Honoring Navin Nischol on the Anniversary of His Birth

Navin Nischol passed away very abruptly, just as his fame was being taken from him. He had everything one day, then nothing the next. Both his 1970 debut picture, Sawan Bhadow, which was helmed by Mohan Segal, and the song Kaan Mein Jhuma Chaal Mein Thumka, which Navin sang for fellow debutante Rekha in Sawan Bhadow, were enormous hits.

Then came songs like Dharma (Na Satrah Se Oopar), Hanste Zakhm (Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho), Victoria No. 203 (Tu Na Milegi Toh Hum Jogi Ban Jayenge), and Buddha Mil Gaya by Hrishikesh Mukherjee (do you remember Navin singing Raat Kali Ek Khwab Mein Ayee?). In the 1971 film Parwana, Amitabh Bachchan played the antagonist and Navin the hero.
Then came the abrupt dip. On March 19, 2011, Navin passed away.

The night before his untimely demise, the late Rishi Kapoor met Navin Nischol at the Otters Club in Mumbai. Navin was scheduled to go to Pune with producer Gurdeep Singh (Gawa) and Rishi’s brother Randhir Kapoor the morning after the two met. Navin requested that Gawa turn down the car’s air conditioning before they arrived at Randhir’s. Then he just sagged to his death.

According to Navin’s brother Praveen, Navin had a premonition that he would die. “He said farewell to everyone of us personally for the first time before leaving the home to travel to Pune, including our brother who lives overseas, our mother, and my adopted kid. One by one, Navin said, “Okay, bye,” to each of us. Normally, he would just walk away after making a huge announcement.”

A few years before to his death, Navin had been through a difficult time after his wife had taken him to court over violence. The actor was wounded by this, his first and only unsavory public controversy. However, according to Praveen, Navin moved beyond it. “Yes, that was a regrettable incident. However, Navin and our family had successfully weathered the storm. In his latter years, Navin was ecstatic. He shared a home with my mother and me, and he also spent a lot of time with his close friends. He was happy and at ease with who he was. But he neglected to take care of his health.

Not that he was troubled in any way. But you have to get regular checkups beyond a certain age. He didn’t ever. In addition, he smoked. He would constantly say, “Next week,” when it came to giving it up.”
What went wrong in the amazing career of Navin Nischol, who enjoyed an early advantage in Sawan Bhadow? Before Sawan Bhadow came out, Navin signed six films as a scared rookie that weren’t nearly the right ones to further his career. He was urged to breach the contract by others. As a gentleman and a man of his word, Navin made the decision to go forward with those movies, believing he could live them up. They overcame him.

Navin, who was renowned for never looking for employment, missed out on chances that would have propelled him to the major leagues. He could never bring himself to approach someone and request a job. He would rationalize. “They’ll ask me if they want me.” Additionally, he declined prestigious parts like as Shashi Kapoor’s in Roti Kapda Aur Makaan by Manoj Kumar and Deewaar by Yash Chopra. He didn’t look for job, even after he had an influence on Khosla Ka Ghosla for years. He held off.

A well-known producer named Pravin had cast Navin in the main role of Jaan Se Pyara. Sadly, the movie was shelved. Shabana Azmi, who costarred with Navin in 1980’s most tender and poignant movie Ek Baar Kaho, remembers Navin thinking back on his sudden fame and the brutality with which it was taken from him. Navin was sometimes resentful, even philosophical at times, but he accepted it and went on.