Filmmaker-writer-producer Nasir Husain enjoyed much of his success in Hindi cinema without ever collaborating with a mainstream hero over a long period. He directed Shammi Kapoor in only two films. He worked with Dev Anand, Jeetendra, Dharmendra, Shashi Kapoor, Joy Mukerji and Rajesh Khanna in just one film each. Unlike Manmohan Desai and Amitabh Bachchan or Shakti Samanta and Shammi Kapoor, Husain never really forged a long director-actor working relationship with any of the actor stars from Hindi cinema.
Filmmaker-writer-producer Nasir Husain enjoyed much of his success in Hindi cinema without ever collaborating with a mainstream hero over a long period. He directed Shammi Kapoor in only two films. He worked with Dev Anand, Jeetendra, Dharmendra, Shashi Kapoor, Joy Mukerji and Rajesh Khanna in just one film each. Unlike Manmohan Desai and Amitabh Bachchan or Shakti Samanta and Shammi Kapoor, Husain never really forged a long director-actor working relationship with any of the actor stars from Hindi cinema.
Things might have been a little different with Rishi Kapoor, whom Husain collaborated with in Hum Kisise Kum Nahin and Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai. And despite Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai’s tepid response at the box-office, Husain decided to cast Rishi Kapoor as the male lead in his next venture, Manzil Manzil. But Rishi Kapoor avoided meeting Husain, holding himself responsible for Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai’s debacle. As a result, Husain cast Sunny Deol as the leading man for his last two directorial ventures Manzil Manzil (1984) and Zabardast (1985).
The first of these films, Manzil Manzil, was the last film Husain produced as director. Sunny Deol by this time had already made his Hindi film debut in Rahul Rawail’s Betaab (1983). At that stage, Sunny was a long way off from being boxed into the raging, action hero persona that would become his on-screen identity because of his performances in films like Tridev (1989), Ghayal (1990) and Damini (1993). In fact, early in his career, Sunny was set up to become a romantic hero, since his early films like Betaab, Sunny (1984) and Soni Mahiwal (1984) had a distinct emphasis on love and courtship.
Playing a Nasir Husain hero, however, involved pulling off a bit of impishness, urbanity and flamboyance. And while Sunny’s character in Husain’s last directorial venture Zabardast was set up to be like his father Dharmendra’s character in Yaadon Ki Baaraat (an angst-ridden man looking for revenge), Manzil Manzil needed Sunny Deol to be sophisticated while remaining charming. In his successful films, Sunny could fight off goons by the dozen, deliver dhamaakedaar dialogues with sizzling bluster, but asking him to be a romantic hero of the Nasir Husain variety was like fitting a circular frame onto a square. Rishi Kapoor, on the other hand, may have been a far better option as a Husain hero, but his involvement in Manzil Manzil just wasn’t fated.
Husain, nonetheless, went ahead and tried to recreate the magic of his earlier films with Sunny in Manzil Manzil with his regular group of technicians. Composer RD Burman’s tunes were still hummable. Die-hard RD fans still bring up ‘Jhalak dikha ke kar gayee deewaana’ and ‘Ab nahin rehna tere bina’ whenever any discussion about the film comes around. Husain also once again referenced the ‘banjara’ community in this film. Husain’s Caravan (1971), which was about itinerant banjaras, had revived the fortunes of the road film in Hindi cinema, courtesy its spectacular soundtrack and the overall thrill factor of the film. Husain, who was known to rehash and repackage plot elements from earlier films, brought the banjaras into focus during the song, ‘Yeh naina yaad hai piya ke’ in Manzil Manzil, possibly to remind audiences of Caravan’s magic.
The best bit about Manzil Manzil, though, concerns Husain’s nephew and current-day superstar, Aamir Khan. Aamir had earlier done a small role as a child artiste in Husain’s Yaadon Ki Baaraat where he stars as the youngest sibling in the film’s title track at the very beginning. By the time Manzil Manzil was being shot, Aamir had completed his twelfth standard and wanted to work as an assistant in films. He went to Husain, his uncle (his father’s elder brother), and asked him for work. This is how Aamir came to be an assistant director on both Manzil Manzil and Husain’s last film as director, Zabardast. It was because of his exemplary work ethic as AD, and because of his performances in other films such as Holi, that Husain eventually cast Aamir as the lead in his home production Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. The rest as they say is history.
You can watch Manzil Manzil as part of the Nasir Husain Film Festival on Zee Classic on Sunday, February 11th at 12 noon.
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 "Manzil Manzit: Sunny Deol, Dimple Kapadia")
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