Sanjeev Kumar

Sanjeev Kumar - The versatile Bollywood actor Sanjeev Kumar was born as Harihar Jariwala in a Gujrati family in 1938. He was truly a multitalented actor as he portrayed numerous roles irrespective of the age or the type of character. When it comes to portrayals of sensitivity or complex emoting no one really comes even closer to him. In his film carrier, starting in the year 1954, Sanjeev Kumar acted in more than 100 movies.

Sanjeev Kumar thrived in the Indian film industry despite his orthodox looks. He in fact, defied many of Bollywood's norms for heroes and film industry's unwritten rules. Sanjeev dared what other established actors could not. He was just 35 when he chose to portray old aged man in Sholay, Aandhi and Mausam. It is interesting to note that Sanjeev Kumar essayed these characters after he had already proved himself as a successful romantic hero in films like Anhonee, Anamika, Seeta Aur Geeta and Manchali!

Sanjeev Kumar lost his father at a very young age and lived with his mother and 3 siblings in tenements in Mumbai. He was so deeply bitten by the movie bug that he would manage money, anyhow, to see the latest films. The hunger for acting took him to stage, where he played the role of a 75 year old man once! Pursuing the ambition of acting in films, he joined the Filmalaya acting school. Sanjeev Kumar even got a very small role in Filmalaya's "Hum Hindustani". Then came Nishan and "Alibaba And Fourty Thieves", where his acting talent was noticed. With Shikar and Sangharsh, Sanjeev Kumar made solid impact on Hindi cinema. After that there was no looking back for him.

Sanjeev was now flooded with films opposite established actors. The film that gave Sanjeev's career a tremendous fillip was Khilona (1970). Sanjeev showed special taste for roles off the beaten track. His portrayals of two differently troubled husbands in "Dastak" (winning him first National Award as Best Actor) and "Anubhav" won him rave reviews. At the same time, he played hero in commercial films like Seeta Aur Geeta and Manchali with panache. His association with film maker Gulzar also proved very fruitful as they combined to produce films like "Andhi", "Mausam", "Angoor" and "Namkeen". Sanjeev Kumar put a delightful performance in Satyajit Ray's "Shatranj Ke Khiladi". Sanjeev's Kumar, in his private life, had drenched himself in alcohol. A bachelor, Sanjeev Kumar died of an acute heart ailment in 1985.