Dilip Kumar and Nargis in Jogan (1950)

Viewers may have been intrigued to see the story of Kidar Sharma’s Dilip Kumar-­Nargis starrer, Jogan, being credited to a question mark.

Veteran Kidar Sharma, told us the untold story behind the curious question mark. “The man who wrote the story declined to take credit for it at the last minute,” said Sharma. “That man was the great Chandulal Shah, under whose Ranjit Movietone banner I had made the film.

“Chandulal Shah had seen an English film where a man falls in love with a nun, and tries to woo her out of her celibacy. He was so impressed by the film that he wanted to make its Hindi version. So he summoned two of the best known directors of the time, Nitin Bose and Mahesh Kaul, and narrated the “one-line story” (of a young man disturbing the sanyas of a jogan), but both of them laughed it off. They said even God couldn’t make a successful Hindi film out of Shah’s story idea. That was when I walked into the room.

“I was hurt that Shah did not tell me about the film he wanted to make, even though I was working with him at that time. As luck would have it, just when Bose and Kaul rejected Shah’s idea, a servant walked in with Shah’s favourite paan. I quickly stepped forward, and asked, ‘Chandulalji, main beeda (paan) utha loon?‘ which meant, may I accept the challenge? Shah glared at me and said, ‘Yes, but remember one thing, my financial condition is bad. I have just about a month’s ration left at home and if this film fails Ranjit Movietone will be nowhere.’

“It was the kind of challenge I needed to spur me on. I made the film in 29 days with such stars as Dilip Kumar and Nargis. By virtually living in the studio I’d shoot during the day and edit at night. I wanted to prove to Mahesh Kaul and Nitin Bose that I was not a fool. For, when I offered to make the film, they had remarked sarcastically, ‘Fools rush where angels fear to tread.’

“And Jogan was a big box-office success: It ran for 17-18 weeks at the Liberty cinema at a time when ‘feeding’ a film was not even heard off” Sharma said!

Madhubala

Madhubala’s beauty was so overpowering that in paying homage to it, people have missed out on a lot of her other attributes, of course, she was beautiful, though I don’t think hers was a perfectly chiselled face. She had a slightly accentuated nose. Though it didn’t take away from the totality of her beauty. Yes, she was beautiful in totality. As an actress, her greatest asset was her spontaneity. She’d appear casual, totally unassuming until that moment when she’d suddenly come alive, and create the right mood.

She was witty, had a sense of comedy, and was capable of expressing intense emotions. Yet, if her performance lacked consistency, it was because she needed to be saturated with the demands of the role, which seldom happened in the kind of set-ups she mostly worked in. There were too many people trying to guide her. I think Mughal-e-Azam eventually gave her the kind of impetus she needed to rise to her full stature. As it familiarized her with the subtle contours of the character thoroughly, and gave her the motivation to excel herself. And the film, I’d say, immortalized the Madhubala visage.

Signed By – Dilip Kumar

Dilip Kumar's Signature

Shyama on Dilip Kumar

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He used to be immersed in his work and wouldn’t have fun on the set. He’d give suggestions and we would follow them. But he loved female attention. Yusuf bhai maarenge (he will hit me) if I say more. I have witnessed his romance with Kamini Kaushal (during Shabnam). He and Kamini would travel in the first class train compartment to reach the studios. I’d be in the third class section. From there we’d take a tonga to reach Filmistan Studio. It was fun. He doesn’t keep well these days. Shakeela (yesteryear actress) who is close to Saira Banu (Dilip’s wife) told me, ‘He’s got a wonderful wife, she looks after him so well!’