Raaj Kumar
| Raaj Kumar | |
|---|---|
| Native name | राज कुमार |
| Born | Kulbhushan Pandit 8 October 1926 Loralai, Baluchistan, British India (now Pakistan) |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Mumbai, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Citizenship | Indian |
| Occupation | Police Officer, Actor |
| 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. 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.[citation needed] 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 | ||
| 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 | Raja | |
| 1965 | Kaajal | ||
| 1965 | Oonche Log | ||
| 1965 | Rishte Naahte | ||
| 1967 | Hamraaz | ||
| 1967 | Nai Roshni | ||
| 1968 | Mere Huzoor | ||
| 1968 | Neel Kamal | Chitrasen | |
| 1968 | Vaasna | ||
| 1970 | Heer Raanjha | ||
| 1971 | Lal Patthar | ||
| 1971 | Maryada | ||
| 1971 | Pakeezah | ||
| 1972 | Dil Ka Raja | ||
| 1973 | Hindustan ki kasam | ||
| 1974 | 36 Ghante | ||
| 1974 | Pakeezah | ||
| 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 | Bakwaas |
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
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030629/spectrum/main5.htm
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- Use Indian English from February 2014
- All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English
- Articles with unsourced statements from October 2013
- Use dmy dates from June 2011
- Indian male film actors
- 1926 births
- 1996 deaths
- Male actors in Hindi cinema
- Indian police officers
- Mumbai Police
- People from Mumbai
- 20th-century Indian male actors
- Kashmiri people
