Producer Kanwar Ajit Singh Deol
“Bakshi ji peer the, dil aur dimag ke peer. Bahut ache, bahut pyaare, bahut dildaar, bahut khushmizaaz, bahut khoob personality thi unki, bahot yaad aate hain hum sab ko. Unke gaane se hi humme humari film ka title mila, Main Jat Yamla Pagla Diwana. Aaj bhi woh bajta hai, har shehar mein aaj bhi.’ – Kanwar Ajit Singh Deol. Producer of PRATIGYAA 1975. (Brother of Dharamji; Father of actor Abhay Deol).
Told to me – Rakesh Anand Bakshi
Dharmendra
Bakshi ji seedhe the. Honest. Simple. Saaf dil, peer. Main SD Burman aur Bakshi ji ke saath tha ek music sitting mein, aur Burman Da ne Bakshi ji se kaha geet likhne ke liye jiss mein ‘dil aur deewana’ sabdh paanch ya che baar aaye.
Bakshi ji ne humare saamne baithe baithe gaana likh diya – ‘Yeh dil deewana hai, dil toh deewana hai, deewana dil hai yeh, dil deewana.’ Film thi, Ishq Par Zor Nahin.
Unko false ceiling ke girne ka bahot darr tha. Jahan bhi baithathe the yeh zaroor dekh lete ki uss room mein false ceiling hai ya nahin. Aur agar uss room mein false ceiling hoti, toh unka dhyaan har waqt uss false ceiling par hi reheta ki yeh bas ab giri ke giri. (laughs) Sab se mil kar bhi sab se alag rehete the. Humari family ki tarah bhi unhonein apni family ko film waalon se door rakha. Unko Rawalpindi bahot yaad aata tha, jaise ki unhonein apni film Jab Jab Phool Khile mein bhi likha tha ‘… mujhe yaad aa raha hai woh chota sa shikara.’ (Yahan Main Ajnabi Hoon, tha uss gaane ka mukda). He also told me that he was fascinated by the manner Bakshi ji held his cigarette and took a puff and the manner in which he would hit his right hand against his left arm to drop the ash, and used it in a film once. next time I meet him (he said he would rather write a tribute than speak one as he must do justice to it and will do only if he writes one himself. he told me ‘Bakshi ji is too important a person from my life for me not to myself write a tribute for.) Complete interview https://youtu.be/9mxfbsrud_o
Told to me – Rakesh Anand Bakshi