New Delhi: Actor AK Hangal has passed away at the age of 95 years. He was admitted to Parekh Hospital in Santacruz in suburban Mumbai after suffering from a back injury. Born on February 1, 1917, AK Hangal was better known as Imam Chacha or Bipinlal Pandey, immortal characters he played in films such as ‘Sholay’ and ‘Namak Haraam’.
Avtar Kishan Hangal was a Kashmiri pandit by birth and he spent his childhood in Peshawar (now in Pakistan). He developed a love for stage performances at a tender age but he was supposed to become a tailor; however his fate changed when his family moved to Karachi.
The fate took another turn in 1949, when he came to Mumbai, after India's independence. He spent three years in jail before making it to Mumbai for taking part in the freedom movement.
Hangal, along with Balraj Sahni and Kaifi Azmi, was a powerful voice for IPTA, his Marxist leaning was never a hidden fact.
Physical appearance was definitely a reason, but Hangal himself also preferred to play the role of the common man, in cinema after cinema. His role of a nymphomaniac in ‘Shaukeen’ looked more like an old man on mission than a plain nymph.
He was an integral part of Rajesh Khanna’s films. ‘Aap Ki Kasam’, ‘Bawarchi’, ‘Avtaar’, ‘Naukri’ - you name it, he was always there with Khanna.
Hangal had started with Basu Bhattacharya’s ‘Teesri Kasam’ in 1966 and went on to portray different shades of the old age in countless number of films. He got featured in a number of roles on the small screen also. Recently, he was seen as a guest character in ‘Madhubala’.
Today, AK Hangal is not on the earth but his characters will always remain with us. May his soul rest in peace.
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