By Jagmohan Singh Barhok
On His Birth Anniversary
Raj Babbar needs no introduction. After learning intricacies of theatre, the actor moved to Bombay for greener pastures and was lucky enough to work opposite an established actress Reena Roy in “Sau Din Saas Ke” (1980) followed by a role in “Aap To Aise Na The” starring Ranjeeta Kaur & Deepak Prashar. The film is best remembered for its song “Tu Is Tarah Se Meri Zindagi Mein Shaamil Hai” rendered by Mohd Rafi, Hemlata & Manhar Udhas.
The actor had a field day as he worked in no less than 40 films between 1980 to 1984 including ‘Aap To Aise Na The’, ‘Kalyug’, ‘Armaan’ & ‘Umrao Jaan’ ( 1981 ), ‘Jeevan Dhaara’ (1982), Arpan , ‘Agar Tum na Hote’, ‘ Mazdoor’ & ‘Naukar Biwi Ka’ (1983).
Babbar hit the bull’s eye with B R Chopra’s “Insaaf Ka Tarazu”, based on American rape thriller “Lipstick”. In the film, featuring Zeenat Aman and nubile teenager Padmini Kolhapure. Raj Babbar, in throes of sexual passion, rapes both of them one after another. Raj Babbar, feigns innocence in the court, pleading he was a victim of circumstances & should be acquitted. Some of the court sequences were replete with sex, especially those created during cross examination of the raped victims. Padmini Kolhapure won Filmfare best Supporting Actress Award for her bold performance. She was then barely 15. Babbar earned notoriety for his cunning manoeuvering as a rapist & for his violent portrayal .He gets killed in the end.
“Chann Pardesi” (1981) added another feather to his cap. Samita Patil, in an informal meeting in Bombay with this writer , had expressed her desire to act in a realistic Punjabi movie. This desire of hers was fired & triggered by Rama Vij’s role in the National Award winning movie under reference introducing many a new element in Punjabi cinema. The film starred Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Amrish Puri, Om Puri & Raj Babbar, who plays Rama Vij’s son (out of wedlock). It was highly acclaimed from all quarters & encouraged others to invest in Punjabi films.
Babbar later became a permanent feature of BR Films & did “Nikaah” (1982), “Mazdoor”(1983) & “Awaam” (1987).
It would be injustice if I did not mention some of his realistic Punjabi films like ‘Long Da Lishkara’ (1986)& ‘Marhi Da Deeva’ (1989). He also acted in the hit Punjabi films ‘Aasra Pyar Da’ (1983),’ Mahaul Theek Hai’ (1999), ‘Shaheed Uddham Singh’ (2000), ‘Yaaran Naal Baharan’ (2005), ‘Ek Jind Ek Jaan’ (2006), ‘Apni Boli Apna Des’ (2009) & ‘Tera Mera Ki Rishta’ (2009).
He produced two films under his own production: ‘Karm Yodha’ (1992) and ‘Kash Aap Hamare Hote’ (2003), and the serial “Maharaja Ranjit Singh” (2010).
Married theatre actress Nadira Babbar and later late Smita Patil who blessed the actor with a son before her death.
Raj Babbar joined Janta Dal in 1989. He joined Samajwadi Party and was elected as Member of Parliament thrice. He joined . Indian National Congress in 2008 and was elected for his fourth term as Member of Parliament in 2009, by defeating Dimple Yadav, wife of Akhilesh Yadav and daughter-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav. He lost to General V. K. Singh in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
I met the actor during the outdoor shooting of film “Waaris” at a village near Karnal in 1985 & discussed his future plans and about the story of the film under way, starring Smita Patil, Amrish Puri & Kulbhushan Kharbanda.
