India first, religion later

Celebrating the masters who honoured Hindu traditions while standing tall for India’s inclusive spirit

- Rajiv Vijayakar *

The unfortunate quote by a composer who has attained so many glories in India has compelled me to go back in time and look back at those sterling individuals who believed in serving the nation and Hindu culture through their skills and left indelible marks on India's pluralism.

These Muslims not only believed in putting their art before religion, they gave unforgettable Hindu devotional songs that even today's generations hum to.

Actors

Among the actors, Dilip Kumar was a trendsetter in adopting a Hindu screen names as was the convention in those British and neo-Independence times. Dilip Kumar not only enacted perennial bhajans and devotional songs in Hindi films, but along with lyricist Shakeel Badayuni, composer Naushad and singer Mohammed Rafi, formed a Muslim quartet that spun great devotional songs and Hindu ethos-suffused songs together or individually, like Madhuban mein Radhika (Kohinoor) and Insaaf ka mandir hai yeh (Amar). Outside this ambit, and again with Rafi, classics like Aana hai to aa (Naya Daur), Sukh ke sab saathi (Gopi) and O Shankar mere (Bairaag) each saw Dilip in the perfect Hindu pious mode. Comedian-actor and filmmaker Mehmood was a devotee of Lord Shiva in particular and his own productions had devotionals like Nandlal Gopal daya karke (Sadhu Aur Shaitan) and Jai Bholenath (Kunwara Baap).

Actresses