The Partition and its long-term ramifications — political and otherwise — left a deep impact on I.S. Johar. Though none of the films he directed subsequently ever touched the level of Nastik, he continued to make unequivocal — often reckless — political commentary through his work. His film Nasbandi (1978) was a blunt satire about the forced sterilization drive by the then government in power, featuring a hilarious song that went, “Kya mil gaya sarkar emergency laga ke/ Nasbandi kara ke, humaari bansi bajaa ke/.. kya mil gaya gutter mein meri nao girake/ Nasbandi kara ke, humaari bansi bajaa ke!” Needless to say, the film was banned.
But Johar was getting used to bans. When his play Bhutto (1982) was banned, he is known to have said, “The play is not only anti-Bhutto, it is anti-general Zia, Mrs Gandhi, Ershad… It is anti the demagogic despots of the Third World — that includes Mrs Gandhi…”. His explicit statements were not just restricted to politics. In 1983, an interview given to Sunday magazine had so much sexual candour about his adolescent experiences, that it would run a shiver down the spine of today’s Bollywood stars. Speaking of Hindi films and their audience, he once remarked, “They are fools, and all Hindi films are rubbish. Mine are at least entertaining.”
Johar was one of the most outrageous, scandalous, and illustrious people to have come out of the Hindi film industry. You could disagree with him vehemently and shudder at some of his beliefs, but you sure as hell couldn’t dismiss him. And yet, history remembers him just as a movie clown, ranking him lower than his more famous contemporaries. Sad!