Raaj Kumar

Raaj Kumar (born Kulbhushan Pandit; 8 October 1926 3 July 1996) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi films. In a career that spanned over four decades, he went on to star in 70 films and is regarded as one of the most successful actors of Indian cinema. He worked as a police officer before entering the film industry.

Personal life

Kulbhushan Pandit was born on 8 October 1926 in Loralai in the Baluchistan Province of British India (now in Pakistan) into a Kashmiri Pandit family. In the late 1940s, he moved to Bombay, where he became a sub-inspector under Bombay Police. In the 1960s, he married Jennifer Pandit, an Anglo-Indian, whom he met on a flight where she was an air hostess. She later changed her name to Gayatri Kumar as per Hindu customs. They had three children, sons Puru Raaj Kumar (an actor), Panini Raaj Kumar and daughter Vastavikta Pandit, who made her screen debut in 2006 film ''Eight: The Power of Shani''.

Career

1952–1964: Early career and breakthrough

Raaj Kumar began his career with ''Rangeeli'' in 1952 and followed it with ''Anmol Sahar'' (1952), ''Aabshar'' (1953), ''Ghamand'' (1955), none of which could establish him. After many years of struggle, he got his breakthrough with Mehboob Khan's epic drama film ''Mother India'' (1957). It opened to critical acclaim and emerged an ''All Time Blockbuster'' at the box office as well as the most successful film of the 1950s. It went on to win several accolades and was featured in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. The huge box office success of ''Mother India'' was followed by another blockbuster in S. S. Vasan's social drama film '' Paigham'' (1959), which had Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala in the lead. Kumar received praise for his performance of a caring elder brother and got a nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor category.

Kumar began the new decade with Kishore Sahu's romantic drama '' Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai''. The film proved to be a box office superhit with one of its song "Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh" sung by Lata Mangeshkar becoming a chartbuster. In 1961, he appeared alongside Rajendra Kumar and Asha Parekh in ''Gharana''. A remake of Telugu blockbuster '' Shanthi Nivasam'', the film proved to be equally successful in Hindi and emerged a superhit at the box office. After an absence lasting a year, he reunited with Rajendra Kumar and Meena Kumari for C. V. Sridhar's romantic drama '' Dil Ek Mandir''. It opened to highly positive response from audience and went on to become a superhit with Kumar receiving Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film. His other major release of the year, ''Phool Bane Angaare'' also did reasonably well at the box office. In 1964, he once again worked with Rajendra Kumar and Vyjayanthimala in Ramanand Sagar's second directional venture '' Zindagi''. The film opened to positive response and added one more box office hit in his kitty.

1965–1979: Continued success

After many years of doing second leads, Raaj Kumar became a saleable star in 1965 with Yash Chopra's ensemble masala film '' Waqt'' and Ram Maheshwari's romantic drama '' Kaajal'', both of which opened to massive response from audience and went on to become blockbusters. For portraying a sophisticated thief in ''Waqt'', Kumar won massive acclaim and his second Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. His performance in ''Kaajal'' was also appreciated and he received his first and only nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Actor category for the film. Kumar's other notable release of the year was Phani Majumdar's drama film '' Oonche Log'' co-starring Ashok Kumar and Feroz Khan. The film received positive reviews from critics and won National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film in Hindi. After having no release in 1966, the following year, he reunited with makers of ''Waqt'' for the suspense thriller '' Hamraaz''. The film proved to be a major critical and commercial success, eventually emerging a blockbuster and winning National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. One of its song, "Neele Gagan Ke Tale", sung by Mahendra Kapoor and filmed on Kumar and Vimi proved to be an instant hit and won Kapoor his second Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer. He also reunited with C. V. Sridhar (the director of ''Dil Ek Mandir'') for the multi-starrer social drama '' Nai Roshni'', but contrary to expectations, it did not performed well. He concluded the decade with two biggies - '' Mere Huzoor'' and '' Neel Kamal''. While the former co-starring Jeetendra and Mala Sinha did moderately well, the latter alongside Manoj Kumar and Waheeda Rehman was a superhit and one of the top five highest grossing films of 1968. For portraying a soul longing for his lost love in ''Neel Kamal'', Kumar received his fifth and final nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor category.

The early-1970s saw Kumar appearing in some of his most iconic films. His only release of 1970 was Chetan Anand's romantic musical ''Heer Raanjha'' opposite Priya Rajvansh. It opened to highly positive reviews from critics and emerged a box office hit. The soundtrack of ''Heer Raanjha'' composed by Madan Mohan was a chartbuster with a Mohammed Rafi solo - "Yeh Duniya, Yeh Mehfil Mere Kaam Ki Nahin" becoming a rage among the masses. The success of ''Heer Raanjha'' was followed by '' Lal Patthar'' and '' Maryada'' in 1971. While, ''Lal Patthar'' in which he got paired with Hema Malini was an average fare, ''Maryada'' opposite Mala Sinha and co-starring Rajesh Khanna proved to be a superhit. In 1972, Kumar appeared in Kamal Amrohi's magnum opus '' Pakeezah'' which also had Meena Kumari (in her final film appearance) and Ashok Kumar in the lead. Despite receiving polarizing reviews and being a slow starter, it went on to become a massive blockbuster at the box office and gained cult status in later years. Its soundtrack composed by Naushad dominated the musical charts and was the eighth best-selling Hindi film album of the 1970s.

Kumar then appeared in films, '' Dil Ka Raja'' (1972), '' Hindustan Ki Kasam'' (1973) and ''36 Ghante'' (1974), all three of which flopped at the box office. This changed with Brij Sadanah's's action comedy film '' Ek Se Badhkar Ek'' (1976), alongside Ashok Kumar, Navin Nischol and Sharmila Tagore. The film performed very well at the box office and was also remade in Telugu as ''Mugguru Muggure''. In 1978, Kumar reunited with Jeetendra and Mala Sinha for Ram Maheshwari's action drama film '' Karmayogi'' in which he played a double role. It opened to positive response from critics and emerged a superhit.

1980–1995: Career slump, comeback and final works

Kumar began the 1980s with Ram Maheshwari's dacoit drama '' Chambal Ki Kasam'', which sank without a trace. In 1981, he had two releases, out of which, Esmayeel Shroff's crime thriller '' Bulundi'' proved to be a moderate fare while Chetan Anand's reincarnation drama '' Kudrat'' alongside Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Khanna, Hema Malini and Priya Rajvansh was a critical and commercial failure. In 1982, he reunited with Rajesh Khanna and Jeetendra for Sultan Ahmed's successful actioner '' Dharam Kanta''. This was followed by a series of critical and commercial duds in '' Ek Nai Paheli'' (1984), '' Sharara'' (1984), '' Raaj Tilak'' (1984), '' Itihaas'' (1987), '' Muqaddar Ka Faisla'' (1987), '' Mohabbat Ke Dushman'' (1988), '' Saazish'' (1988), '' Mahaveera'' (1988) and '' Jungbaaz'' (1989). During this phase, Kumar remained steady with superhits in Mehul Kumar

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases