On the occasion of India’s 63rd Independence day, there’s a lot of mindless flag waving and jingoistic chest thumping going around. Not one to be outdone we join in with our own top secret weapon, Mr. Bharat.
Long before Manoj Shyamalan, one Mr. Manoj Kumar had the market cornered on directing and appearing in his own movies, the difference being Kumar often played the lead roles. Think M. Night playing the role of Bruce Willis in the Sixth Sense, however Kumar was so humble he often tried to appear inconspicuous by covering his face with the palm of his hand. Like Manoj Shyamalan, who cornered the surprise ending niche, Manoj Kumar had the over-the-top patriotism genre well covered. Below is how Manoj Kumar and his nationalistic movies changed the face of Bollywood, while keeping his own face covered.
Long before Aamir Khan and co made India a safer place by assassinating scumbag politicians, Manoj Kumar teamed up with Prem Chopra to lay down his life for the country, the last time Chopra would contribute in a positive manner on-screen.
Kumar went on to play the consummate 1960s Indian socialist hero, farmer and soldier, two for the price on one – desi ishtyle – in a single movie. Schools in India still reverberate with this movie’s songs on the occasion on Independence Day, a fitting tribute to not only Mr. Bharat, but also the lack of creativity in the Indian education system.
The next video is an inspiration for the prototypical Indian uncle in the US. Manoj Kumar in Purab aur Paschim, showed us how the West “spoils” Indian women, by encouraging them to get bad hair dye jobs and *gasp* even drink and smoke. Even the hippies in the video agree with Kumar on that count.
They say wine gets better with age, so did Manoj Kumar’s definition of patriotism. In the following video, Manoj Kumar blows away whatever your definition of patriotism might be, by comparing his patriotism to spicy peanuts.
Manoj Kumar reached the pinnacle of his trade with the most profound and patriotic movie of all time, “Clerk“. Previously, it would be that heroes had to sacrifice limb and life to appear patriotic. However, with “Clerk“, Manoj Kumar did the opposite. He harnessed patriotism to cure heart attacks. We leave you to your lame lame flag waving with this dazzling moment in patriotism.