Sujit Kumar (7 February 1934 – 5 February 2010) was an Indian actor and producer. He appeared in over 150

Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

in the 1960s through the 1990s, and in at least 20 Bhojpuri films. Sujit played the major lead actor in many films in Bhojpuri cinema whereas in Hindi films he played pivotal roles either as a villain or as a character actor. One of his most memorable screen appearances was of a friend playing the

mouth organ A mouth organ is any free reed aerophone with one or more air chambers fitted with a free reed. Though it spans many traditions, it is played universally the same way by the musician placing their lips over a chamber or holes in the instrument, ...

while driving a jeep as

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. Considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema, h ...

's character serenades

Sharmila Tagore Sharmila Tagore (; born 8 December 1944) also known by her married name Begum Ayesha Sultana, is an Indian actress primarily known for her work in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali films. Widely recognized as one of the gre ...

in the 1969 film '' Aradhana''. Beginning in the late 1980s through the 2000s, Sujit primarily was a film producer.

Biography

Hindi cinema

Sujit was the leading man in suspense flicks in Hindi in the early 1960s, including ''Lal Bangla'' (1966) and ''Ek Saal Pehle'' (1965). He was often part of films with

as the lead hero, like in '' Aradhana'', '' Ittefaq'', '' Aan Milo Sajna'', '' Haathi Mere Saathi'', '' Amar Prem'', '' Mere Jeevan Saathi'', ''

Roti Roti is a round flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly consumed in many South Asian, Southeast Asian, Caribbean, East African, and Southeast African countries. It is made from stoneground whole-wheat flour, kno ...

'', '' Mehbooba'', '' Avtaar'', '' Aakhir Kyon?'' and ''

Amrit Amrit (), the classical antiquity, classical Marathus (, ''Marathos''), was a Phoenicians, Phoenician port located near present-day Tartus in Syria. Founded in the third millenniumBC, Marat (, ) was the northernmost important city of ancient Ph ...

''. His other notable roles include that of a spy in Ramanand Sagar's ''Aankein'' (1968), '' Naya Raasta'' (1970), '' Jugnu'' (1973), '' Hamrahi'' (1974), ''

Charas Charas is a cannabis concentrate made from the resin of a live cannabis plant (''Cannabis sativa'' either ''Cannabis indica, ''Indica' subspecies or ''Sativa'' subspecies) and is handmade in the Indian subcontinent. The plant grows wild thr ...

'' (1976), '' Dharamveer'' (1977),

Dev Anand Dev Anand (; born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand; 26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011) was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Indian cinema, Hindi cinema. He is considered as one of the greatest and most succes ...

's '' Des Pardes'', ''The Burning Train'', '' Kaamchor'', ''

Krantiveer ''Krantiveer'' () is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language action crime film directed and produced by Mehul Kumar. The film stars Nana Patekar, Dimple Kapadia, Atul Agnihotri, Mamta Kulkarni in the lead roles. Farida Jalal, Paresh Rawal, Tinu Anan ...

'', '' Tiranga'' and many more. Sujit produced small budget movies like ''Asmaan Se Ooncha'' (1989) in the 1980s and then subsequently bigger budget films later like '' Daraar'' (1996), and ''

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

''. His best friends from the film industry were

Jeetendra Jeetendra (born Ravi Kapoor ; 7 April 1942) is an Indian actor who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Hindi cinema. He is noted for his acting, style and dance. He has worked in more than Je ...

and

Rakesh Roshan Rakesh Roshan (born 6 September 1949) is an Indian film producer, director, screenwriter and actor who works in Bollywood, Hindi films. He appeared in 84 films in the 1970s and 1980s. As an actor, he is mostly known for his supporting roles in ...

, the two with whom Sujit used to hit the gym regularly. Other close friends included producer Saawan Kumar Tak and

Randhir Kapoor Randhir Kapoor (born 15 February 1947) is a retired Indian actor, film producer and director who worked in Hindi cinema. Part of the Kapoor family, he is the son of actor–filmmaker Raj, grandson of actor Prithviraj and the brother of a ...

, all of whom practically grew up together in the Hindi Film industry since the early 1960s.

Bhojpuri cinema

He appeared in such films as ''Bidesiya'', ''Loha Singh'', ''Dangal'', ''Pan Khaye Saiyya Hamar'', ''Champa Chameli'', ''Patoh Bitiya'', Sajan Kare Kanyadan, ''Bairi Bhaile Hamar'', ''Nag Panchami'', ''Saiyya Se Bhaile Milanawa'', ''Aaeel Basant Bahar'', ''Bidhana Nach Nachawe'', ''Mai Ke Lal'', ''Sampurna Teerth Yatra'', ''Sajai Da Maang Hamar'', ''Saiyya Magan Pahalwani Me'', ''Ganga Kahe Pukar Ke'', ''Ganga Jaisan Bhauji Hamar'' and ''Ganga Hamar Mai''.

Death

Kumar died in 2010 of cancer, an illness from which he was suffering since 2007. His wife, Kiran Singh predeceased him in 2005; they have two children, son Jatin Kumar, a film producer, and a daughter Henna Singh. A condolence meeting took place on 8 February 2010, at the Indian Medical Association, beside PVR Cinema, Juhu, Mumbai where many of his friends from the industry, like members of the Kapoor family,

's family, and

's family paid their last respects.

Filmography

Bhojpuri

Hindi

Producer

*1986 : ''Anubhav'' *1989 : ''Aasmaan se Ooncha'' *1992 : ''Khel'' *1996: '' Daraar'' *2000: ''

'' *2004 : ''Aetbaar'' *1991 : ''Ganga Kahe Pukar Ke'' He also acted in Zee horror show's episode ''Dahshat'' 1994-1995

References

External links

* (as actor) ''Note that, as at 13 July 2010, IMDB has two records for the person identified in the IndianExpress obituary as one person'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Sujit 1934 births 2010 deaths Deaths from cancer in India 20th-century Indian male actors Male actors in Bhojpuri cinema Male actors from Mumbai Male actors in Hindi cinema