Role Reversal and a Circle of Fire

Nargis and Sunil Dutt’s daughters, Namrata and Priya, remember how close he came to giving up his film career in Bombay and returning to his Haryana home

Mr and Mrs Dutt
Namrata Kumar Dutt, Priya Dutt
Roli Books, Rs 695

It was a mehboob production, Mother India (1957), that completely changed Mom’s life both professionally as well as personally. On the professional front, the making of the film marked the end of her long association with the RK Films banner; on the personal front, she met the man she would soon marry. In Mother India, Mom played Radha, the wife of Shyamu, a farmer, while Dad was cast as her rebellious son Birju. This was a role he got by chance, as initially he was to play the role of Radha’s eldest son, Ramu (eventually played by Rajender Kumar). But as luck would have it, at the last minute, the role of Birju fell into Dad’s lap. Given the disparity in their status in the world of films — she was an established star and he, a newcomer — they did not strike up a friendship, though Mom was always known to interact with the whole unit effortlessly. She never had airs and was never stuck up.

Mehboob Khan paid Dad a monthly salary of Rs 800. It was a lot in those days and so he was never short of cash. Yet he chose to continue the radio interviews as well. For the first time, he splurged on himself by buying his first car — a Fiat with the number plat “1933”. He loved the outdoors and drove around in his new car accompanied by friends. Dad had by now moved into a small flat on Nepean Sea Road in Bombay where he lived with his sister Rani and her children. From time to time, his mother came from Mandoli in Haryana, with Som, his younger brother. A few years later, Som decided to live with Dad in order to pursue his studies in Bombay.

A remake of his 1940 film, Aurat, Mehboob Khan’s Mother India was released in 1957. Mother India is a classic film and remains an important landmark in Indian cinema. In 1957, it was symbolic of the newly independent Indian nation, touching hearts wherever it was seen. It was an enormous box-office success, and Mom’s performance won her both the Karlovy Vary and the Filmfare award for Best Actress.

In this powerful drama, Radha is a model heroine whose life becomes a repository of every kind of tragedy that might befall a woman. She is the wife of Shyama, a poor peasant farmer whose family gets trapped in an endless cycle of debt. Shyamu’s arms are crushed in an accident, and no longer able to provide for his wife and children, he decides to leave the village in the dead of night. Radha finds herself all alone to provide for her young sons, face a merciless world and ward off the unwanted attentions of Sukhilala (Kanhaiyalal), the lecherous moneylender. Radha manages to stave off the moneylender’s advances, and battling against the odds, she saves her children from starvation following a devastating flood. Through Radha’s many trials, it is her ability to preserve a sense of dignity that becomes her greatest strength. Years pass and Radha’s two sons are now grown. Despite the fact that Birju, her delinquent son, is her favourite, he turns into a rebel and kidnaps the moneylender’s daughter. Radha is ultimately forced to kill him to save the girl’s honour.

On 1 March 1957, during the shooting of a dramatic fire scene, things went horribly wrong. Mom had been asked to use a double, but feeling sorry for the girl, she decided to do the stunts herself. In the scene, Radha has to turn between burning harstacks, looking for her son Birju. During the shoot, Mom became trapped in a circle of fire, and when the wind changed direction, she was unable to escape. Without a moment’s hesitation, Dad ran into the raging flames and rescued her at great risk to his own life. His hands and face had serious burns and Mom’s hands were badly scorched too.

They were then sent to convalesce in Mehboob Khan’s house in the small town of Bilimora, not far from Umra, the Gujarat village where Mother India was being shot. Mom spent day and night looking after Dad, as he was in acute pain.

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The fortnight they spent together was a turning point for them. It was during this time they fell in love. And so they decided to get married. In private and some secrecy, they were engaged on 12 March 1957. The world believed they had fallen in love because he had saved her, but Dad refuted the rumour many times, saying he hadn’t rescued her because he was in love with her, and would have saved anyone in a similar predicament. He believed it was the right thing to do. Years earlier, when he had just arrived in Bombay and was strolling near the Gateway of India, he saw a man accidentally fall into the sea. Many people gathered to watch yet no one budged. Without so much as thinking, Dad jumped in and saved the man.

Within a few months of their dramatic encounter, Dad proposed to Mom. He dropped her home one day in his new Fiat with its memorable number plate “1933”. He was hesitant, repeating many times, “I have to ask you something. I have to tell you something.” He believed this was a “do or die situation” and felt he would be shattered if she refused. He told us if Mom had rejected him he would have left Bombay and gone back to his mother’s village home in Haryana.
-Extracted with permission from Roli Books.