Raaj Kumar
Raaj Kumar | |
---|---|
Born |
Kulbhushan Pandit 8 October 1926 Loralai, Baluchistan, Pakistan |
Died |
3 July 1996 69) Mumbai, India | (aged
Notable work | Hamraaz, Dil Ek Mandir, Pakeezah and Saudagar |
Spouse(s) | Gayatri |
Children | Puru Raajkumar, Panini Raajkumar and Vastavikta Raajkumar |
Raaj Kumar (8 October 1926 – 3 July 1996), born Kulbhushan Pandit, was a Hindi film actor. Raaj Kumar started out as sub-inspector i.a.s. of Mumbai Police in the late 1940s before he turned to acting with the 1952 film Rangeeli.[1] He appeared in the Oscar-nominated 1957 film Mother India and went onto star in over 70 Hindi films in a career that spanned over four decades.
Personal life
Raaj Kumar was born at Loralai Balochistan, Pakistan in a Kashmiri Pandit family.[2][3] In the late 1940s he moved to Mumbai, India where he became Sub-inspector of the Mumbai Police. He married Jennifer, an Anglo Indian, whom he met on a flight where she was the airhostess. She later changed her name to Gayatri based on her horoscope as per Hindu customs. [4] They had three children, two sons named Puru Raajkumar (a Bollywood actor), Panini Raajkumar and a daughter named Vastavikta Raajkumar, who made her screen debut in 2006 film Eight: The Power of Shani.[5]
Career
Raaj Kumar made his acting debut in Rangili and appeared in films like Aabshar, Ghamand and Lakhon Mein Ek, but it was as Prince Naushazad in Sohrab Modi’s Nausherwan-E-Adil (1957) that he became famous. In 1957, he achieved prominence with his brief role as the husband of Nargis in Mother India. He followed this with the unglamorous role of a mill worker in Paigham alongside Dilip Kumar. He was cast with Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor and Balraj Sahni in Yash Chopra’s family drama Waqt. In Sridhar’s Dil Ek Mandir, Raaj Kumar played the role of a cancer patient for which he won the Filmfare Award in the Best supporting actor category for movies Dil Ek Mandir[6] and Waqt.[7] He became known for his distinct style of dialogue delivery.[8]
His other notable films included Hamraaz (1967), Heer Raanjha (1971), Lal Patthar (1971) and Pakeezah (1972). He acted in fewer films by the mid 1970s and became a character actor in the 1980s with films like Kudrat (1981), Ek Nai Paheli (1984), Marte Dam Tak (1987), Muqaddar Ka Faisla (1987) and Jung Baaz (1989). In 1991, he reunited with Dilip Kumar after 32 years in Subhash Ghai's Saudagar.
From his screen debut in Rangeeli to he last film God & Gun in 1995, his played memorable characters in 60-odd films.[9]
Death
He died of throat cancer at the age of 69 on 3 July 1996.[10][11] According to Purru Raaj Kumar in his interview to Farhana Farook, his father suffered from Hodgkins for which he had chemotherapy. The last two years were bad with the nodes recurring in the lungs and ribs.[12]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1952 | Rangeeli | ||
1953 | Aabshar | ||
1953 | Vag vusudi Andhi Ayee | ||
1955 | Ghamand | ||
1957 | Mother India | Shamu | |
1957 | Krishna Sudama | ||
1957 | Babaji ka Thulu | ||
1957 | Nausherwan-E-Adil | ||
1957 | Neel Mani | ||
1958 | Dulhan | ||
1958 | Jailor | ||
1958 | Panchayat | ||
1959 | kanhaiya | ||
1959 | Durga Mata | ||
1959 | Paigham | ||
1959 | Shararat | ||
1959 | Swarg Se Sundar Desh Hamara | ||
1959 | Ujala | ||
1960 | Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai | ||
1960 | Maya Machhindra | ||
1961 | Gharana | ||
1962 | Sautela Bhai | ||
1963 | Aaj Aur Kal | ||
1963 | Dil Ek Mandir | ||
1963 | Godaan | ||
1963 | Phool Bane Angarey | ||
1963 | Pyar Ka Bandhan | ||
1964 | Dooj Ka Chand | ||
1964 | Zindagi | ||
1965 | Waqt | ||
1965 | Kaajal | ||
1965 | Oonche Log | ||
1965 | Rishte Naahte | ||
1967 | Hamraaz | ||
1967 | Nai Roshni | ||
1968 | Mere Huzoor | ||
1968 | Neel Kamal | ||
1968 | Vaasna | ||
1970 | Heer Raanjha | ||
1971 | Lal Patthar | ||
1971 | Maryada | ||
1971 | Pakeezah | ||
1972 | Dil Ka Raja | ||
1973 | Hindustan ki kasam | ||
1974 | 36 Ghante | ||
1976 | Ek Se Badh Kar Ek | ||
1978 | Karmayogi | ||
1980 | Bulundi | ||
1980 | Chambal Ki Kasam | ||
1981 | Kudrat | ||
1982 | Dharam Kanta | ||
1984 | Ek Nai Paheli | ||
1984 | Raaj Tilak | ||
1984 | Shar ara | ||
1987 | Itihaas | ||
1987 | Marte Dam Tak | ||
1987 | Muqaddar Ka Faisla | ||
1988 | Mahaveera | ||
1988 | Mohabbat Ke Dushman | ||
1988 | Saazish | ||
1989 | Desh Ke Dushman | ||
1989 | Jung Baaz | ||
1989 | Galiyon Ka Badshah | ||
1989 | Suryaa: An Awakening | ||
1990 | Police Public | ||
1991 | Saudagar | Rajeshwar Singh | |
1992 | Tirangaa | Brigadier Suryadev Singh | |
1993 | Insaniyat Ke Devta | ||
1993 | Police Aur Mujrim | ||
1994 | Ulfat Ki Nayee Manzilen | ||
1994 | Betaaj Badshah | Prithvi Raj | |
1995 | Jawab | ||
1995 | God and Gun | ||
1995 | Bakwas |
References
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0474855/bio
- ↑ Hindus Contribution Towards Making Of Pakistan 22 May 2010 Retrieved 28 January 2011
- ↑ http://idiva.com/news-entertainment/purru-raaj-kumar-dad-was-bizzare-but-never-boring/19710
- ↑ Purru Raajkumar Interview
- ↑ http://www.glamsham.com/movies/scoops/06/jan/25raajkumar.asp
- ↑ "BLAST FROM THE PAST Dil Ek Mandir (1963)". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 2010-01-29.
- ↑ "Raj Kumar of dialogue delivery".
- ↑ "King of dialogue delivery". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 17 October 2011.
- ↑ http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030629/spectrum/main5.htm
- ↑ Dhawan, M. L. (29 June 2003). "Remembering A Legend". The Sunday Tribune. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- ↑ Singh, Kuldip (6 July 1996). "Obituary Raaj Kumar". The Independent. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- ↑ Farook, Farhana. "Dad Was Bizarre But Never Boring". news-entertainment. iDiva.com. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
External links
|