Manoj Kumar

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Manoj Kumar in Purab Aur Paschim (1970)
Manoj Kumar in Purab Aur Paschim (1970)

Manoj Kumar (born July 24, 1937, at Abbottabad) is an Indian actor and director in the Bollywood film industry. He is known for acting in and directing films with patriotic themes; for this reason he has been given the nickname of Mr. Bharat (Bharat is the Sanskrit and Hindi term for India).

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[edit] Early life and career

Manoj Kumar was born Harikishen Goswami in Abbottabad (British India), currently a District of Hazara Division, NWFP, Pakistan. It is widely believed, that he was born in Lahore Pakistan, which is wrong. He himself indicated in various interviews, that he is born in Abbottabad and he recently visited his home-town in Abbottabad. When he was 10, his Hindu family had to move to India due to Partition. As a youth, he admired Bollywood superstar Dilip Kumar, and decided to name himself Manoj Kumar after Dilip's character in Shabnam (1949). He then decided to enter the film world himself.

After small roles in Panchayat and Fashion, Manoj landed his first hero role in Honeymoon (1960) opposite Sayeeda Khan. Piya Milan Ki Aas and Reshmi Roomal followed, setting the stage for the Vijay Bhatt-directed Hariyali Aur Raasta (1962) opposite Mala Sinha. Manoj then appeared with 1960s icon Sadhana in Raj Khosla's Woh Kaun Thi (1964), and reunited with Vijay Bhatt and Mala Sinha in Himalay Ki God Mein (1965).

[edit] The patriotic hero

Manoj's image as the patriotic hero started with the 1965 film Shaheed, which was based on the life of Bhagat Singh, a martyr in the struggle for India's freedom. With memories of the India-Pakistan War still fresh, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri asked him to create a film based on the popular slogan "Jai Jawan Jai Kissan" (victory to soldiers, victory to farmers).

The result was Manoj Kumar's magnum opus and his directorial debut, Upkar (1967). In it, he managed to convincingly play both a jawan and a kissan. The film was also noted for the famous song Mere Desh Ki Dharti, composed by Kalyanji-Anandji and sung by Mahendra Kapoor. Upkar won Manoj Kumar his first Filmfare Best Director Award. The film was a huge hit and made Manoj the authority on Bollywood patriotism.

After dabbling in various roles in the late 1960s, Manoj returned to patriotic themes in Purab Aur Paschim (1970), in which life in the East and West are juxtaposed. In 1972, he starred in Be-Imaan (for which he won the Filmfare Best Actor Award) and directed and starred in Shor. The latter, opposite Jaya Bhaduri, was not a huge box office success, but it did feature the memorable song Ek Pyar Ka Nagma Hai, a duet by Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh which was composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal.

[edit] Later career

The mid-1970s saw Manoj star in three hit movies. Roti Kapda Aur Makaan (1974) was a social commentary featuring an all-star cast including Zeenat Aman, Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan that won him his second Filmfare Award for Best Director; Sanyasi (1975) had Manoj and Hema Malini in the lead roles of a religious-themed comedy; and Dus Numbri (1976) also gave Manoj and Hema top billing. In 1981, Manoj reached the peak of his career when he got the opportunity to direct his idol, Dilip Kumar as well as star in Kranti, a story about the struggle for Indian independence in the 19th century. Kranti was the last notable successful film in his career.

After Kranti, Manoj's career began to decline; his 1989 released film Clerk proved to be a flop. His last film appearance was in the 1995 film Maidan-E-Jung. He tried to revive his patriotic aura in his son, Kunal Goswami and directed the 1999 film Jai Hind which was a flop as well. However, before bowing out of the limelight, Manoj Kumar was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.

Like many other Bollywood film stars, Manoj decided to enter politics following his retirement. Before the 2005 general election in India, it was announced that he had officially joined the ranks of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

[edit] Selected Filmography

[edit] External links

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