Meet the Samba: An Interview with Mac Mohan

by Amit Ranjan

Poore pachaas baar. Samba repeated “Poore pachaas hazaar”, his only dialogue in Sholay, poore pachaas baar for the TV ‘bites’ (I insist on the spelling). It was marketing at its best at the launch of ‘Ab Tera Kya Hoga Kaliaa’ . Now, this book is not about Kaalia or Sambha or Gabbar, but a self-help book on memory improving techniques.

Biswaroop Roy Chaudhary, the author, followed the launch with a Guinness Book attempt at push-ups and bettered Roy Berger’s of 138 push-ups with 198 push-ups in a minute. Wonder what’s that got to do with memory techniques — buy given that brain and brawn are almost homonyms, there must be an association.

Samba and Kalia, that is, Mac Mohan and Viju Khote launched the book in their Sholay get up and with a little advertorial gig for the book. One day matches are often won by substitute fielders, my friend whispered to me.

Mac Mohan Ka Raaz

The book, the record or memory were my last concerns. I waited for a whole hour to get a Samba exclusive.

The names Samba and Mac Mohan have always been intriguing. How did Ramesh Sippy come up with a Latino Carribean whistle name? “We never thought Sholay will become what it is,” both Samba and Kaalia echoed. The surname Mac denotes clan affiliation. So, a Mac Donald would mean Donald’s posterity. So I always wondered whether some Mohan, taking cue from Mac Mohan line, decided to follow this tradition of naming his sons Mac Mohan. Samba however, subverted my theory “My name was Mohan. I am from UP. My pet name was Mack, so I became Mac Mohan.”

Samba Forever

I congratulated Mac on looking the same Samba forever. He’s looked the same, and done the same roles, he is timeless. “My maintenance department is good,” says the actor, now 68. “Now I dye my beard, but am still the same at heart,” he chuckles.

“Sir, why couldn’t you graduate from Samba to Gabbar in all these years. Or did you choose to be this?” I ask.
“See I am doing the roles of a father, a grandfather, and a policeman in a comic role now,” he replies.

The Samba Indian cricket missed on

After etymology, I try to get into the genesis of Mac Mohan. Mac started out playing first class cricket in UP as well as in Bombay, but “could never reach Ranji”. So while studying in Jai Hind College, he acted in Haqeeqat as Brij Mohan, and has ever since acted in many films in which his characters are named either Mac or Brij Mohan! “Beggars can’t be choosers,” he says candidly , “that’s why I did such roles.” Before Mac became Samba, he was known as Breganza after his role in Hanste Zakhm.

The Morph Scandal

From his cricketing history, Mac suddenly shifts gears and launches into a dramatic monologue, “I will sit and drink at home but not be a part of semi porn films or B grade films.” “But sir I saw your credit in this film called Patli Kamar Lambe Baal,” I retort. “Sometimes you know what happens, these people pick our pictures and videos and morph them into their films.” Either Mac or I was caught at the boundary line. I venture further, “Sir there was this film called Dhoti Lota Aur Chowpatty… your role was important.” Samba is pissed off and his gun is not near. “Send me a copy of your article on this address,” he says. I was too happy to get an autograph of none other than Mac Mohan. Dhoti, Lota Aur Chowpatty, by the way, is a path-breaking film, for it had reverse casting. Mohan Choti, Mac, Farida Jalal were in the lead while Dharmendra and Sanjeev Kumar were the metaphorical Samba and Kaalia, playing extras.