Manoj Kumar, who was popularly known as Bharat Kumar given his long list of patriotic films, shared a close friendship with Raj Kapoor. In a recent interview, Manoj’s son Kunal Goswami, recalled Raj’s film Mera Naam Joker, which brought him at the verge of bankruptcy, and shared that Manoj had actually offered Raj that he would edit the second half of the film. Mera Naam Joker’s runtime was of over 4 hours and the film was released with two intervals. Manoj played a small role in the film as well.
In a chat with Vickey Lalwani on his YouTube channel, Kunal said that the film was just as close to Manoj’s heart as it was to Raj, and since it failed, it became a special film for everyone who was involved. Kunal was asked if Manoj directed a portion of the film as well and he said that while Raj directed the film from start to finish, there was a conversation between the two stars about the edit.
“There was some dialogue between Raj saab and Dad. Dad had told him that you allow me to edit the second half of the film so we can change the shape of the film. But I don’t know whether that happened or didn’t happen. Dad told me that this discussion happened, about editing, not direction,” he said. He wondered out loud, “Why would he (Manoj) direct? Raj saab was a great director. Dad respected him, he was in awe of him all the time.”
In an earlier interview with Mumbai Mirror, Manoj revealed that he wrote a few lines for his character in Mera Naam Joker. “The first story in this three-story film was reworked by me, but I didn’t do it for name, fame or money. I paid for my travel expenses and hotel stay and refused to take credit as writer. Mera Naam Joker was my tribute to karmayogi Raj Kapoor. In Urdu ‘awara’ means ‘khushboo’ and even today, the ‘fragrance’ of Raj Kapoor fills our senses,” he said.
Mera Naam Joker was an expensive film that tanked at the box office and after this, RK Studios was on the verge of bankruptcy. Raj played the lead role in the film where he chronicled the life of an entertainer, who prioritises entertaining others over his own well-being. The film also starred Rishi Kapoor, Simi Garewal, Dharmendra, Raj Kapoor among others.
