Remembering Rajendra Kumar (20 July 1929 – 12 July 1999) was one of the most successful Indian Bollywood actors in the 1960s and 1970s. He also produced several films in the 1980s starring his son Kumar Gaurav. He was born in a Punjabi Hindu family in Sialkot, in the Punjab province of British India, currently in Pakistan. Rajendra Kumars family was based in Punjab, British India. His grandfather was a successful military contractor and his father had a textile business in Karachi. But during the Partition of India, the family had to leave all the land and property behind and move to India. However, when they came to Bombay, Kumar decided to try his luck in the Hindi film industry. Initially, he never wanted to be a hero, so he 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, Pocketmaar. During this time he also played a small role in Kidar Sharma’s 1950 film Jogan, opposite Dilip Kumar and Nargis. It was producer Devendra Goel who noticed Kumar in Jogan and gave him a break in Vachan. Kumar was paid only fifteen hundred rupees for the film; however, the film was a hit and was Kumars first silver jubilee film and he was given a title — ‘A star is Born’. He then shot to fame[citation needed] in the film Mother India in 1957 in which he played Nargiss son. His first major success as a romantic leading man was in Amit Saxenass musical Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959), co-starring Ameeta. The 1960s saw Kumar rise. There were times when he had six or seven films which had run for more than 25 weeks (known in India as a silver jubilee film), all running at the cinema at the same time, which rendered him the nickname Jubilee Kumar. He had many successful films including Dhool Ka Phool (1959), Dil Ek Mandir(1963), Mere Mehboob (1963), Sangam (1964), Arzoo (1965), Pyar Ka Sagar, Gehra Daag, Suraj (1966) and Talash. He received the Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor for Dil Ek Mandir (1963), Ayee Milan Ki Bela (1964), Arzoo (1965), and as Best Supporting Actor for Sangam (1964). From 1972 onwards, he faced competition from Rajesh Khanna. He was offered a role in the film Saajan Bina Suhaagan opposite Nutan. He then switched to character roles in the late 1970s and 1980s. He also starred in a number of Punjabi films like Teri meri ek jindari. In 1981 Rajendra introduced his son Kumar Gaurav in the film Love Story which he produced, directed and also starred in. The film was declared a blockbuster.[5] Rajendra produced several other films starring his son. In 1986 he produced Naam with his son and his sons brother-in-law Sanjay Dutt in leading roles. The 1993 film Phool he again acted alongside him. Rajendra appeared in only a few films after this and his last film appearance was a minor role in Deepa Mehtas film Earth in 1998. He married Shukla and had a son and two daughters. His son Kumar Gaurav also had a brief acting career. Kumar acted with Sunil Dutt and Nargis in the film Mother India (1957) where Sunil Dutt and Rajendra Kumar played natural sons of Nargis. 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 quoted as having said that 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 latters daughter, Reema. As fate would have it, this friendship could not last long after their children broke the engagement and Kumar Gaurav got married to Sunil Dutt and Nargiss daughter Namrata. He attained a PHD and had a title of Doctor prefixed to his name. For the premier of his film Vachan, he was asked if he wanted any seats for his relatives or friends, and thinking that it would be complimentary, he answered ten. After some days when he went to get his fees from the producers accountant, he was given a lesser amount and when he asked why he was told that the money was deducted for the seats he took for his relatives and friends. He took this lesson as a principle of production and when he produced Naam, he deducted some amount from Amrita Singhs fees for the long calls she had made from Hong Kong to India. Known to refuse taking any medication, he succumbed to cancer on July 12, 1999, just a day after his sons 39th birthday, and just 8 days before his 70th birthday. Rajendra Kumar was honoured with the Padma Shri Award in 1969. 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 “Mehandi Rang Lagyo” (Gujarati film). He received a special Shastri National Award and was associated with several charity schemes. Source: Wikipedia youtu.be/2On9ix8wy9w
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 15:56:14 +0000
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