Kal ki Baat, Aaj Ki Baat - Jalaal Aagha

JALAL THA TOH JAAN THI .......Ali Peter John

I have not and will never change my belief which says that I would not be what I am if a simple but great man, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas would have come into my life and changed it completely.

I learnt from Abbas Sahab more than I learnt from books and the most learned teachers , philosophers and poets. But I also met and made friends with some of the best human beings who worked with him. There was Abdul Rehman who was the right hand man of Abbas Sahab who not only typed all that he wrote ( including the agreement made for a new actor called Amitabh Bachchan. Abdul Rehman used to work twelve hours and sometimes more for a salary which was 450 a month. He had not got married till he was 50. I once asked him why he didn't look for a better job and he had said , "khudah agar mil jaaye toh main insaan ke saath kaise kaam karunga?"

He worked with Abbas Sahab till the last day of his life . There were other men like Manmohan Sabir who used to play a gambling game called "matka" to arrange money for Abbas Sahab and for himself when he made one of his films . Jafar, another Abdul Rehman who specialise in seeing the negative side of life , a very learned and strong man called Athar Siraj was the man Abbas Sahab depended on for his opinions and Kamlakar , his art director was another man who couldn't think of working for anyone else.

Tinnu Anand who was both an assistant and an actor

But, it was some of the young actors who made a strong impression on me, especially Tinnu Anand who was both an assistant and an actor in the films and documentaries made by Abbas Sahab and his best friend was Jalal Agha.

Jalal was the son of the veteran actor Agha who incidentally was the hero of "Dilip Kumar's first film , "Jwar Bhaata" . Jalal be was a student of the first batch at the F T I I and Abbas Sahab was the first to recognise his talent and give him work in his films. He was one of the saat Hindustanis in "Sast Hindustani" Abbas Sahab who Jalal and Tinnu Anand called "maamujaan " called "Jalal' " the jaan of Naya Sansar" (his company)

Tinnu however fell in love with Shehnaz

Jalal's sister Shehnaz was the only female actor in" Saat Hindustani" which was to. Have Tinnu as one of the hindustanis but he opted out and his place was taken by the newcomer , Amitabh. Tinnu however fell in love with Shehnaz and married her after coming back from his stint with Satyajit Ray

There was a split second scene in the film in which Sarika exposes her breasts

Jalal played some very interesting roles in films like "Aasmaan Mahal" made by Abbas Sahab, "Julie " , and "Gaman" but he excelled in the documentaries , t v aerials and the one and only absolutely brilliant film he directed called "Nirvaan" he made with Sarika , Amol. Palekar and Tinnu . There was a split second scene in the film in which Sarika exposes her breasts and her mother was shocked when she saw the scene and created endless problems for Jalal . I may have seen thousands of films made by the best directors all over the world , but in my opinion I have yet to see a film like ,"Nirvan ".which unfortunately has not been released or has not been released at all.

He married a Goan model and had a son who he named Salim Christopher Agha

Jalal was a man way ahead of his times . He was known for making the most blasphemous and controversial statements and for ridiculing politicians and other people in power. He married a Goan model and had a son who he named Salim Christopher Agha and when Abbas Sahab asked him why he gave his son that unusual name, he had said," if this man can have a name like Ali Peter John, why can't I have a son called Salim Christopher Agha?"

This was his problem which he wanted to discuss with me

He had taken Bombay by a storm when he posed nude with just a box camera in front of his what are known as "private parts". We met regularly even after I had left Abbas Sahab and joined Screen. He once called me to his apartment in Juhu and said that he wanted to discuss something very important . I rushed to his house from Nariman Point and he told me about his problem. He had decided not to have a t v set in his room and his not having a t v had kept all domestic helps, male and female away from working for him and he had to do all his work himself. This was his problem which he wanted to discuss with me and had called me all the way from the other end of the world.

Jalal was shooting in Lucknow and had a massive heart attack and died there . His funeral was the first time I saw the inside of s Kabristan. And while the mourner's were pouring mud into his grave , I could see him smile and then laugh and say " look Ali what these damn fools are doing to me . They think I am dead, my friend , please make them understand that a Jalal Agha can not die because he is a devil who will live as long as his dear friend God lives "

It seems like the world has forgotten Jalal Agha . He would have laughed again and said,. "who wants to be remembered by a world which is known for its wild and wicked people ?"