Raghuvir Yadav and Jabalpur

Raghurvir, Jabalpur and thrashing
By sheer coincidence, actor Raghuvir Yadav and writer Arundhanti Roy were in news last week – first for being sent to jail and the other for daring the authority to send her to jail. The newspaper reports freshened memories of Pradeep Krishna-directed film “Messy Sahab” which featured both as husband and wife. The film was not a commercial success but had won best actor award for debutant Raghuvir in the 11th international film festival. Arundhati essayed a tribal woman’s role in it. She looked ravishing. It was in 1986.
I interviewed Raghuvir Yadav for All India Radio, Jabalpur station soon after he returned to his native place (Jabalpur) after winning the coveted award. He behaved like a quintessential Jabalpurian- plain ,simple, almost like a rural bumpkin. We chatted in Jabalpurian dialect about his experience of working with Pradeep Krishna before starting the interview on air. Since it was his first film, he had little to say about film making. The interview was mainly focused on his theatre. Raghuvir was charmingly candid. “ It so happened that Ranjit Kapoor’s theatre troupe had come to Jabalpur. I used to sing a little bit. Ranjit spotted me and took me along with the troupe. Later, I got admission in the National School of Drama. That was how my journey began”, I remember him telling me this in the interview.
Raghuvir lived in a predominantly Yadav village Karondi. The village in those days would often hit the headlines in local newspapers for its inhabitants’ clashes with students of the government engineering college which was in the vicinity.
In the subsequent years we got to see a lot of Raghuvir Yadav’s acting prowess on theatre, films and television. Mungeri Lal , his most memorable role in the “ Mungeri Lal Ke Haseen Sapney”, has become a metaphor for day-dreaming. I never had a chance to meet Raghuvir again but would hear about his troubled marriage from friends in theatre world. Photographer Sundar Rajan , who is also a film and TV actor ( remember the sweeper in Mumma Bhai MBBS whom Sanjay Dutt gives famous Jadoo ki Jhapppi?), had shared flat with Raghuvir in late eighties. The venerable photographer was all praise for his room partner’s talent and personal life when Raghuvir was being discussed in an evening at Gyanranjan’s Agrawal colony’s house in Jabalpur in those days. Gyanranjan, one of the most well known story writers of seventies but better known as editor of now-would esteemed magazine “ Pahal” is Sundar Rajan’s friend and my guru.
I really can’t say how good or bad human being Raghuvir Yadav is. But it was extremely pained to see the good actor being thrashed by his ex-wife Poonam in public, in front of policemen. He looked devastated. The Sahara news channel anchor sounded almost demented with glee when he narrated the incident as TV camera showed Raghuvir being slapped from behind. My first interview with Raghuvir 24 years ago suddenly flashed before me. Is Raghuvir , a bumpkin-turned-actor , victim of metro lifestyle ? He could never cast off his rural upbringing completely. That proved his strength in role but may have turned his handicap in real life as he grappled with merciless world of tinsel town.