Manmohan Desai on why he chose a Coolie or station porter as his hero, Mard was not crude, in Mumbai

From the archive record

Manmohan Desai when asked about Coolie, this is what he said, (Why coolie wala and not the paan wala or the Dabba wala?) "Because when you go to the Bombay train station you see coolies lined up smoking bidi and they are sitting in a row, there is very good enmity between them, no fighting between them, so organized, all earnings are same, the way they sit with white dhoti, pajamas...it looks very fascinating. It's a beautiful visual Image. So why not show the life of a coolie. So why not show the life of a coolie wala. People have shown rickshaw walas, party walas ..Chai wala...so why not coolies? I remember in Delhi, the theatre had to keep compulsory show early morning only for coolies at 7 in the morning" Manmohan Desai was a producer and director of Indian movies. This footage i