By Jagmohan Singh Barhok
On His Birth Anniversary
वो वादियाँ, वो फिज़ाएँ के हम मिले थे जहां
मेरी वफ़ा का वहीं पर मज़ार आज भी है
हो किसी नज़र को तेरा इंतज़ार आज भी है’
Suresh Oberoi was born to Anand Swaroop & Kartar Devi. After partition their family moved to Hyderabad and the boy has had his early schooling there. A tennis & swimming champions, as he later became, he also won President’s medal as a scout. Well conversant with Punjabi, English, Pashto & Hindi, Oberoi took to modelling- advertising for Charminar cigarettes and Lifebuoy soaps as a stepping stone for a career in films. His parents did not approve of his insistence on joining films. Suresh was adamant and finally succeeded in having his say & way. He married Yashodhra in 1974 in Madras & shifted to Bombay.
It was in this background that Vinod Pandey saw him & offered him to play the lead in his film ” Ek Baar Phir” which he had planned to make in London. “Ek Baar Phir” , as most readers know was a trend setter , dealing as it did with a bold & risque subject like extra-marital relations & marital infidelity. His wife’s role was played by a liberated woman Deepti Naval with varied interests & hobbies. Suresh is a philandering husband cheating on his wife on the sly. He spends more nights with his sweetheart than with his sweet wife. The secret is out before long. Deepti Naval pays him in the same coin having extra marital flings with a handsome painter( played by Pradeep Verma) to even the score. The film was a hit. It lent a few more feathers to these two budding birds. Suresh had carved a permanent niche in the filmdom. Except in one or two films, the actor has not been given an opportunity to play the hero opposite a leading lady of the day. Resultantly he switched over to doing character roles.
Suresh made his presence felt in “Laawaris”. It was a star studded film with celebrated stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Amzad Khan & Zeenat Aman. In an attempt to save the virtue of his sister he gets injuries seriously necessitating the amputation of one of his legs. The highlight of the film was the scene where he takes on the toughies unmindful of his physical disability. Equally memorable was the actor’s role in “Mazdoor'”, which had Dilip Kumar, Raj Babbar ,Nanda & Padmini Kolhapure on the credit list. His performance in “Ghunghroo” starring Smita , Shahshi Kapoor was also realistic.
“Aitbaar” (1985) featuring Dimple Kapadia & Raj Babbar did wonders and brought him among the front runners as an actor. He plays a poet in the film. The film has a beautiful song picturized on him & Raj Babbar: ‘Kisi Nazar Ko Tera Intezaar Aaj Bhi Hai’.The crowning glory of his film career, however, was his role as ‘mukhia’ in Ketan Mehta’s “Mirch Masala”.No wonder, it bagged him ‘Best Supporting Actor’ National Award. Interestingly, although the film featured such seasons screen stalwarts as Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri & Smita Patil, it was Suresh whose performance was considered worthy of recognition. The success of the film put him in the celebrity bracket.
The actor is or was often accused of being supercilious, presumptuous, egoist, and snobbish. Those, like me, who saw him from close quarters, however, partly agree with his detractors’ innuendoes and believe it is born out of personal envy or jealousy.
Some of his notable films include the likes of “Kaalchakra”, “Tezaab”, “Suhaag”, “Prakop”, “Deshwasi”, “Panchwati” and “Iraada”, the last featuring Shatrughan Sinha ,Parveen Babi & Moon Moon Sen. I attended the pre- release party thrown by the producer at Delhi Darbar in Fort and was also present during the trial show of late Mukesh Duggal’s “Fateh” starring Sanjay Dutt & Sonam. Oberoi debuted with “Jeevan Mukt” in 1977 & received recognition with “Zanzeer” & later “Lawaaris”.
I spent many days with his family during the making of “Apna Desh Paraye Log” in Bombay, Chandigarh & at Timber trails. I arranged a press conference attended by the cream of journalists. Oberoi later asked me to arrange another sitting with top journalists of leading English dailies three days later in his suit at Hotel Mount View, Chandigarh. We also went out for shopping at Sector 17. I also took his son Vivek Oberoi, then barely 12, accompanied by Suresh to Sukhna Lake & Rock Garden.
Later I met him in Bombay twice. After the death of his brother Jagmohan Oberoi, Suresh was somewhat perturbed. I introduced him to an assistant, a Bengali lad, working at Banks’s LHO who was expert at reading ‘kundlis’. Suresh remained in his touch for some time. Suresh Oberoi always showed displeasure when he saw me sitting with female stars & often commented with a hint of sarcasm.
