It is no coincidence that on June 1, 1987, his coffin was kept near Gandhi’s statue in Juhu for a while before he was buried at the Santacruz graveyard. Three personalities - his great grandfather Urdu writer-poet Ataf Hussain Hali, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru - had influenced him. After Abbas’s death, his nephew Anwar sold his rich collection of books to a raddiwala and his medals, including the Padmashri, in Chor Bazaar. Abbas married a relative Mohabbatbai who died of a heart ailment within two decades of their marriage. He loved the common man as much as he loved India and took pride in its glorious past and rich cultural heritage. A progressive to the core, Abbas nursed the Progressive Writers’ Association and its offshoot Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) for which he even directed the film ‘Dharti Ke Laal’ (Children of the Land). ‘Bombay Raat Ki Banhon Mein’ remains one of the most iconic portrayals of the Maximum city’s nightlife, especially its ugly side.
He would work for hours, creating stuff that amused, entertained, provoked and educated his audience.” Despite incurring financial losses, he continued making films. Poet-lyricist Nida Fazli says: “Like a veteran grocer who mechanically reaches for the merchandizes in his shop, Abbas would never disappoint anyone who sought help. On the other hand, Raj Kapoor added masala to the stories and turned them into great success,” says Dr Siraj Balsari who has done PhD on Abbas. “In his own films he tried to be too realistic. People often wonder how Abbas directed films bombed while the films he penned for Kapoor became hits. Although Abbas penned and directed numerous films -‘Bombay Raat Ki Banhon Mein’ and ‘Shehar Aur Sapna’ are notable among them-his craftsmanship peaked in the remarkably commercial hits he wrote for Raj Kapoor- ‘Awara’, ‘Shree 420’, ‘Mera Naam Joker’, ‘Bobby’, ‘Heena’. “Abbas didn’t leave a star child to perpetuate his memory,” he adds. “Abbas often said, ‘I write what I feel.’ And he followed it till his death,” adds Siddiqui who blames tinsel town’s amnesia towards Abbas to their selfishness. He commented frankly and fearlessly on issues that mattered to us,” recalls scriptwriter Javed Siddiqui who, along with a few others, plan a tribute to Abbas at Prithvi Theatre next month. “If ‘Blitz’ became a popular weekly, credit also goes to his columns - ‘The Last Page’ in English and ‘Azad Qalam’ in Hindi and Urdu editions of the same paper. A nationalist and non-conforming leftist, Abbas championed India’s celebrated secularism and multi-culturalism through the multi-discipline he practised. The rest, as the cliché goes, is history.
I left for Kolkata, requesting Abbas saab to give my role to Amitji,” adds Anand. “I wanted to be a director and Satyajit Ray offered me to assist him in a film. He accepted it nevertheless,” recalls Anand, who was originally selected for the role of a poet-writer in ‘Saat Hindustani’ which went to Bachchan. Amitji was a bit worried when Abbas saab paid him just Rs 5000. “Abbas saab learnt about Amitji’s lineage only after he selected the future’s superstar. Many would tell you that Bachchan had brought a letter either from Indira Gandhi or from his famous litterateur father Harivansh Rai Bachchan or from both for Abbas. Many stories float about how Abbas gave break to then-struggling Amitabh Bachchan in ‘ Saat Hindustani’ (1969).
Ever since he moved to Mumbai in 1935 from Aligarh, Panipat-born Abbas touched souls through his columns, ‘The Last Page’, first in the ‘Bombay Chronicle’ and then the ‘Blitz’ (both now long defunct), Urdu short stories, essays and, of course, the films, both as scriptwriter and director. K A Abbas (1914-1987) remains almost forgotten in his centenary year. Barring the plaque which announces Khwaja Ahmad Abbas Marg, there is no other memorial in the city to the man who contributed immensely to its culture. Not many who use the road diagonally opposite J W Marriott Hotel in Juhu know the significance of the man it is named after-Khwaja Ahmad Abbas.
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