Manoj Kumar: When I heard about the Phalke honour, I thought, maine itne saal jhak nahi maari, kaam bhi kiya

He was the original poster boy of patriotism on celluloid. Whether it was the revolutionary Bhagat Singh in Shaheed (1965), the righteous farmer-turned-soldier in Upkar (1967) or the son of a freedom fighter espousing the Indian value system while living in Britain in Purab Aur Paschim (1970), Manoj Kumar became synonymous with patriotism in Bollywood. On the eve of receiving the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in Delhi recently, the veteran actor, who has been suffering from a severe back problem over the past few weeks, spoke about his journey in films, how his ideals shaped his career and if he thinks the highest recognition came a tad too late.
Starting with the clich'... you received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. How does it feel?
There are certain milestones in life' when you achieve them, the joy can't be expressed in words. But one thing that struck me when I first got to know about the award was that in all these years, maine jhak nahi mari, maine kaam bhi kiya tha. When you get a pat on your back from your own government and the jury for the work you have done, it's a precious feeling. Then you come in the category of greats like Raj Kapoor, Dev sahab (Dev Anand) and Satyajit Ray. It's a wonderful feeling, especially because this is a profession where there is unending struggle.
Many industry insiders have however said that you should have got this recognition long back. What do you think?
Autumn is the second spring for me where every leaf is a rose. Why grumble about something that didn't happen? Nahi bhi milta (award) toh kaam karna tha. Ab mil gaya toh it means they have recognized my work and contribution. People do say that aapko recognition bahut late mila hai. But theek hai yaar ' as they say, 'waqt se aage aur kismat se zyada kuch nahi milta hai'. I have faith in destiny.
When I left Delhi in 1956, my father gave me a letter. He told me to read it after the train starts. The last four lines... I remember till date. It was like the Bible to me. He had written, 'I have full faith in my blood, my blood can commit mistakes but not blunders and remember son, those who were destined to be hanged can't drown.' So sanskar waise hi thay, jo bhi sukh dukh ho, woh ishwar ka prasad hai.

Talking about films on patriotism, did you choose patriotic films or they just happened to you?
A lot of things contributed towards it. I have frightful memories of 1947. We had seen a lot of bloodshed. My family was from Pakistan and after Partition, we stayed at Hudson Lines in the Kingsway Camp area in Delhi. I used to observe things around me, especially my father, who would tell me that azadi ke liye koi bhi balidan dena pade toh dena. No one taught me, but in my subconscious, I developed patriotic feelings.
When I was around 10-11, people in our colony wanted the children to stage a play on Bhagat Singh. They chose me for the role, but when the time came for me to perform, I ran away. But Bhagat Singh stayed with me. And years later, I made the film. I was destined to make films. I remember that while filming the movie, I had met Bhagat Singh's mother. She treated me like her son and even called me Bhagat.
Coming back to films, actors like Shashi Kapoor and Dharmendra were your contemporaries. How do you see their career against yours?
Shashi was very fond of the stage and he was an extremely punctual actor. He had worked in so many films and the same is true of Dharmendra. They would work for multiple films, in three-four shifts. They had tremendous stamina and I admire them for that. But I couldn't do so. I must have done about 50 films. I had started out as a junior artiste... kabhi chaar scene, kabhi paanch. But I don't regret it. Honestly, I wanted to do just meaningful cinema. I have had tremendous experience working in those films. Quality matters, not quantity.
What about the future? Plans of doing any more films?
Yes. I have one film in mind, which my son Kunal will make. And I will be making a film on the mathematician Aryabhata.