Avtar Kishan Hangal, better known as AK Hangal, was an Indian freedom fighter-turned-actor. Born on February 1, 1914 in Sialkot in a Kashmiri Pandit family, he spent his early years in Peshawar. He learnt tailoring and even began participating in multiple plays. Hangal was also an active partcipant in the Indian freedom movement from 1929 to 1947. He stayed back in Pakistan after the partition, but was jailed in Karachi for two years from 1947 to 1949 because of his communist idelogies.
Recalling his days in the jail and how he came to India, AK Hangal told Rediff.com in an interview in 2006, "After the Partition, I stayed back in Pakistan but I was arrested because of communist ideologies. I spent two years in jail. I was beaten regularly because I would resist everything from bad food to bad civic facilities. I was asked to leave Pakistan and go to India. But how could I leave the place and culture where I was born? One day, Muslim seniors from my party told me to go to India and start party work there, as I was the only Hindu among them. I was given 12 hours to leave Pakistan."
He further added, "I wanted to go to New Delhi to my sister but I had no money. I came to Mumbai with Rs 20 in my pocket. I was 21 years old then. I met some friends from Karachi and they took care of my family and me. Soon, I got a job as a tailor and was paid Rs 500 per month. Those days in 1949, this was a huge amount. I used to have rich customers like the nawab of Pataudi and Britishers."
In 1966, at the age of 52, AK Hangal made his Bollywood debut in Teesri Kasam, in which he played Raj Kapoor's elder brother. He went on to play supporting roles in many successful films across the next four decades. These included Abhimaan, Guddi, Mere Apne, Bawarchi, Chitchor, Aaina, Avtaar, Ram Teri Ganga Maili, and Khalnayak among others. But, the two most successful films in Hangal's career were Sholay and Lagaan.
Directed by Ramesh Sippy, Sholay featured Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Amjad Khan, Hema Malini, and Jaya Bachchan in the lead roles. The 1975 revenge action drama became the highest-grossing film Indian film of all-time upon its release, a tag it held for almost two decades. Hangal played Rahim Chacha and his dialogue, "Itna sannaata kyun hai bhai" became a part of pop culture.
The 2001 release Lagaan, helmed by Ashutosh Gowariker and headlined by Aamir Khan, had Hangal as Shambu Kaka. When he fell in the bathroom while shooting the film, he reached the sets in an ambulance and gave the perfect shot. Sharing how he felt bad about his role getting cut in Lagaan, the actor told the portal, "I shot for Lagaan. But I fell in the bathroom and was in the hospital for 30 days. My role was cut short, though they paid me the promised amount. They took care of my hospital bills too. Aamir Khan and his ex-wife Reena would visit me at the hospital; they respected me a lot. But I felt bad that my role was cut."
AK Hangal in Sholay and Lagaan
In the later years of his career, AK Hangal faced financial difficulties. As per reports, he struggled to manage his medical expenses in 2007. In 2011, when news reports about his ill life circulated, many film celebrities came forward to help him financially. Hangal made his acting comeback next year in the TV show Madhubala - Ek Ishq Ek Junoon, but soon he passed away on August 26, 2012, at the age of 98.
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