He was a fine writer and director: Asha Parekh on Manoj Kumar

Mumbai: Veteran actor Asha Parekh says it was a privilege to collaborate with screen icon Manoj Kumar and she would always remember him for his work as a writer-director.

Kumar, who died on Friday due to age-related issues, featured alongside Parekh in three films -- “Apna Banake Dekho” (1962), “Do Badan” (1966), and “Upkar” (1967), which marked his directorial debut.

Parekh said when they collaborated for the first time in “Apna Banake Dekho”, Kumar would always address her as 'Asha ji'.

"He was an absolute newcomer then. He would call me ‘Asha ji’. On ‘Do Badan’ and ‘Upkar’, the equation was more collaborative. In ‘Do Badan’, there were lots of scenes that he had written, he was a fabulous writer. It was my privilege that I worked with him in his first directorial venture, ‘Upkar’. He was a fine director,” the 82-year-old told PTI.

Parekh praised Kumar’s ability to envision scenes and characters in a captivating way.

“He would conceive a shot so well that it was a delight working with him. He would write characters differently. Like, Pran sahab had one of the finest roles of his career in ‘Upkar’,” she said.

The actor also talked about Kumar’s lesser-known role as a homeopathic doctor and how his remedy worked wonders on those who sought advice from him.

“He was a fabulous homeopathy doctor. There were lots of people who would go to him for medicine. My friend Shammi (Kapoor), whose shoulder had cracked while shooting in Punjab, rang him up, and he (Kumar) gave some homeopathy medicine, which healed the shoulder in a few days.

"I wish he had written a book on homeopathy which would’ve helped a lot of people,” she said.