Raj Babbar Birthday Special: Raj ne kabhi zindegi mein haar aashani se nahi maani ... Ali Peter John

Raj Babbar Birthday Special: Sometimes I wonder whether Raj Babbar would have been better off as a full-time politician. He has always had the makings of a politician right from the time he was a student leader in Agra where he was born, then at the National School Of Drama in New Delhi, he was a fiery youth leader who could teach some of the most seasoned and tough politicians lessons on how to make speeches with all the fervor and passion and without any fear, he was a leader of several revolts, a champion of countless causes, a rebel without a pause, a young leader who knew what he was talking, who he was talking to and why.

But, he was also involved in theatre and took part in every kind of theatre activity with all his heart and was recognized as one of the best actors all over the north, he played some of the most complex roles with effortless eve and was often directed by some of the best names who knew his range and his courage to try and do what others couldn’t. He found one of the most competent directors and co-actors in Nadira Zaheer, the equally fiery daughter of Sajjad Zaheer, a progressive writer, and leader who led the movement for Independence. Raj and Nadira fell in love, a Hindu and a Muslim who proved that secularism was the foundation on which some of the best relations were built.

When Prakash Mehra noticed Raj Babbar's talent

Raj and his talent as an actor were noticed by the same Prakash Mehra who once launched an unknown actor who would one day be the only actor every other actor would look up to, Amitabh Bachchan, Raj followed his advice and came down to the city of dreams where he faced a grim struggle before he could make it big as the ruthless rapist in B.R.Chopra’s “Insaaf Ka Taraazu”…

He could have been branded and typed as and tempted into playing the good bad man in film after film, but the actor in him did not grant him permission to do that, it inspired him to sing songs and run around trees and serenade beautiful young women. He kept trying till he succeeded as a leading man in a number of films. It was while playing the hero that he met an actress who was in a class of her own, an outstanding actress called Smita Patil who was the daughter of a leading politician from Maharashtra. The two fell in love and proved how love could be when Raj left his wife, Nadira and his two little children, Juhi and Arya, and started a new life with Smita. (Raj Babbar Birthday Special)

Raj Babbar found his chance to bring the politician

It was while they were blindly in love that Raj found his chance to bring the politician in him back to life and started with Smita as the major campaigner for Sunil Dutt the messenger of peace who stood for elections for the first time in 1984. They walked into every lane and by lane, they walked into bazaars, fish markets, and slums asking people to vote for Mr. Dutt and they played a very vital part in the victory of Mr. Dutt, a fact accepted by the messiah himself. Raj and Smita knew how the game of politics was played but, fate intervened in their plans, Smita died when she was just thirty (a prediction she had made about herself to this writer three years before she really died).

Raj was left rudderless, his career was in trouble, and he was not sure where he was going, but he soon found his way, he went back to Nadira and the children. He changed to playing tough-to-play characters, even all kinds of evil characters, and was at his best when playing the wicked, wily, and scheming politician…

Raj Babbar says it was not so easy finding a place in the Congress

He tried ways of getting into acting politics, but it was not so easy finding a place in the Congress, he turned to other parties and found a leader in V.P.Singh who had broken away from the Congress and formed his own party and worked his way to be the Prime Minister of India so what if it was only for a short while. Raj Babbar was known as his most trusted lieutenant all over the country… But then “Weepie” (the name given to him by Jaya Bachchan because of his trying his worst to get her husband into all times of trouble, Before and all that followed) Singh could not last long because of all the wrong decisions he made like the Mandal Commission which was a bundle of problems for the country for the man who played dirty politics till he was declared dead. (Raj Babbar Birthday)

Raj was in politics now. He had to make his next move if he had to survive, he found a new leader in Mulayam Singh who was supposed to be a savior of the poor and the downtrodden, Raj joined Mulayam’s Samaj Vadi Party and it took him very little time to reach the highest echelons of the party. He was one of the pillars and a major force in Indian politics…

Raj was nominated to the House of Elders (Rajya Sabha).

Raj contested the elections from Agra and was on his way to places on high. He was so powerful that he was even in charge of Shah-Jahan’s Taj Mahal!
But what happens in dirty politics happened to Raj and he was out of Mulayam’s party and was soon seen making the rounds of 10 Janpath, trying to get into the good books of “the iron woman of India today,” Sonia Gandhi, and succeeded. He was given a ticket to fight the elections from Fatehpur Sikri but lost the election by a slender margin, but he was not one to give up hope so easily.

To his good luck there was a bye-election in Firozabad in U.P and the “madam” in Delhi thought he was the right candidate to take on Dimple Yadav, the daughter of his one-time leader, Mulayam Singh, Mulayam tried every good and bad game to see Raj defeated but all his efforts were mingled with the dust when Raj who called Dimple “meri choti behn” made mince meat of her when he beat her badly by a margin of more than eighty thousand votes.

Raj Babbar has the potential to change the shape of Indian politics.

He changed parties again and joined the Congress where he has been stable and has established himself as one of its leaders who are at the forefront and is also its very vociferous speaker in the Lok Sabha...
He's the leader he has always been. He doesn’t take defeat lightly because he knows he is a winner and if he continues the way he is, I see a great future for this Raj who once slept in a garage in Bombay because he had no roof to find shelter under, Raj has the makings to shape the future of politics in India if only he doesn’t make any blunders and doesn’t keep changing parties like he keeps changing his cars (which are his passion).

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