The 90s kiddies remember Kader Khan from his numerous jaunts with David Dhawan and Govinda. Still, long before his name came synonymous with knaveries, Kader Khan was the man who penned creaking discourses for flicks like Amar Akbar Anthony, Muqaddar Ka Sikander, Yaarana, Roti, Khel Khel Mein, Rafoo Chakkar, Lawaaris, Parvarish, Namak Halal, Coolie amongst numerous others. His collaboration with directors like Prakash Mehra and Manmohan Desai amp up the period when dialoguebaazi was accepted and encouraged in Hindi film.
There’s a distinct style of dialogue that we frequently suppose of while talking about the mainstream Hindi cinema of the 1970s. Take, for case, this dialogue from Muqaddar Ka Sikander –‘Zindagi mein log mohabbat ke sahare jeete hai, main aapki nafrat ke sahare jeeyunga,’or this bone from Rajesh Khanna starrer Roti –‘Kasoor mera nahi roti ki kasam, bhook ki duniya mein imaan badal jaate hain’. You’re incontinently transported to a world where icons take a moment to enunciate these lines and the followership ca n’t help but say‘waah’at these discourses. Important of this style of Hindi film dialogue can be credited to Kader Khan as he was the man for the job for utmost of this period.
In an interview with Patcy N in 2012, Kader Khan had participated that he fell into writing discourses for Hindi pictures by accident. It was the early 1970s when Kader was writing and performing in plays and after winning one similar competition, one of the guests offered him the job of writing discourses for Randhir Kapoor and Jaya Bhaduri starrer 1972 film Jawaani Dewani. “ I told him I do n’t know how to write film dialogue. He told me to write the way I write and that’s how my jotting career in flicks started. I was paid Rs 1500,” he participated But soon after, Kader Khan got his alternate job as a dialogue pen, and this time, it came with a significant pay- rise. From Rs for his first film, Kader Khan got to Rs for his alternate film and the film was Khel Khel Mein. Starring Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, Khel Khel Mein was an moment megahit. There was no looking back after this bone. It was his meeting with Manmohan Desai that turned effects around in a massive way. Desai was known for making mainstream masala Bollywood flicks that had the followership cheering in the theatres so when the director hired Kader Khan for Rajesh Khanna starrer Roti, he struck gold.
In his last interview with Filmfare, Kader Khan had participated that for Roti, he entered a sum of Rs. “ Manji declared,‘My pen will be paid Rs’,” participated Khan. In another interview, Kader had participated that Desai had given him the task to write a many sample discourses and if those sound emotional, only also his hiring will be finalised. When Kader Khan landed at his doorstep with his finished work, Desai was n’t too keen but as soon as he heard the discourses, he could n’t hold his joy. Kader participated that Desai ran to his room and brought out a black and white TV set and blessed it to him on the spot. Along with that, he also blessed him a gold cuff and gave him Rs advance in cash. The quantum of was decided because Desai wanted to pay him one lakh further than his former assignment. Similar was the effect of Kader Khan’s discourses Piecemeal from writing heavy- duty yet classic discourses, Kader Khan would frequently appear on screen as well but only in unlawful places. But after Jeetendra and Sridevi starrer Himmatwala, where he first ventured into comedy, the followership started associating him with ridiculous places. The pen Kader Khan was now getting as important appreciation as an actor.
His comedy band clicked with the followership relatively well and continued until the late 1990s-early 2000s, where he constantly banded with David Dhawan and Govinda. Kader participated in an interview with Rediff in 2012 that while he enjoyed working with David, he was only writing discourses for himself and Govinda. “ With David Dhawan, his stories were fully different, substantially slapstick comedy. I did all the‘No 1’series with Govinda. But, then, I was substantially acting in their flicks; I didn’t write the discourses. Rumi Jaffery was writing discourses. I just wrote my discourses and Govinda’s, but there’s a difference in writing a whole script and jotting discourses of just two characters. Still, I continued working with David and Govinda,” he said.
Kader Khan was one of those lucky many artistes who was embraced by Hindi cinema observers through different phases of his career. An actor who plays serious, comedy places, and a pen who gave us discourses that can still induce sonorous applause. Kader Khan was an institution who’ll be remembered for times to come.
