful visit to you bearing your FICCI Trophy. It was also pleasant to read about your sojourn in a Bungalow at Chennai during the Ram Aur Shyam days.
ReplyDeleteMay Allah give you and your beautiful spouse the best of health and a very long and rewarding life.
Ever so humble,
NASIR
Born almost 49 years after Mughl E Azam was released. Still watched it 40 times. Thanks to you and K Asif Sahab for the the emotions, for the memories...
ReplyDeleteYour FICCI award is just a very tiny appreciation of your magnificent contribution to Indian cinema industry.Speaking of Ram and Shyam you had entered the minds of 2 different personalities and psyche with your sharp acumen and given a classic performance which has yet to be equalled by any other star.
ReplyDeletePermit me to declare here that after your exit from movies a sharp boundary has been formed in Indian cinema.An era of acting during your times and era of acting after your exit. There can be no comparison whatsoever of the two periods.
May God bless you and Sairaji.
Sohrab Irani
Yusuf saab, I wish aap aur Kamal Haasan sir do a movie.. that will be a treat for fans all over the globe for a century
ReplyDeleteGreat article.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing.
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