Pradeep Kumar (born Sital Batabyal; 4 January 1925 – 3 November 2001) was an Indian actor who is recognized for his work in
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...
,
Bengali and English-language films.
Career
When Kumar was 17 years old, he decided to take up acting. He started his film career in
Bengali films Bengali cinema may refer to:
* Cinema of Bangladesh, also called Dhallywood
* Cinema of West Bengal
Tollywood, also known as Cinema of West Bengal, is an Cinema of India, Indian film industry of Bengali language, Bengali-language motion pict ...
. His notable roles in Bengali films were in ''Alaknanda'' (1947), directed by renowned filmmaker
Debaki Bose, and in ''42'' (1951).
Pradeep Kumar Batabayal then shifted to
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...
and
Filmistan studios, and had an important role in the film ''
Anand Math'' (1952). He played the lead role with
Bina Rai
Bina Rai (13 July 1931 – 6 December 2009), sometimes referred to as Beena Rai, was an Indian actress, primarily of the black and white era of Hindi cinema. She is most known for her roles in classics such as ''Anarkali'' (1953), '' Ghunghat' ...
in
''Anarkali'' (1953) and with
Vyjayanthimala
Vyjayanthimala (born 13 August 1936) is a former Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of thirteen wi ...
in
''Nagin'' (1954). Both films were very popular and had songs that added to the movies' success. He worked with
Madhubala in eight films, of which ''
Raj Hath'' (1956), ''
Shirin Farhad'' (1956), ''
Gateway of India'' (1957), ''
Yahudi Ki Ladki
''Yahudi Ki Ladki'' (The Jew's Daughter) is a historical Urdu play by Agha Hashar Kashmiri, on the theme of persecution of Jews by the Romans. It was first published in 1913. The play became his best known work, and a classic in Parsi-Urdu th ...
'' (1957) and ''
Passport'' (1961) were massive hits. He had a spate of releases in the second half of the 1950s. He did not enjoy as much success in the 1960s, though ''
Ghoonghat'' (1960), ''
Aarti'' (1962) & ''
Taj Mahal'' (1963) were successful. He worked with
Meena Kumari in seven films; ''
Adil-E-Jahangir'', ''Bandhan (1956 film)'', ''
Chitralekha'', ''
Bahu Begum'', ''
Bheegi Raat
''Bheegi Raat'' () is a 1965 Bollywood film produced and directed by Kalidas. The film was a semi hit at the box office.
Roshan was the music director. Hit songs from the movie include'' 'Dil Jo Na Keh Saka' ''sung by Mohammed Rafi and La ...
'', ''
Aarti'' and ''Noorjehan''; and with Mala Sinha in eight films; ''
Naya Zamana
''Naya Zamana'' () is a 1971 Indian Hindi-language film produced and directed by Pramod Chakrovorty. The film stars Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Ashok Kumar, Mehmood, Pran, Lalita Pawar and Aruna Irani. The music is by S. D. Burman. It was writt ...
'', ''Hamlet'', ''
Baadshah'', ''Detective (1958 movie)'', ''Fashion (1959 film)'', ''
Ek Shola'', ''Duniya Na Maane'', and ''Mitti Mein Sona''.
He also worked with the legendary Bengali actor and
matinee idol Uttam Kumar in ''
Grihadaha'' in 1967 which was produced by Uttam himself and worked in ''
Plot No 5.''
He did not get to act with the newer heroines of the 1960s such as
Sadhana,
Saira Banu,
Babita or
Sharmila Tagore, though he did work with
Asha Parekh in ''
Ghoonghat'' and ''Meri Surat Teri Aankhen'' and with Waheeda Rehman in ''Rakhi'' (1962). In 1969, he moved to character roles with ''Sambandh'' and ''
Mehboob Ki Mehndi'', but did not have many visible roles until ''
Gandhi'', which won several
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
and was his debut Hollywood movie. Some of his later films include ''
Jaanwar'' and ''
Razia Sultan
Raziyyat-Ud-Dunya Wa Ud-Din ( fa, ) (died 15 October 1240, ), popularly known as Razia Sultana, was a ruler of the Delhi Sultanate in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. She was the first female Muslim ruler of the subcontinent, and ...
'' in 1983.
He won the Kalakar Award-Lifetime Achievement Award (1999).
Death
Pradeep Kumar died in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...
on 3 November 2001, at the age of 76. His daughter
Beena Banerjee plays character roles in movies and TV serials including ''
Uttaran''; her son Siddharth Banerjee worked as assistant director in
Sajid Khan's ''
Housefull 2'' (2012) and ''
Himmatwala'' (2013).
Filmography
Bengali
Pradeep kumar played Bandit Mohan (Dosshu Mohan in Bengali), a character based on the very popular Bengali crime thriller series "Dossu Mohan".
Hindi films
References
External links
An article from rediff.com*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Pradeep
1925 births
2001 deaths
20th-century Indian male actors
Indian male film actors
Male actors in Bengali cinema
Male actors in Hindi cinema
Male actors from Kolkata