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Raaj Kumar

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For other actors with the same name, see Rajkumar.

Raaj Kumar
File:Raj kumar.jpg
Born
Kulbhushan Pandit

(1926-10-20)20 October 1926
Loralai, Baluchistan, British India
(present-day Balochistan, Pakistan)
Died3 July 1996(1996-07-03) (aged 69)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
NationalityIndian
OccupationFilm actor
Years active1952–1995
SpouseJennifer "Gayatri" Pandit
Children3, including Puru Raaj Kumar

Raaj Kumar (born Kulbhushan Pandit; 8 October 1926 – 3 July 1996), was an Indian film actor. He worked as Sub inspector of Police under Mumbai Police in the late 1940s before he turned to acting with the 1952 Hindi film Rangeeli.[1] He appeared in the Oscar-nominated 1957 film Mother India and went on to star in over 70 Hindi films in a career that spanned over four decades.

Personal life

Raaj Kumar was born in Loralai, Baluchistan, British India, now Pakistan in a Kashmiri Pandit family.[2] In the late 1940s he moved to Mumbai, India where he became Sub Inspector under Mumbai Police.[3] He married Jennifer, an Anglo-Indian, whom he met on a flight where she was an air hostess. She later changed her name to Gayatri as per Hindu customs.[2] They had three children, sons Puru Raaj Kumar (a Bollywood actor), Panini Raajkumar and daughter Vastavikta Pandit, who made her screen debut in 2006 film Eight: The Power of Shani.[4]

Career

Raaj Kumar made his acting debut in the 1952 film 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 also worked alongside Shammi Kapoor in Ujala (1959). He followed this with the unglamorous role of a mill worker in Paigham (1959) alongside Dilip Kumar. In Sridhar's Dil Ek Mandir (1963), Raaj Kumar played the role of a cancer patient for which he won the Filmfare Award in the Best supporting actor category.[5] He was cast with Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor and Balraj Sahni in Yash Chopra's family drama Waqt in 1965.[6] He became known for his distinct style of dialogue delivery.[7]

His other notable films included Hamraaz (1967), Heer Raanjha (1971), Maryada (1971), Lal Patthar (1971) and Pakeezah (1972). After a period of flops in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he had notable successes as a supporting actor in Kudrat (1981), Ek Nai Paheli (1984), Marte Dam Tak (1987), Muqaddar Ka Faisla (1987) and Jung Baaz (1989). In 1991, he reunited with fellow veteran actor Dilip Kumar after 32 years in Subhash Ghai's Saudagar. His last hit film was the 1992 film Tirangaa and his final film was 1995's God & Gun.

From his screen debut in Rangili in 1952 to his last film God & Gun in 1995, he played memorable characters in 60-odd films.

Death

Raaj Kumar died at the age of 69 due to throat cancer.[8][9] According to Puru 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.[10]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1952 Rangeeli
1952 Anmol Sahara
1953 Aabshar
1955 Ghamand
1957 Krishna Sudama
1957 Mother India Shyamu
1957 Nausherwan-E-Adil Shehzada Naushazad / Joseph
1958 Dulhan Mohan
1958 Panchayat Mohan
1959 Durga Mata
1959 Paigham Ram Lal Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award
1959 Shararat Suraj
1959 Ardhangini Prakash
1959 Swarg Se Sundar Desh Hamara
1959 Ujala Kalu
1960 Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai Dr. Sushil Verma
1961 Gharana Kailash
1963 Dil Ek Mandir Ram Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award
1963 Godaan Hari
1963 Phool Bane Angaare Captain Rajesh
1963 Pyar Ka Bandhan Kalu
1964 Zindagi Gopal
1965 Waqt Raju / Raja Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award
1965 Kaajal Moti Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award

Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award

1965 Oonche Log Inspector Shrikant
1965 Rishte Naate Sundar
1967 Hamraaz Captain Rajesh
1967 Nai Roshni Jyoti Kumar
1968 Mere Huzoor Nawab Salim
1968 Neel Kamal Chitrasen Nominated, Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award
1968 Vaasna Kailash Chander
1970 Heer Raanjha Ranjha
1971 Lal Patthar Kumar Bahadur Gyan Shankar Rai
1971 Maryada Raja Babu / Raj Bahadur
1972 Pakeezah Salim Ahmed Khan
1972 Dil Ka Raaja Raja Vichitra Raghupati Singh / Raja Raj Singh 'Raju' Double Role
1973 Hindustan Ki Kasam Rajib
1974 36 Ghante Editor Ashok Rai
1976 Ek Se Badhkar Ek Shankar
1978 Karmayogi Shankar / Mohan Double Role
1980 Chambal Ki Kasam Thakur Suraj Singh
1981 Bulundi Professor Satish Khurana
1981 Kudrat Choudhary Janak Singh
1982 Dharam Kanta Thakur Bhawani Singh
1984 Ek Nai Paheli Upendranath
1984 Raaj Tilak Samadh Khan
1984 Sharara Dharamveer Singh Pathan
1987 Itihaas Joginder Singh
1987 Marte Dam Tak Sub Inspector Rane / Rana
1987 Muqaddar Ka Faisla Pandit Krishnakant
1988 Mohabbat Ke Dushman Rehmat Khan
1988 Saazish Kailash
1988 Mahaveera DSP Karamveer / Don
1989 Desh Ke Dushman Sher Khan
1989 Jungbaaz Advocate Krishna Prasad Saxena
1989 Galiyon Ka Badshah Ram / Raja
1989 Suryaa Rajpal Chauhan
1990 Police Public CBI Inspector Jagmohan Azad
1991 Saudagar Thakur Rajeshwar Singh
1992 Police Aur Mujrim Police Commissioner Veer Bahadur Singh
1993 Insaniyat Ke Devta Jailor Rana Pratap Singh
1993 Tirangaa Brigadier Suryadev Singh
1994 Ulfat Ki Nayee Manzilen Raj
1994 Betaaj Badshah Raja Prithviraj
1995 Jawab Ashwini Kumar Saxena
1995 God And Gun Sahib Bahadur Rathore

References

  1. ^ "Raaj Kumar". IMDb. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Purru Raaj Kumar: Dad was Bizzare [sic] But Never Boring". iDiva.com. 21 February 2013. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Remembering Raaj Kumar: 10 facts about the veteran Bollywood actor". India Today. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Raaj Kumar's daughter VASTAVIKTA debuts - bollywood news : glamsham.com". glamsham.com. Archived from the original on 18 August 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  5. ^ "Blast From the Past – Dil Ek Mandir (1963)". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 29 January 2010. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013.
  6. ^ "Raj Kumar of dialogue delivery". Archived from the original on 28 September 2012.
  7. ^ "King of dialogue delivery". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 17 October 2011. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013.
  8. ^ Dhawan, M. L. (29 June 2003). "Remembering A Legend". The Sunday Tribune. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  9. ^ Singh, Kuldip (6 July 1996). "Obituary Raaj Kumar". The Independent. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  10. ^ Farook, Farhana (21 February 2013). "Dad Was Bizarre But Never Boring". news-entertainment. iDiva.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
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