Manoj Kumar believed in Raj Kapoor’s film and showmanship. He was as affected by the failure of the film as the filmmaker. He kept rewriting the scenes in his mind, till he actually cracked the problem and called Raj Kapoor to share his thoughts. Kumar was confident that a re-edited version of Mera Naam Joker would become a blockbuster but by then Raj Kapoor was too depressed to try alternatives and in any case, the film was already released and the verdict declared.
In the seventies Manoj Kumar was working in fewer films Sanyasi, Dus Numbari, Yaadgar, Pehchaan, Beimaan and Shirdi Ke Sai Baba so he could devote time to his home production and directed three more films in the decade, Roti Kapda aur Makan, Shorand Purab aur Paschim. The eighties were times of multi-starrers and Kumar released Kranti with his idol Dilip Kumar, a dream come true for the actor-filmmaker. The biggest success stories have to fade eventually and Kalyug Ki Ramayan, Clerk, Bharat Ka Beta, Deshwasi, Maidan- E- Jung in the nineties finally put a lid on the actor’s glorious career.
Concluded