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We are still in disbelief that the legendary actor Dilip Kumar has left us. The actor, who breathed his last at 98, has left his legacy behind and some unforgettable moments in Indian cinema history. His help done by the late Jawaharlal Nehru is one such interesting memory.
It was back in 1961 when Kumar’s film Ganga Jumna was all set to hit the big screen. As we all know, Kumar‘s many films were ahead of their time, his 1961’s release had irked the censor board due to its ‘too heavy’ content including violence and vulgarity. At that time, the censor board was under the control of BV Keskar (Minister of Information and Broadcasting).
Dilip Kumar, who was making a debut as a producer with Ganga Jumna, was asked for not just 1 or 2 but 250 cuts in the film by the censor. Expectedly, he wasn’t happy with the censor’s directions and asked for help from then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. After taking a proper appointment, the veteran actor was allowed just 15 minutes for a discussion.
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It was a sweet surprise for Dilip Kumar as Nehru extended the meeting’s time by over an hour and listened to Kumar’s concerns regarding the censor board. At last, Ganga Jumna was passed with no cuts and BV Keskar was dropped from his post.
The film finally arrived on the big screen after a lot of hurdles and became a huge hit among viewers. Interestingly, the film was passed with a ‘U’ rating by the censor board. The film had earned 4 crores at the box office to become the highest grosser of that year.
