Raaj Kumar

Raaj Kumar (8 October 1926 – 3 July 1996), born Kulbhushan Pandit, was a Hindi film actor. He worked as sub-inspector 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 in 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 per Hindu customs.[4] They had three children, sons Puru Raajkumar (a Bollywood actor), Panini Raajkumar and daughter 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 his last film God & Gun in 1995, he 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 Naushazad / Joseph
1957 Neel Mani
1958 Dulhan
1958 Panchayat Mohan
1959 Durga Mata
1959 PaighamRam Lal
1959 Shararat Suraj
1959 Ardhanginiprakash
1959 Swarg Se Sundar Desh Hamara
1959 UjalaKalu
1960 Dil Apna Aur Preet ParaiDr. Sushil K. Verma
1961 GharanaKailash
1963 Dil Ek Mandir Ram
1963 Godaan Hori
1963 Phool Bane Angarey Capt. Rajesh
1963 Pyar Ka Bandhan kalu
1964 Zindagi Gopal
1965 Waqt Raja
1965 KaajalMoti
1965 Oonche Log Inspector Shreekant
1965 Rishte Naahte Sundar
1967 HamraazCaptain Rajesh
1967 Nai Roshni Jyoti
1968 Mere HuzoorNawab Salim
1968 Neel Kamal Chitrasen
1968 Vaasna kailash
1970 Heer RaanjhaRanjha
1971 Lal PattharKumar Bahadur Gyan Shankar Rai
1971 Maryada Raja Babu / Raj Bahadur
1971 PakeezahSalim Ahmed Khan
1972 Dil Ka Raja Raja Bichitra Singh / Raju
1973 Hindustan ki kasam Rajib
1974 36 GhanteEditor Ashok Rai
1974 PakeezahSalim Ahmed Khan
1976 Ek Se Badh Kar Ek shankar
1978 KarmayogiShanker / Mohan
1980 BulundiProfessor Satish Khurana
1980 Chambal Ki KasamThakur Suraj Singh
1981 KudratChoudhury Janak Singh
1982 Dharam KantaThakur Bhavani Singh
1984 Ek Nai PaheliUpendranath
1984 Raaj TilakSamadh Khan
1984 Sharara (film) coln. Dharam vir singh
1987 ItihaasJoginder Singh
1987 Marte Dam TakS.I. Rane / Rana
1987 Muqaddar Ka FaislaPandit Krishnakant
1988 Mahaveera DSP Karamvir / Don
1988 Mohabbat Ke DushmanRehemat Khan
1988 SaazishKailash
1989 Desh Ke Dushman
1989 Jung Baaz Krishan Prasad
1989 Galiyon Ka Badshah Ram / Raja
1989 Suryaa: An AwakeningRajpal Chauhan
1990 Police Public Jagmohan Azad
1991 Saudagar Rajeshwar Singh
1992 Tirangaa Brigadier Suryadev Singh
1993 Insaniyat Ke DevtaJailer Rana Pratap Singh
1993 Police Aur MujrimPolice Commissioner Veer Bahadur Singh
1994 Ulfat Ki Nayee Manzilen
1994 Betaaj Badshah Prithvi Raj
1995 JawabAshwani Kumar Saxena
1995 God and GunSaheb Bahadur Rathore
1995 Bakwaas

References

  1. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0474855/bio
  2. ↑ Hindus Contribution Towards Making Of Pakistan 22 May 2010 Retrieved 28 January 2011
  3. ↑ "Purru Raaj Kumar: Dad was Bizzare But Never Boring". iDiva.com.
  4. ↑ "Purru Raaj Kumar: Dad was Bizzare But Never Boring". iDiva.com.
  5. ↑ "Raaj Kumar‘s daughter VASTAVIKTA debuts - bollywood news : glamsham.com". glamsham.com.
  6. ↑ "BLAST FROM THE PAST Dil Ek Mandir (1963)". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 2010-01-29.
  7. ↑ "Raj Kumar of dialogue delivery".
  8. ↑ "King of dialogue delivery". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 17 October 2011.
  9. ↑ "The Sunday Tribune - Spectrum - Lead Article". tribuneindia.com.
  10. ↑ Dhawan, M. L. (29 June 2003). "Remembering A Legend". The Sunday Tribune. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  11. ↑ Singh, Kuldip (6 July 1996). "Obituary Raaj Kumar". The Independent. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  12. ↑ Farook, Farhana. "Dad Was Bizarre But Never Boring". news-entertainment. iDiva.com. Retrieved 28 April 2014.

External links

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