Just after India was partitioned in 1947, the legendary film actor-director-producer Ashok Kumar announced a new film, Majboor, with some among cast and crew answering to the names of Nazir Ajmeri, Kamal Amrohi, Munawar Sultana, Saadat Hasan Manto, Ismat Chughtai and her husband Shahid Latif, and Ghulam Haider. Coming so soon after Partition, some termed the move brave, others called it foolhardy. Back then the atmosphere in India was, as All India Radio was fond of saying, “tense but under control”. Many Hindu workers of Kumar were unhappy with his decision. Dadamoni, as he was affectionately called, ignored their reservations, confident that this spree of communalism would subside.
One night, he decided to drop Manto home after a late dinner in Bombay. As they reached a Muslim-dominated locality, Manto worried for his friend’s safety. There was a marriage procession there, and Manto’s heart skipped a beat as he prepared for the worst. The crowd recognised Kumar almost instantly, and to Manto’s surprise and relief, there were chants of “Ashok Kumar, Ashok Kumar!” The marriage party was packed with Ashok Kumar fans, and even at the height of the communal divide and widespread killing, nobody identified an artist with his religion. After the violence of 1947, hope for a shared future floated.
