Mukri: The little big man of Hindi cinema

In August 1991, Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu joined the ranks of big stars making their trips to the Lilavati hospital in Mumbai. Amitabh Bachchan was to follow. Prakash Mehra spent hours at the hospital. The man they were all visiting was no giant of Indian cinema, just a quiet, humble man who excelled at his job.

Muhammad Umar Mukri was among those gentle faces whose familiarity makes them all the more invaluable. From being an unknown preacher and assistant director, Mukri shared the peak of his career with one of Hindi cinema's biggest stars, Amitabh Bachchan.

The rise of Mukri, as he was best known, was not rapid. He made his official acting debut in Jairaj's Pratima (1945), a Bombay Talkies film. A qazi (cleric) by profession, he had joined Bombay Talkies to find a steady income. Soon, he was listed as assistant director at one of India's biggest studios of the time. Occasionally, he would fill in for walk-in parts.

Soon, a former classmate from the Anjuman-e-Islam School named Muhammad Yusuf Khan joined the studio taking the screen name Dilip Kumar. The handsome young actor, who would go on to be the biggest star of his generation, would sit down with the assistant director at lunch and joke about the pranks they used to play.

As Dilip Kumar was to say in his biography, The Substance and the Shadow, "Mukri was my schoolmate at Anjuman-e-Islam and he had become an actor before I joined Bombay Talkies. So that gave him the leverage to tell me at times when I ticked him off about something that he was senior to me... we became friends despite there being little in common between us."

With his lack of height and seemingly toothless smile, Mukri was often the butt of all jokes. Dilip Kumar was not the only one who liked Mukri's smile. Devika Rani, one of the founding members of the studio, liked the gentle face and personality of the former preacher and decided to cast him in a comic role in the next Dilip Kumar film. Thus, Mukri found his name on the credit list for Pratima in 1945.

Finding his feet in comedy, Mukri went on to establish himself as one of the finest comedians on screen. But he was not one to munch scenery. He was the perfect foil to any actor. From Dilip Kumar to Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor, Mukri became a trusted face to lighten up the scene in films. In Shaikh Mukhtar, he found the perfect partner: one tall and hefty, the other short and charming. This was to become a pattern with Mukri through the years.

He would later combine with Johnny Walker and then Mehmood to form more successful partnerships. In Padosan (1968), he played the tiny member of the gang following 'guru' Vidyapati (Kishore Kumar) around the theatre. Later, he was to be the perfect foil to another tall man, a lanky fellow named Amitabh Bachchan.

The Angry Young Man shared some of his best years with the indulgent comedian. Bombay To Goa (1972), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Naseeb (1981), Laawaris (1981) and Sharaabi (1984) were some of the pair's finest work. It was Mukri to whom moustache's finest moment in Hindi cinema is dedicated to, with Amitabh Bachchan proclaiming, 'Moochein ho toh Nathulal jaisi. Warna na ho [If you must sport a moustache, it should be like Nathulal's. Else don't bother].'

Mukri's turn as the bumbling old fool was often a conscious reflection of his real life. A simple man, he would often find himself out of place in the glamorous, showy parties of the film industry. His humour was as accidental. At one celebrated occasion, actress Shammi recalls him raising a toast to the ambassador of Saudi Arabia, saying, "I hope you have enjoyed it all as we have enjoyed you." The ambassador could not stop laughing at what he thought was a joke.

In his biography, Dilip Kumar recalls getting into bed at a hotel only to realize that Mukri was hiding beneath the sheets. It was not a prank; the comedian was scared to sleep alone in his room. The great actor could only laugh at this. They remained steadfast friends till the end of Mukri's days. Dilip Kumar held long vigils when his former schoolmate was in hospital.

Few actors enjoyed the popularity and friendships in the film industry as Mukri did. But his brightest moments were also the precursor to dusk. Once the 1970s passed, the comedian found himself out of touch with the changing humour of the times. His waning health also made it difficult for him to continue in an industry that demanded more for less. But by then he had already made a mark for himself. Equipped with about zero personality and just kindness and a delectable sense of humour, Mukri carved his place in cinema with his genial smile and open heart.