BENGALURU: The name Shatrughan Sinha is eponymous with not a film or a dialogue but a word–‘Khamosh’. Although it has been entwined with his life, he is unable to recall when he uttered it for the first time. Others can try hard to emulate his dialogue, but Sinha is inimitable, and no other voice or acting prowess can replicate the effect of ‘Khamosh’. Recently, during the book launch of Nautanki Saala by Mohua Chinappa in Bengaluru, the 76-year-old veteran actor showed that he does not need to be in front of a camera or on the big screen to command the attention of his audience.
His presence and charm were more than enough to swoon the audience at the Bangalore International Centre. Sinha reveals that his association with Bengaluru is deeper than many Bengalureans themselves. “ The Bengaluru crowd and weather have always been very appealing to me. I have been coming to the city for the past 40 years. I have been here shooting many films. One of my popular songs, which is my favourite too, is Pukaro Mujhe Phir Pukaro from Buniyaad (1972), sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar,” recalls Sinha, adding that it was shot in front of Vidhana Soudha.
He has many happy memories of the city but there have been some bittersweet ones as well. “When the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated, I was in the city and was campaigning. I was at Windsor Manor, and I remember that the security was beefed up. I was asked to stay in the hotel, and I left the city on the third day. Everything had come to stand still,” he says as his voice dips. Rising from ordinary life in Patna to becoming a superstar, and now a Member of Lok Sabha, Sinha says he has come a long way in terms of his perception of the world.
The actor, who has starred in superhit movies like Kalicharan, Nasseb, Kaala Patthar, is married to Poonam Sinha, about whose career he was indifferent and wanted her to be a homemaker, he admits. But now, there has been a paradigm shift. As a father, he is extremely supportive of his daughter, Bollywood actor Sonakshi Sinha’s career. To which author Bharath S Pradhan, who was also part of the panel, remarked in jest, “Men are always different when it comes to their daughter.”
In reality, he is living by his words as a changed person. For example, when it comes to property, he has made it clear that all his three children will get an equal share. “The first choice of the property goes to Sonakshi,” he asserts. Ebullient and jovial, Sinha is quite optimistic about the younger generation. “Usually people consider me their guru, but today I call the young generation my guru. I am learning a lot of things from them in terms of enthusiasm and commitment, their fitness regime and a healthy routine,” says the veteran actor before signing off.