Manoj Kumar, who is widely recognized as Bharat Kumar for his iconic patriotic films, was a close friend of Raj Kapoor. Recently, Manoj’s son, Kunal Goswami, shared some behind-the-scenes stories about Raj Kapoor’s film 'Mera Naam Joker', which nearly led Kapoor to bankruptcy. Kunal revealed that Manoj had offered to assist Raj by editing the film’s lengthy second half. The movie was notably long, running over four hours, and it was screened with two intermissions. Additionally, Manoj Kumar had a brief acting role in the film.

Importance of 'Mera Naam Joker' to Manoj Kumar

During a YouTube interview with Vickey Lalwani, Kunal revealed that 'Mera Naam Joker' was very important to Manoj Kumar, just as it was to Raj Kapoor. Despite the film’s failure at the box office, it remained a memorable project for all who worked on it. When questioned about Manoj’s involvement in directing the film, Kunal explained that Raj Kapoor directed it entirely. However, there was a discussion between the two about Manoj possibly taking on the task of editing the latter part of the movie.

He said, “There was some dialogue between Raj saab and dad. Dad had told him that you allow me to edit the second half of the film so we can change the shape of the film. But I don’t know whether that happened or didn’t happen. Dad told me that this discussion happened, about editing, not direction. Why would he (Manoj) direct? Raj saab was a great director. Dad respected him, he was in awe of him all the time.”