Happy Birthday to the Personification of Success

20 years ago I watched a movie of a lesser known actor then. I watched it only because it had the supernatural element of ghost helping a human. As a kid I loved that movie and watched it over and over again not because of the leading actor but because of the story. I even watched the Telugu version of that done by legend Jaggayya ages back called "Sabash Papanna". All this while I did not even realize the impact the actor would have on me in future. An year later I watched another movie of that actor. In the end when he is about to die, he laughs at the villain just before taking him down along with him. Boy I had goosebumps then and even now while writing. I for years repeated the legendary dialogue on winning by losing after that.

Meanwhile came two movies where he played an obsessed lover. I enjoyed both and second one more than the first because he was ruthlessly psychotic spoilt brat in that. In all these roles what I noticed was his  energy, spark and passion to make it big, which celluloid has never experienced before. I would certainly believe when his friends quote him saying "I would own this city(Bombay) one day". And one can surely quote Julius Caesar's "Vendi vidi vici" in his case.

I still remember going crazy over the beach song about catching a kiss and title song from a movie constantly shown over in channel "ETC" back then. I loved his style of wearing the suit with no shirt in side and tying the tie to his head with his smooth hair flowing down over the tie. I loved that movie too and it did not matter to me if it was a flop or a hit. Me being from a small town called Nellore in Andhra Pradesh where, back then, watching Hindi movies was only through the VHS and the movies we see depend on the selection available. Remember, those were the days of no pre-release publicity. And I was completely unaware of some of his  movies. But when VHS of some such movies finally arrived in my home town, I saw a different side of this actor. A soft role with boy next door charm, though plotting(one for girl and other for career) yet very innocent and lovable cute(I could not resist this word) boy. For me by then he was my favorite hero and I thought his role in a movie where he marries a widow and her husband comes back alive was too small for him. What I did not realize then was it was one of his first movies.

Few years passed and then came a multi-starrer action entertainer. I was his fan and my younger brother the other star's fan. We would watch that movie zillion times and play those roles where we shout each other names, run towards each other to attack and pretend a lightening stopped us both before attacking or we lie down as if dying and try to reach out for each others arms.

Then came a movie which is still running. I still remember the day when I watched that movie in theater and came home. I found they were just starting the Telugu version of the same movie on cable tv. Trust me when I say I sat before TV, completed that and then went to sleep. After that movie every one became his fan. Because he was an outsider who could make it big in the industry. And also because he was a common man before coming to movies, one of us.

Happy birthday to that Actor and my all time favorite. I liked all his movies except the one that deals with extramarital relations. I even loved his movies where he tries to donate his eyes for heroine or where a psychotic brother and sister are after him and kill his father or where he plays mute for 75% of the movie or movies where he played two roles or where he is the youngest of the three brothers in an action movie etc.

By
A fan to the King, "Till there is life"