In the same gathering at Sun and Sand, Samanta’s Ajnabee was feted too, which had Rajesh Khanna and Zeenat Aman in the lead. Clearly, in his autumn of discontent, Uttam was not a pushover as yet. What is somewhat surprising is that during the six-day stint in Bombay that week, Uttam signed six new films, both in Hindi and Bengali. It was later remade in Telugu (with NT Rama Rao) and Tamil (with Shivaji Ganeshan), among others. But the film was his biggest success, both in Hindi and, surprisingly in Bengali as well, receiving nine Filmfare nominations and taking home two. Uttam responded humbly, saying that he had been apprehensive about signing Amanush because in his middle age, he thought he may not be the right choice anymore for a leading role in a film. It was indeed a gathering of Bombay’s leading stars, producers and directors, and Dilip Kumar’s endorsement clinched the deal. Uttam had soldiered on, unable to leave or unable to lead, because at fifty, he was still the only asset the Bengali industry could bank upon.īut in many other ways Uttam and Dilip Kumar were complementary – being leading men who could gravitate between genres and roles, had led their respective film dominions to maturity, and helmed it in moments of crisis and contemplation. Yet, in that September, if not august, gathering Uttam was delighted to note the appreciation of Dilip Kumar.ĭilip Kumar was four years older than Uttam, had preceded the latter in attaining stardom, ruled the 1950s, and had since the mid-1960s bowed out. It was ten years after his Chhoti Si Mulaqat disaster, Uttam was fifty and no one knew more than him that he had missed the bus to India’s so called cine capital forever. Uttam was there to celebrate the blockbuster hit Amanush, Shakti Samanta’s double-version weepie, which was Uttam’s first and only success in Bombay. Uttam was in attendance at the city’s glitzy Sun and Sand, the premises of which were famously dedicated to the whimsy of Bombay’s self-indulgent stardom. It was one of those monsoon-soaked September Bombay evenings in 1976. (Truly Uttam Saab is an artist without a parallel.)” As rains lashed the beach outside, the words showered music on the ears of Uttam Kumar, who was in the audience as Dilip Kumar uttered those words. Such mooch, Uttam Saab lajabab kalakar hai. I am delighted to be part of a function to honour him. ‘Naya Kashmir’? Kashmiri Pandits in J&K are angry with the BJP after yet another killing.‘This deal cannot move forward’: Elon Musk hints at revising $44 billion offer to buy Twitter.How US media misleads readers about Israeli-Palestinian violence by making still tweaks to headlines.
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