Dilip Kumar: The Legendary Hero Of The Classical Era Passes Away!

Another golden chapter of Hindi cinema has drawn to a close. Dilip Kumar, the legendary hero of the classical era traversing over six glorious decades of providing top-class entertainment to millions of fans the world over, has passed away at a Mumbai hospital today morning. He was admitted in the ICU on 30^th June due to a prolonged illness, and in fact, for the last more than a month he had been in and out of hospital with constant prayers from his loving wife Saira Banu, one of the most popular heroines of the classical era, family, friends and millions of fans for his recovery. However, finally the doyen of Hindi cinema bowed down to destiny and the will of God, calling it a day at the ripe age of 98, two years short of what could have been the most memorable occasions of Indian film industry. 

Dilip Kumar has always been a tremendous fighter, both in his films and in his great variety of roles as well as in personal life fighting serious health issues for several years. In 2013 he was admitted in a Mumbai hospital after a mild heart attack and was kept under observation for the next three days due to the ensuing Ganesha Festival with the final immersion coming up on 18^thSeptember. He was reportedly put under ventilation on the evening of 17^thSeptember as rumors of his passing away became almost viral. Finally, the heartthrob of millions won their hearts coming back home victorious. Dilip Kumar celebrated his 90^th birthday in December 2012, but his health has been indifferent from around the second week of September, 2011.

With Vyjayanthimala

We have been acquainted with the screen image of Dilip Kumar (1922-2021) since our birth and have always loved him like the simple man next door, and got awed by his sad and melancholic looks. He was down to earth in most of his roles and seemed to have lived all the roles he played. This is hardly to overlook his image as the romantic hero of the Hindi cinema's classical era and we found him paired with almost all the leading ladies, particularly Vyjayanthimala with whom he danced around the bushes too and was paired the maximum number of times. Apart from being entertained by him in many later movies like Ram Aur Shyam or Gopi we always held him in great esteem and respect. His movie songs mostly rendered by Mohammed
Rafi are evergreen numbers even for the new generation.

With Amitabh Bachchan

It is for his true-to-life performances that the Indian legendary film director Satyajit Ray described him as the perfect ‘method’ actor of Indian Cinema. Superstar of the millennium Amitabh Bachchan has described him as the greatest actor ever.

Dilip Kumar debuted in 1944 with a movie Jwar Bhata and tasted box office success in his very next film. He earned a breakthrough role in Andaz (1949) where he starred alongside Raj Kapoor and Nargis in a love triangle. While his movies in the early fifties earned him the title of ‘Tragedy King’ many other movies also established his romantic or historic or even comic image. His Mughal-e-Azam(1960) was a landmark historical film and held the record of being the biggest Bollywood grosser till 2008. 

In the seventies his career suffered a temporary setback with several films not doing that well and he took a five-year break from movies in 1976. However, he returned with renewed vigor in Kranti (1981) where he played a character role and that marked the beginning of his equally successful stint as a character actor. Though cast as a character actor his roles in most films were often pivotal dominating the full plot and for our generation movies like Shakti (1982--with Amitabh Bachchan) and Mashaal (1984--with Anil Kapoor) still remain as the most remembered. He continued acting till his last screen appearance in 1998. However with his heroine-wife Saira Banu he was always seen in celebrity events and interviews.

With Saira Banu

For his tremendous and lasting contribution to Indian Cinema the Government of India honored him with Padmabhushanin 1991 and the supreme cine-honor Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994. He was the first ever recipient of the Filmfare Best Actor award in 1954 for his film Daagand he shared his record of the maximum number of Filmfare awards only with Shahrukh Khan of modern Bollywood. He was also immensely popular in Pakistan and the Government of Pakistan honored him with the highest civil award Nishan-e-Imtiazin 1997. 

We salute the legend and pray for the eternal bliss of his noble soul. Dilip Kumar will remain our hearts forever.

India’s COVID-19 Situation: A Crucial Juncture!

The largely preventable or at least controllable marauding second COVID-19 wave in India seems to be ebbing with around 39000 new infections in the last 24 hours and around 700 fatalities in the same period. However, the crisis is far from over with the spree of unlocking taking place all around the nation and the most feared third wave lurking somewhere in the corner. Most of the places except for educational institutions and cinema halls have been reopening in most of the states, with only containment zones still put under strict restrictions. The grim milestone of deaths at over 4 hundred thousand has also been reached with at least two hundred thousand extra fatalities suspected. Further, unlocking cannot be avoided indefinitely due the issue of livelihoods, and in light of the fact that the national positivity rate is now around 2.5% unlocking is technically justified. However, the state governments of India must display extreme caution and aggressive testing, tracing and containment. 

 

Now, the main problem that occurs due to unlocking is the growing COVID inappropriate behavior of the people: social distancing in most Indian markets or in public places is practically impossible, but at least compulsory masking and hand hygiene must follow which, unfortunately, gets forgotten or neglected. With the devastatingly infectious Delta variant still dominant in the country and spreading across the globe it takes little time for another deadly explosion of infections. Besides, there is one more variant called the Delta Plus which could become a cause of concern sooner than later. Then there are the other terrors of black fungus, supplementary infections in hospitals and the long COVID syndrome.

 

In such a situation vaccination becomes the only option for some protection: experts have been maintaining that although the vaccines—three in India at the moment, namely Covishield, Covaxin and the Russian Sputnik V—cannot guarantee full protection against infections these have been proved to provide protection against the severe form of the disease and hospitalization or possible deaths. Unfortunately, India has been infested with the vaccine shortage problem when the doses were desperately needed. The Government of India has been stoutly denying any such shortage consistently the superficiality of which claim has been exposed many times with many vaccination centers closing down across the nation and huge rushes in the existing centers.

 

We can see in the photographs in this piece the rush for jabs in a walk-in center in Kolkata. In fact, such huge gatherings for jabs can be a great risk for infections. Besides, there are several vaccine frauds taking in various places including Mumbai and Kolkata that hardly help matters. We hope the Government of India would, as promised, regularize supply of vaccines from July 2021 and complete vaccination of all target age groups by December this year. Accelerated vaccination is the primary hope of reducing human sufferings if the third wave happens to strike.

 

Of course, there are some hopeful indications too. The COVID-19 national expert panel, severely criticized for keeping mum about the gnawing second wave since March this year, has maintained that if the third wave indeed strikes the cases are likely to be half of that in the second wave. Secondly, as per historical evidence the second wave of any pandemic or epidemic normally wreaks the greatest havoc on humans. Therefore, the third wave may not be as deadly as feared. Lastly, some medical experts believe that as a virus keeps on mutating to develop vaccine resistance or breakthroughs it keeps on getting weaker and weaker, and in the process it stops impacting human lives at some period of time. We hope that period happens now and humankind manages to throw off the greatest curse to have befallen on them in its entire history. 

A Lockdown Remix Experience In Peoples’ Land Kolkata!

If we can assume that people are already familiarized with the concept of lockdown as it has been more than a year since the national lockdown was imposed in India in March 2020, on the basis of this assumption we can go on to opine that the present version of the lockdown in Kolkata and the state of West Bengal has been a remix. Of course, the local media here has been terming this as only a ‘near-lockdown’, and we also know the kind of ‘mixed’ approaches adopted by various states of India to lockdown, but the experience here is unique and not related to most of the other states. We have decided to call it a remix, because under this process the old is often presented in a new getup to attract and excite the common people, and the state lockdown here has been a genuine remix with continuous tweaking to make it more and more user-friendly for the larger interests of the common people of West Bengal, particularly the state capital of Kolkata.

 

Yes, peoples’ interests. Nothing moves or gets implemented here that happens to adversely affect the prospects of the people in their easy and smooth going lifestyle—let it be their financial interests or social or cultural. It is extremely difficult here to increase local train, metro or bus fares, even when these become inevitable, because this would increase the cost of living in a significant way for the common people, and it has been seen that government after government avoided, as far as possible, taking the risks of going against the interests of their citizens. Similarly, posh or even moderately comfortable and convenient public restaurants/bars/eating joints are extremely rare here, because once modern comforts are provided the prices will have to be increased which would severely affect the footfalls; and therefore, you’d find here only street-side food or tea stalls, tented eating places and makeshift eating joints with almost no seating arrangements. I had written about my predicament on various occasions in this city when I was desperate to find a place to seat and take my food in relative comfort. However, my determination of ‘No Eating Standing’ only proved to be my greatest detriment.

 

Perhaps the renaissance of Indian literature that primarily started here during the British period made the people here highly educated, liberal and very conscious of their rights—political, social and intellectual, and the long rule of the Left for seven consecutive terms from 1977 to 2011 made them socialistic and believers of equal right and justice in society. Thanks to all these the state and its city of joy remained a peoples’ land of for the people, of the people and by the people. The latest example is there for all to behold: the people here thwarting the mightiest of political parties from grabbing political power here as the strategy and policies of that party never suited the politically conscious people here. Of course, in a modern perspective such people-centric policies do affect the development process adversely and this has indeed harmed the state. However, this is not the forum to discuss this issue and we must return to our basic subject—the lockdown syndrome here.

 

Lockdown was finally announced in West Bengal on the 15^th of May 2021 with first phase starting 16^th to 30^th May. It looked to be quite strict: only essential local markets to be open for just 3 hours during 7-10am, non-essential shops not to open anytime of the day and people not allowed loitering around in the streets after 9 pm, apart from all other closures of malls, cinema halls and so on. And then the tweaks: all sweet shops to remain open 10 am-5 pm; all Sareeand jewellery shops to function from 12 noon to 3 pm; and no supervision about non-essential shops like paan-cigarette shops or street-side tea/snack stalls also opening during the 7-10 am window. The state government does have sound economical considerations: small traders and vendors cannot be allowed to suffer like they did in the national lockdown; sweet-making is arguably the biggest industry in Bengal employing a huge population and common people here cannot exist without what they consider items with even medicinal values; similarly, Saree and ornaments are the traditional requirements of the people, apart from the huge numbers employed in these trades too.

 

As expected, the lockdown was extended till 15^th June. Although the basic windows of various openings were maintained the state government threw open one more avenue: all non-essential shops that were not allowed to open during the first phase could now function during 12 noon to 3 pm slot. The catch in this is that it is kept ambiguous if the shops functioning between 7 to 10 am could get one more business chunk in the new slot. Thanks to this ambiguity, almost all the shops are now doing effective business from 7 am to 3 pm with some, like sweet shops, even extending till 8 pm as there is not enough police intervention.  

 

As far as the Lives Vs Livelihood and the economy debates go the state government seems to be sticking to the peoples’ interests even under extraordinary circumstances; it is difficult to choose the right from wrong here. However, risks are being taken; there is no doubt about that. Fortunately, West Bengal was spared from an explosion of infections during the first wave and in the second wave too so far so good. When the first lockdown was imposed here there were around 19000 daily infections (nearly 4000 in Kolkata) and about 150 daily deaths; since the lockdown the figures have come down to around 5000 (less than 1000 in Kolkata) and less than 100 respectively. We hope the optimism and the spirit of the people hold good eliminating the virus altogether in near future as there seems to be little prospect of one more extension of the lockdown beyond 15^th June.