Prem Adib

At the peak of his career, Prem Adib’s fan following was so devoted that it hindered him from appearing in public unnoticed. His portrayal of Ram in Ram Rajya (1943) had been so effective that he was widely worshipped as the deity himself. Despite his admonitions, a number of people would fall at his feet in fervent admiration. Images of him enacting the role of Ram began to circulate, framed, and worshipped in several households. Perhaps no other actor before Prem Adib had been so venerated by so many. 

Prem Adib hailed from a Kashmiri Pandit family. His grandfather Pandit Devi Prasad was the tax collector of Faizabad. In his spare time, he was also a shayar who went by the pseudonym Adib, which soon became a family surname. Prem Adib was born Shiv Prasad Adib on 10 August 1916. By the time he was a college student, Prem had grown into a tall, handsome young man. He had the innate qualities of an actor—an attractive personality and a striking frame. His clear diction in Hindi, Urdu and English has added advantages. At the age of 13 years, after watching a silent film ANAARBALA, Prem decided to join films. After matriculating from Jodhpur in 1932, he studied for 2 years in college, but the passion for films had not reduced. Prem, who was cannily aware of his qualities, gave up his studies in 1934 and left home without informing his family in order to pursue a career as an actor. His first stop on this journey was Kolkata. Not discouraged when he did not find work in the first city he tried, he also travelled to Lahore and ultimately to Mumbai.

In Mumbai, Prem Adib got his first big break in the film Romantic India (1936). Mohan Sinha, the film’s director, dubbed him Prem for the screen. Prem also got some small roles in Dariani Productions' films like Pratima (Premmurti), Fida-e-Watan (Tasveer-e-Wafa), and Insaaf (1937). He also acted in Minerva Movietone’s social films like Khan Bahadur (1937) and Talaaq (1938).

His first film as a lead actor opposite Shobhana Samarth was Nirala Hindustan (Industrial India, 1938). Since then he got lead roles in films like Ghunghatwali (1938), Sagar Movietone's Bhole Bhale (1939), and Sadhana (1939). In Saubhagya (1940) he was again cast opposite Shobhana Samarth and also sang a few songs in the film. The decade of the 1940s proved to be the best phase of Adib's career. 

In the early 1940s, Prem Adib joined the prestigious Prakash Pictures with a salary of 700 rupees per month and acted in films like Darshan (1941), Bharat Milap (1942), Churiyan (1942), Station Master (1942), Ram Rajya (1943), Police (1944), Vikramaditya (1945) and Ram Baan (1948). 

In 1942, he played Ram onscreen for the first time in Bharat Milap, which accrued great praise. It was in 1943, however, that he shot to fame with a reprisal of the role of Ram in Ram Rajya.

It is known that when Bharat Milap was awarded a gold medal in Calcutta, Kanhaiyalal Munshi was also present at the ceremony and suggested Vijay Bhatt to make a film called Luv Kush. Keeping in mind Munshi's suggestion, Vijay Bhatt did make the film about Luv Kush but instead of calling it that, he renamed it Ram Rajya. The film went on to become one of the most spectacular and well-made devotionals in the history of Indian cinema. Released at Super Cinema in Mumbai, the film scaled the peaks of popularity and ran continuously for 108 weeks. The demand for the film was such that it played in halls for extended periods, sometimes having shows in the same hall for over a year!

Gandhiji, who had talked about Ram Rajya, had never ever watched even one Hindi movie. Since the Art Director of Vijay Bhatt’s films, Kanu Desai was a Gandhian and as a result of his efforts, Gandhiji agreed to see Ram Rajya. 

During that time, Prem Adib got married to Krishnakumari, also known as Pratima, on 26 February 1943 in Lahore. 

The Ram-Sita pair of Shobhana Samarth and Prem Adib was such a hit that they starred in thirteen films together. But there is no predicting the whims of the public’s demands. Looking to take advantage of the success he had enjoyed so far, Prem established his own film company, which he named Prem Pictures. Though his personal renown in films was for acting in devotionals, he decided to produce Kasam (1947) and Dehati (1947), two films concentrating on social issues. Both films failed to generate much interest. 

His well-wishers advised him to return to the genre that had served him so well, and he produced and directed Ram Vivah in 1949. Unfortunately, Ram Vivah failed to even bring back the original investment, and Prem Adib had to close down his film company due to the losses he suffered. He started working under other banners, and over his career, worked in nearly seventy films.

In the 1950s, Prem Adib worked in 28 films. Most of them were mythological. Angulimala (1960) was his last film. Prakash Pictures also made a film called Ramayan (1954) by compiling sequences from its own films Bharat Milap, Ram Rajya and Ram Baan. Prem Adib played Ram's character in 8 films, Bharat Milap, Ram Rajya, Ram Baan, Ram Vivah (1949), Raam Navami (1956), Raam Hanumaan Yuddha (1957), Raam Laxman (1957), and Raam Bhakta Vibhishan (1958). He worked in about 75 films, directed one film and sang 26 songs in 9 films. 

Following a sudden brain hemorrhage, he suffered an untimely demise on 25 December 1959. His last rites were taken over and completed by his relatives present at that time. When his fans came to know they complained that if they had been informed they would have given him a farewell befitting Ram.

शोहरत ने उनकी ऐसी हालत कर दी कि सार्वजनिक स्थानों पर जाना दूभर हो गया। वे थे अभिनेता प्रेम अदीब जिन्होंने फिल्म राम राज्य (1943) में भगवान राम का ऐसा अभिनय किया कि लोग उनकी पूजा करने लगे। वे लाख मना करते लेकिन उन्हें देखते ही उनके पैर छूने वालों की कतार लग जाती। उनके चित्र कैलेंडर पर छपे और फ्रेम करवा कर घरों में लगाए जाते थे। ऐसी लोकप्रियता इससे पहले किसी अभिता के हाथ नहीं लगी थी। 

कश्मीरी पंडित परिवार से संबंध रखने वाले प्रेम अदीब के दादा पंडित देवी प्रसाद दर फैजाबाद के तहसीलदार थे। वे शायर भी थे और अदीब उपनाम से शायरी करते थे।फिर यह अदीब उपनाम उनके परिवार की पहचान बन गया। 10 अगस्त 1916 को जन्मे प्रेम अदीब का असली नाम शिव प्रसाद अदीब था। कालेज तक पहुंचते पहुंचते उंचे कद के प्रेम अदीब की सुंदरता सबको आकर्षित करने लगी। एक अभिनेता के पास होने वाला आकर्षक व्यक्तित्व और सुंदर कद काठी उनके पास थी। साथ ही उनका हिंदी, उर्दू और अंग्रेज़ी का उच्चारण भी बहुत स्पष्ट था। अपनी इन विशेषताओं का उन्हें एहसास था इसलिये एक दिन घरवालो को बताए बिना वे अभिनेता बनने के लिये कोलकाता जा पहुंचे। वहां बात नहीं बनी तो लाहौर और फिर मुंबई का रूख किया।

मुंबई में प्रेम अदीब को पहली फिल्म मिली रोमांटिक इंडिया (1936)। फिल्म के निर्देशक मोहन सिन्हा ने उन्हें फ़िल्मी नाम दिया प्रेम। 1942 में उनकी एक उल्लेखनीय फ़िल्म आयी भरत मिलाप। विजय भट्ट इसके निर्देशक थे इसमें प्रेम अदीब ने भगवान राम की भूमिका निभायी और खूब प्रशंसा बटोरी। लेकिन 1943 में आयी फ़िल्म ‘राम राज्य’ ने उनके जीवन में चमत्कार कर दिया। इसमें भी उन्होंने भगवान राम की भूमिका निभायी थी और निर्देशन भी विजय भट्ट ने ही किया था। राम राज्य भारत में बनी धार्मिक फिल्मों में सर्वाधिक चर्चित और श्रेष्ठ फिल्म साबित हुई। अपने समय में यह फिल्म जहां लगी वहां महीनो चली। कई स्थानो पर तो साल भर से भी अधिक। 

शोभना सामर्थ के साथ उनकी जोड़ी इतनी लोकप्रिय हुई कि दोनो ने साथ साथ 13 फ़िल्मों में अभिनय किया। लेकिन दर्शकों की पसंद नापसंद को लेकर आज तक कोई पैमाना नहीं बन सका है। अब प्रेम अदीब बेहद चर्चित हो चुके थे। उन्होंने अपनी शोहरत का ज्यादा फायदा खुद कमाने के लिये अपनी फिल्म कंपनी स्थापित की और नाम रखा प्रेम पिक्चर्स। प्रेम अदीब धार्मिक फ़िल्मों में अपनी लोकप्रियता से बख़ूबी वाकिफ़ थे लेकिन ना जाने क्यों उन्होंने अपने बैनर तले सामाजिक विषयों पर आधारित फ़िल्में ‘कसम’ (1947) और देहाती (1947) बनायीं। और दोनो फिल्में असफल हो गयीं।
इसके बाद शुभचिंतकों की राय के आधार पर उन्होंने फ़िल्म ‘राम विवाह’ (1949) बनायी। इसका निर्देशन भी प्रेम अदीब ने ही किया। लेकिन राम विवाह अपनी लागत भी नहीं निकाल सकी। और धार्मिक फिल्मों के सर्वाधिक सफल अभिनेता को घाटे की वजह से अपनी फिल्म कंपनी बंद करनी पड़ी। अब प्रेम अदीब दूसरी फिल्म कंपनियों के बैनर पर काम करने लगे। उन्होंने करीब 70 फ़िल्मों में काम किया । 25 दिसंबर 1959 को अचानक ब्रेन हैमरेज की वजह से हिंदी फिल्मी पर्दे के सर्वाधिक लोकप्रिय ‘राम’ ने इस संसार से विदा ले ली।