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Solitary splendour. No other phrase fits Hrishikesh Mukherjee more aptly.

There is a certain poignance, as you look at him, that grabs you by the neck, leaving a lumpy heaviness that no amount of clearing your throat can ease.

"My son died unexpectedly, suddenly, on June 6... The award (Dadasaheb Phalke Award) means little to me except that the announcement reminded people of me. And they came to visit me or called me... That is very pleasant -- to revive old associations."

One of the old associations, of course, being co-Phalke award-winner Dadamoni (Ashok Kumar), broke the news to Hrishikesh Mukherjee. And undoubtedly, his his clutch of actors. Mind you, actors. No favourites.

"I never had any favourite actors. As is understandable, I vibed with some better I did with others. Raj Kapoor was one. Dharmendra, another. Deven Verma and Amitabh Bachchan, too."

He has long been called the 'middle man' of Indian cinema. Reaching out to the people with his realistic characters.

That kind of reach is hard to come by today.

"Today's films are more visual and less cerebral. They suit today's audiences. Today films have very little to say -- even the songs are not to be heard but to be seen -- you don't find a song which you can shut your eyes and listen to. Earlier that's how you listened to music.

"Films today are right for the overworked person who comes tired and wants to relax--they're entertaining. Anyway, who am I to comment on today's films?"

What he will comment on, though, is love.

"Love... just love. Give a little of it and see how you get a thousandfold back."

Perhaps that's why no one in the film industry ever has a word of criticism for him. In fact, he plans to set up a trust fund for girls' education with the award money of Rs 2 lakh.

THESE days, Hrishida spends his time reading, watching a bit of television, particularly Kaun Banega Crorepati which he says Amitabh is doing a fabulous job of.

He hates reviving old memories, never collects photographs but shows you one newspaper cutting which he's kept because his pet dog is in the picture with him! And the director he sits, looking over the Arabian Sea from his Bandra home in Bombay.

And you, you are left with the uncomfortable lump in your throat.

The point is not whether the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his contribution to Indian cinema has come too late.

The point is he has won it.

What ebbs are the tides of the Arabian Sea.

What rises is your estimation of the director. The man.

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'I could never say no to Hrishikaku': Jaya Bachchan
'He showed me the way': Rakesh Roshan
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