To give an example of just one dialogue or one character weighing heavily on an actor’s entire body of work, the names that come to mind are AK Hangal and his portrayal of Raham Chacha in the film ‘Sholay’. A dialogue from ‘Sholay’ ‘Itna sannata kyon hai bhai’ has become an idiom in our lives. AK Hangal, popular as a character actor in films, had many ups and downs in his 98-year-old life. Participated in the freedom movement of the country, even went to jail. Did theater for a long time. Became films at age 50 and walked a ramp in a wheelchair at age 97 and lent his voice to an animation film a few months before his death. AK Hangal’s life is the life of an all-rounder who, despite family pressure, did not work for the British, but found it fit to run away from home. AK Hangal, a great admirer of Bhagat Singh, was banned by Shiv Sena president Bal Thackeray even after suffering heavy financial loss, he remained steadfast in his decision. In response to this ban, he said that Bal Thackeray is a great leader, so we are also freedom fighters.
August 26 is the death anniversary of the same militant and committed artist AK Hangal. His full name is Avatar Kishan Hangal. He was born in February 1914 in Sialkot (Pakistan). However, in an interview he stated that he did not know his date of birth when asked for a job. Then the idea of August 15, Independence Day came up in the conversation and this was accepted as his birth date. His son Vijay Hangal states that since then AK Hangal’s birthday was celebrated on August 15. When AK Hangal was 4-5 years old, his mother died. After that, the father brought the baby Avatar from his maternal uncle to Peshawar. AK Hangal has detailed his life and its ups and downs in his interview and autobiography ‘Main Ek Harfanmoula’ (Speech Publication). Mentioning the freedom struggle in his childhood, he brought home the soil of Mama Jalliawala Bagh. At that time, the talk of the freedom struggle going on at home had an impact on Balman. Then, when the red kurti movement of Sarhad Gandhi, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, took place, a teenage AK Hangal also joined it. Significantly, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan of the Pathan community started the red kurti wearing movement by forming an organization called Khudai Khidmatgar. He was a part of Gandhiji’s civil disobedience movement.
Referring to another childhood incident, Ek Hangal says that on 23 April 1930, in Peshawar’s Kissa-Khwani Bazar, many Indians gathered against British imperialism. The British government sent the Garhwal Regiment to suppress this movement. When the British officers ordered to open fire, the head of the regiment, Chander Singh Garhwali, refused to open fire on the unarmed countrymen. This matter became an irritant for the British government. Instead of the Garhwali Regiment, the British soldiers opened fire on the innocent agitators. Many people died. Enraged people pelted stones on the British soldiers. These people also include teenage AK Hangal. He was not shot, but the blood of the unarmed victims of the brutality of the British soldiers flowed over him. Later, his stance turned towards the Communist Party, due to which he was imprisoned in Pakistan.
His grandfather and father held high positions in government jobs during the British rule. He says that after completing his studies, his father took young AK Hangal to his British officer. The father requested that the British officer should recommend the son for a government job. The British officer wrote on the application form, ‘If he is as good as his father, he is recommended’. He did not like to treat the British well. Grandmother and father tried to explain a lot but none of them believed Hangal. When Dadi pressured saying that we have eaten the salt of this government, don’t be revolutionary, Ek Hangal left Peshawar. He ran away from home and came to his sister’s house in Delhi. One Hungal learned tailoring in exchange for a British job. He mastered the English cutting of clothes and suits. In an interview he stated that the suits of CF Andrews, a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and Gurudev Rabindra Nath Thakur, were also sewn by AK Hangal. AK Hangal also loved to wear nice clothes throughout his life. In his autobiography, he said that at an event, his female fans were upset that Ek Hangal went in a suit and not a dhoti kurta as per his image in films.
Ek Hangal also had to go to jail for his revolutionary and communist views. He then joined the Indian People’s Theater Association (IPTA) when he came to India in 1949 after Partition. AK Hangal’s acting journey started with Balraj Sahni and Kaifi Azmi through IPTA.
When noted producer-director Hrishikesh Mukherjee saw AK Hangal acting in a play, he invited him to act in films. Facts have it that Ek Hangal had signed Raj Kapoor starrer Teesri Kasam, but when the film released, it was learned that his role as Raj Kapoor’s elder brother had been cut. This is heartbreaking for any actor who starts his career in films at the age of 50. However, AK Hangal became famous when his first film ‘Shagird’ was released in 1967. After that, in his film career, AK Hangal acted in around 225 films with actors like Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra and created an image of a good guy.
AK Hangal, who acted on stage from 1936 to 1965 and appeared as a character actor in Hindi films from 1966 to 2005, walked the ramp in a wheelchair for fashion designer Riaz Ganji in Mumbai in February 2011. He made a guest appearance in the TV serial ‘Madhubala – Ek Ishq Ek Junoon’ in May 2012 and in early 2012 lent his voice to the character of Raja Ugrasen in the animation film ‘Krishna Aur Kansa’. By the time he reached the age of 100, AK Hangal was beset by physical and financial problems.
In fact, AK Hangal never became very rich due to playing characters throughout his life. Even when the Income Tax department raided his house, the investigation team was shocked to find that such a big artist was living in a rented house. He had disproportionate wealth in his house and no money to live a better life. Later when he visited Pakistan to visit his ancestral home, he was invited to the Pakistan Day celebrations there and participated in the programme. This angered Shiv Sena president Bal Thackeray, who banned the screening of one of Hangal’s films, calling him a ‘traitor’. His films were removed from talkies in and around Maharashtra. He stopped getting work. Even after this he did not relent but replied that he was not a traitor but a freedom fighter. The ban was lifted after almost two years of boycott but by then Ek Hangal had suffered a lot as an artist. Old age stopped getting work and there came a time when there was no money even for treatment, Bollywood offered to help. Actor AK Hangal, who was always dedicated and committed to his thoughts and work, bid farewell to this world on August 26, 2012.
He was a communist by thought and followed this ideology throughout his life. He was raising his voice against the wrong. While Taylor lived there, he formed the ‘Tailoring Workers’ Union’ in Bombay and fought over the grievances of the Taylor community. When the United Maharashtra movement started, he also became a part of this movement. He also participated in the Goa Liberation Movement.
In films he brought to life characters that seem to be around us. Such good and true characters that everyone has faith and trust in. AK Hangal himself once commented on this picture of him that even if his character was standing on screen with a pistol, the audience would not consider the character a bad character. He earned this confidence through his acting. It is ironic that a character actor like him had a troubled second half.