Rajendra Kumar

Rajendra Kumar (born as Rajendra Kumar Tuli; 20 July 1927 – 12 July 1999), was an Indian actor who starred in Bollywood films. Starting his career in 1949, he appeared in more than 80 films in a career spanning over four decades. Kumar was one of the most successful Indian actors in the 1960s, who gave stiff competition to Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor. He was popularly known as the ''Jubilee Kumar'' during the 1960s when he starred in several commercially successful films.

Early Life

Rajendra Kumar was born in a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family in Sialkot, in the Punjab province of British India. His grandfather was a successful military contractor and his father had a textile business in Karachi, Sindh, British India. During the Partition of India, the family had to leave all the land and property behind and move to India. When they came to Bombay, Kumar decided to try his luck in the Hindi film industry. He never wanted to be a hero and took up work with director H. S. Rawail as an assistant. For nearly five years, he worked with Rawail as an assistant in films like '' Patanga'', '' Sagai'', '' Pocket Maar''.

Personal Life

Kumar married Shukla of the Behl family of Hindi films, a sister of Ramesh Behl and Shyam Behl and aunt of their sons Goldie Behl and Ravi Behl.Bollywood's Forgotten Stars: 8 Interesting facts about Boogie Woogie's judge – Ravi Behl
, The Free Press Journal, 17 June 2018. He and Shukla had a son and two daughters. His son Kumar Gaurav is a former actor. His daughter Dimple was married to Hollywood film producer Raju Patel. His sister Manorama was married to Indian film producer O. P. Ralhan. His younger brother was film director Naresh Kumar.

Kumar acted with Sunil Dutt and Nargis in the film ''Mother India'' (1957) where Sunil Dutt and Rajendra Kumar played sons of Nargis's character. He had a special relationship with Dutt and used to actively participate in campaigning for him, whenever the latter used to contest for elections. Dutt once quoted about Kumar, "Even though Rajendra Kumar did not win any award throughout his career, he was one of the most genuine human beings I have ever encountered. When I was struggling with the troubles related to the arrest of my son Sanjay Dutt and my house was repeatedly being searched by means of numerous police raids, Rajendra Kumar was the one who came to my rescue by staying at my house and ensuring that raids were conducted using due procedures, false evidences were not planted in the house and valuables were not stolen." Kumar was best friends with Raj Kapoor, so much so that his son Kumar Gaurav was engaged to the latter's daughter, Reema. However, their friendship fell apart after their children broke the engagement and Kumar Gaurav married Sunil Dutt and Nargis's daughter Namrata.

Career

1949–1962: Rise to prominence

After beginning his acting career with small roles in '' Patanga'' (1949) and '' Jogan'' (1950), Rajendra Kumar appeared as a main lead in Devendra Goel's '' Vachan'' (1955) alongside Geeta Bali. The film emerged a hit and made him a known face. This was followed by Mehboob Khan's epic drama film ''Mother India'' (1957). It opened to excellent audience response and went on to become an ''All Time Blockbuster'' at the box office along with being the most successful film of the 1950s. ''Mother India'' went on to win several accolades, including the National Film Award for Best Feature Film (Hindi) and was also featured in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

Kumar shot to stardom in 1959 with three back-to-back hits. He first appeared in Vijay Bhatt's romantic musical '' Goonj Uthi Shehnai''. It performed very well at the box office and proved to be a superhit. His next release '' Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan'' also did hit business, while his final release Yash Chopra's directional debut, the romantic social drama '' Dhool Ka Phool'' went on to become a blockbuster as well as one of the highest earners of the year. One of its song "Tu Hindu Banega Na Musalman Banega", written by Sahir Ludhianvi and sung by Mohammed Rafi was a huge hit and remains popular till date. The following year, he co-starred alongside Ashok Kumar and Nanda in B. R. Chopra's courtroom drama '' Kanoon''. Despite not having any songs and other gimmicks required in a commercial Hindi film, ''Kanoon'' proved to be a hit and went on to win National Film Award for Best Feature Film (Hindi).

1961 proved to be one of the best year of Kumar's career with many successes. His first release, the drama film '' Zindagi aur Khwab'' alongside Meena Kumari was a critical and commercial hit. He then appeared in Mohan Kumar's '' Aas Ka Panchhi'' opposite Vyjayanthimala and S. S. Vasan's ''Gharana'' co-starring Asha Parekh, both of which went on to become blockbusters. This was followed by another major hit in '' Sasural'' and a moderate success in '' Pyaar Ka Saagar''.

1963–1968: Superstardom

In 1963, Kumar's first release was C. V. Sridhar's romantic drama '' Dil Ek Mandir'' co-starring Raaj Kumar and Meena Kumari. The film opened to highly positive response from critics and emerged a blockbuster with Kumar receiving his first nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Actor category. The huge success of ''Dil Ek Mandir'' was followed by a hit in O. P. Ralhan's '' Gehra Daag''. His last release of the year was H. S. Rawail's muslim social '' Mere Mehboob'' which also had Ashok Kumar and Sadhana in the main lead. The film topped the box office chart in 1963 and was given the verdict of ''All Time Blockbuster'' by the end of its run. Its soundtrack composed by Naushad dominated the musical charts and was the second best-selling Hindi film album of the 1960s.

With continuous flow of hits from 1959 onwards and many of his films running for a minimum 25 weeks (silver jubilee), Rajendra Kumar earned the sobriquet of ''Jubilee Kumar'' and emerged a ''Superstar''.

In 1964, he delivered three major successes. His first release that year was Mohan Kumar's '' Ayee Milan Ki Bela'' co-starring Saira Banu and Dharmendra. It continued the success streak of Kumar and proved to be a superhit with him getting nominated again for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. This was followed by Raj Kapoor's magnum opus '' Sangam'' which also had Vyjayanthimala in the lead. It received widespread acclaim, with high praise for its novel concept, direction, screenplay, dialogue, soundtrack, costumes, cinematography and performances of the cast, and is widely considered as Hindi cinema's greatest love triangle. At the box office, it emerged an ''All Time Blockbuster'' and the second highest-grossing film of the 1960s behind ''Mughal-E-Azam''. The music of ''Sangam'' was a huge chartbuster with songs that remain popular till date like "Dost Dost Na Raha", "Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega", "Bol Radha Bol", "Yeh Mera Prem Patra" and emerged as the best-selling Hindi film album of the 1960s. The mega success of ''Ayee Milan Ki Bela'' and ''Sangam'' was followed by another superhit in Ramanand Sagar's second directional venture '' Zindagi''. The next year, Kumar reunited with Ramanand Sagar for the romantic drama '' Arzoo'', which had Sadhana opposite him. The film did very well both critically and commercially, eventually emerging a blockbuster as well as one of the highest-grossing films of 1965. Owing to his subtle performance of a handicapped, Kumar received his third and final nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Actor.

In 1966, he starred in T. Prakash Rao's big-budget swashbuckler Ruritanian romance '' Suraj''. The film backed up with superhit songs, including ""Baharon Phool Barsao", sung by Rafi and "Titli Udi Ud Jo Chali", a solo by Sharda, went on to become a massive blockbuster and Kumar's sixth consecutive hit. The following year, however, his dream run ended with both of his releases, '' Aman'' and ''Palki'', proving to be critical and commercial failures. In 1968, he appeared in another of C. V. Sridhar's romantic drama '' Saathi'' and Lekh Tandon's romantic comedy '' Jhuk Gaya Aasman''. ''Saathi'' despite having some of the biggest stars of that time only managed to do average business, while ''Jhuk Gaya Aasman'' ended up as a box office flop.

1969–1980: Further works as a lead

The year 1969 saw the emergence of another superstar in the form of Rajesh Khanna, who stormed the nation with back-to-back blockbusters in '' Aradhana'' and '' Do Raaste''. With his rise, Kumar was one of a number of stars whose careers declined. That year, he had three releases - '' Anjaana'', ''Shatranj'', '' Talash'', out of which, ''Anjaana'' and ''Talash'' proved to be successful, but ''Shatranj'' didn't do well at the box office.

In 1970, Kumar delivered hits in Ramanand Sagar's '' Geet'' and his brother Naresh Kumar's '' Ganwaar'' alongside Mala Sinha and Vyjayanthimala, respectively, but his other releases, including C. V. Sridhar's '' Dharti'' and Raj Kapoor's ''Mera Naam Joker'' (in which he had a small role), flopped commercially. The next year, his sole release and final collaboration with Mohan Kumar took place for the romantic drama '' Aap Aye Bahaar Ayee'' co-starring Sadhana and Prem Chopra. The film backed up with melodious songs composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal like "Mujhe Teri Mohabbat Ka Sahara", "Aap Aye Bahaar Ayee" and "Tumko Bhi To Aisa Kuchh Hota", proved to be a box office hit.

In 1972, Kumar appeared alongside Hema Malini and Rekha in another of Naresh Kumar's directional venture, the action drama '' Gora Aur Kala''. A remake of Tamil mega hit '' Neerum Neruppum'', it proved to be an equally successful venture in Hindi and emerged a blockbuster as well as the fifth highest grossing film of the year. He then collaborated with Dharmendra and Mala Sinha for Ramanand Sagar's war action film '' Lalkar''. Recalled as one of the costliest films of its time, ''Lalkar'' failed to live up to the huge expectations and ended up as an average fare. Following a brief hiatus, Kumar appeared in Adurthi Subba Rao's '' Sunehra Sansar'' (1975) and Naresh Kumar's '' Do Jasoos'' (1975), both of which performed well commercially. In the late-1970s, he starred in moderately successful films, such as '' Daku Aur Mahatma'' (1977), '' Shirdi Ke Sai Baba'' (1977), '' Sone Ka Dil Lohe Ke Haath'' (1978), '' Aahuti'' (1978) and '' Bin Phere Hum Tere'' (1979), with exception being Saawan Kumar Tak's hit drama film '' Saajan Bina Suhagan'' (1978), co-starring Nutan and Vinod Mehra.

1981–1993: Later career

In 1981, Rajendra Kumar launched and acted alongside his son Kumar Gaurav in the romantic musical '' Love Story''. The film proved to be a huge blockbuster and one of the biggest hits of the year. Its soundtrack composed by R. D. Burman was highly successful and the second best-selling Hindi film album of the 1980s. ''Love Story'' also proved to be the final box office success of Kumar's career. After this, he did a guest appearance in another of his son's acting venture ''Star'' (1982) and took up supporting roles in few films like '' Lovers'' (1983), '' Main Tere Liye'' (1988), ''Clerk'' (1989), but none of them found any success.

The last film to feature Kumar was Singeetam Srinivasa Rao's action drama '' Phool'' (1993), which he also produced. It opened to negative response from critics and didn't performed well commercially.

Death

Kumar refused to take any medication as he was dealing with cancer, he died of heart attack at the age of 71 on 12 July 1999, just a day after his son's 43rd birthday and just 8 days before his 72nd birthday.

The then Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee condoled his death and expressed profound grief. I & B Minister Pramod Mahajan said "The world of cinema has become poorer by his death." State minister for I & B, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, said, "The death of the veteran actor, who swayed the emotions of the cinegoers, is a great loss to the industry".

Honours and recognitions

* Honoured with Padma Shri in 1970.
* He was also conferred with Justice of Peace honour and served as Honorary Magistrate.
* He was awarded the National Honour by late Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru simultaneously for ''Kanoon'' (Hindi) and ''Mehndi Rang Lagyo'' ( Gujarati film).
* He received a special Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award and was associated with several charity schemes.

Legacy

Kumar is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Hindi cinema. Known for his acting and mannerism, he earned the nickname of ''Jubilee Kumar'' as five or six of his films used to run simultaneously for 25 weeks.

One of the most successful actors of the 1950s and 1960s, Kumar appeared in ''Box Office India''s "Top Actors" list seven times, (1961, 1963–1968). He topped the list six times (1963-1968). In 2022, he was placed in ''Outlook India''s "75 Best Bollywood Actors" list.

Dinesh Raheja of '' Rediff.com'' noted, "Rajendra Kumar fitted the bill, both literally and figuratively, perfectly. His ability to charm women in musical romances with his bashful smile that invariably reached his lovelorn eyes. His gestural style of acting became a signature, as did his quivering lips and emotion-laden voice." In 2020, Author Seema Sonik Alimchand published a book named ''Jubilee Kumar - The Life and Times of Superstar'' based on Kumar's journey. Devdan Mitra said, "For much of the 60s, Rajendra Kumar strode the Hindi film world like a colossus. Therefore, it is surprising that not much has been written about the man whose film career lasted close to 45 years as an actor and a producer and whose life’s journey reflected the trials and tribulations of the generation affected by the ravages of Partition. This book on Kumar attempts to fill the void."

Filmography

As actor

Producer

Presenter

* '' The Train'' (1970)
* '' Ganwaar'' (1970)
* '' Talash'' (1969)
* '' Phool Aur Patthar'' (1966)

Soundtrack

* '' Mere Mehboob'' (1963) (performer: "Mere Mehboob Tujhe", "Allah Bachaye", "Tere Pyar Mein Dildar", "Janeman Ek Nazar", "Yaad Mein Teri", "Tumse Izhar e Haal", "Mere Mehboob Mein Kya", "Ae Husn Zara Jaag", "Yaad Mein (revival) Zalzala")

Thanks

* ''Mera Naam Joker'' (1970) (acknowledgment) (as Rajender Kumar)

Self

* ''Raj Kapoor'' (1987) as Himself (during funeral)
* ''Star'' (1982) as Himself (Guest Appearance)
* ''Shrimanji'' (1968) as Himself
* ''Kala Bazar'' (1960) as Himself

Archive footage

* Film Hi Film (1983) (uncredited)

References

External links

*

Rajendra Kumar profile
at Rediff.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Rajendra
1927 births
1999 deaths
Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts
Film producers from Punjab, India
Hindi-language film directors
People from Sialkot
Deaths from cancer in India
Indian male film actors
Male actors in Hindi cinema
20th-century Indian male actors
Filmfare Awards winners