Manoj Kumar Once Filed a Case Against Shah Rukh Khan & Farah Khan; Details Inside

Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar passed away on April 4^th at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. According to the medical certificate issued by the hospital, Manoj Kumar died due to chronic heart-related complications while the secondary cause of death was decompensated liver cirrhosis. The entire film industry is mourning the loss of a great actor.

Manoj Kumar’s son, Kunal Goswami revealed that the late actor will be cremated in Mumbai. His last rites will be performed on April 5 at Pawan Hans in front of Nanavati Hospital in Vile Parle.

Shaheed, a 1965 film directed by S Ram Sharma, stars Kamini Kaushal, Pran, Iftekhar, Nirupa Roy, Prem Chopra, Madan Puri and Anwar Hussain. It is based on the life of Bhagat Singh. Manoj Kumar won the first national award as a scriptwriter for Shaheed, and donated all the prize money to Bhagat Singh’s family. In an interview, Manoj Kumar said, “I donated the entire amount I got for my national award for Shaheed to Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s family. Awards do give any creative person a sense of satisfaction. I am happy that the government has at last rewarded my work.”

Years ago, the actor filed a defamation suit against Shah Rukh Khan and Farah Khan for parodying him in the film ‘Om Shanti Om’. In the scene, in order to gain entry to the premiere of a film starring Shanti Priya, played by Deepika Padukone, Shah Rukh's character Om mimics Kumar's well-known palm across his face gesture. When the real Manoj Kumar shows up for the premiere, he is escorted out by the guards. Kumar had complained about the scene and asked the filmmakers to remove it from the film; he went to a civil court, which ordered the filmmakers to do so prior to the satellite screening. Shah Rukh personally apologized to the movie's release, and the scene was cut.

Six years later, when the movie was released in Japan, the sequence reappeared in a print, which led Kumar to sue Shah Rukh Khan and production company Eros International in April 2013. He told the media, “The film was released in Japan without deleting those scenes. I had forgiven them twice but not this time. They have disrespected me. They also face contempt of court as in 2008 the court had asked them to forever and from all prints and broadcast material, delete those scenes."

He also said, "I don't have any personal clash with Shah Rukh Khan. He is a nice person, but when it comes to my self-respect, then I can't compromise on it." Later, he withdrew the case as there was no action taken.