Paying tribute to legendary actor Raaj Kumar on his 100th birth anniversary, filmmaker Subhash Ghai remembered him as a man of extraordinary wisdom and self-respect who concealed his scholarly side behind a deliberately intimidating personality.
Ghai, who worked with Raaj Kumar in the 1991 film Saudagar, recalled that the actor’s public image was vastly different from the person he came to know during their association.
“What people do not know about Raaj Kumar but I understood was that Raaj Kumar was a Pandit (scholar) and possessed knowledge of Shastras, Upanishads, and Vedas. Can you imagine?” Ghai said.
The filmmaker revealed that Raaj Kumar’s intimidating demeanour was a conscious attempt to maintain his distance from people rather than a true reflection of his character.
“He had put on a mask, an attitude, to keep people away. He always felt that life is a comedy and people are comedians. But he was very mature in a deep sense through his wisdom and his actions,” he recalled.
Despite his reputation for being outspoken and difficult to approach, Ghai said the actor was compassionate and never shied away from helping others.
“Although he liked to be blunt all the time, he would be helpful to people,” the filmmaker added.
Speaking about Raaj Kumar’s fierce sense of independence, Ghai said the actor knew how to command respect while ensuring that his personal needs never became a burden on filmmakers.
“Because he knew the act of how to make people scared. He knew how to respect himself. He would never act like a cheap actor. He would bring his own whiskey. He would pay his own bill. He would keep his distance from the production and would not bother them unnecessarily,” Ghai recalled.
Through his tribute, Ghai offered a glimpse of a lesser-known Raaj Kumar — a man whose sharp wit, commanding personality and uncompromising attitude were accompanied by intellectual depth, generosity and a strong sense of personal dignity.
