Dehradun, April 6 -- Sometime in the late 1970s, I had to catch a flight from Lucknow. As I reached the airport, the officer in charge of its security said to me, 'Sir, Bharat Kumar is here in the lounge. Will you like to meet him?' 'Who is Bharat Kumar?' I asked. 'Sir, Manoj Kumar. Isn't Bharat Kumar his other name?'

A series of films based on patriotic themes had put the stamp of Bharat on Manoj Kumar, the actor, producer and director of several Hindi movies, who died at the age of 87 on Friday in Mumbai.

He was relaxing with his eyes shut on an easy chair in the lounge, seemingly sleeping. I told the police officer that I did not want to disturb the star, but my whisper was enough to make him open his eyes and look at me. The officer...