Jump to content

Rajendra Kumar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 129.98.31.158 (talk) at 19:26, 10 August 2011 (→Career). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Rajendra Jublee Kumar
Born(1929-07-20)20 July 1929
Sialkot, Punjab, British India
Died12 July 1999(1999-07-12) (aged 69)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation(s)Actor, Producer, Director
Years active1950–1998
SpouseShukla
Children2 Daughters and son Kumar Gaurav

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.

was born in a PunjabiHindu family in Sialkot, in the West Punjab province of British India, currently in Pakistan.

Career

Rajendra Kumar made his debut in the 1950 chutia type films which were really boring film Jogan in which he starred opposite Dilip Kumar and Nargis. He then shot to fame in the blockbuster hit Mother India in 1957 in which he played Nargis's son. His first major success as a romantic leading man was in Amit Saxenas's musical superhit Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959), co-starring Ameeta.

The 1960s saw Rajendra Kumar rise like no other star had risen. The songs of his film in Mohammed Rafi's voice became mega hits. There were times when he had six or seven films running in their silver jubilee weeks at the same time. Rajendra Kumar was soon known as "Jubilee Kumar".

He had many successful box office hits including Dhool Ka Phool (1959), Mere Mehboob (1963), Sangam (1964), Arzoo (1965), Suraj (1966) and Ganwaar (1970).[1]. 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).[1] He was considered a golden boy for the movie producers as he could recover the producers' money in a matter of weeks.

However, from 1972 onwards, he faced stiff competition in the form of the phenomenal Rajesh Khanna. Several of his films bombed at the box office. However, the dry spell ended when he was offered an interesting role in the film Saajan Bina Suhaagan opposite Nutan. The film was a huge blockbuster of 1978. Rajendra Kumar had regained his 'Midas Touch'. 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 the blockbuster.[2] But the success was short-lived as Kumar Gaurav's later films were huge disappointments at the box office and his son's career declined as soon as it began. Rajendra produced several other films starring his son which did not do well. In 1986 he produced Naam with his son and his son's brother-in-law Sanjay Dutt in leading roles which was a box office success but the success was short-lived. His last attempt to revive his son's career was with the 1993 film Phool where he once again acted alongside his son but this film was also a box office failure.

Rajendra appeared in only a few films after this and his last film appearance was a minor role in Deepa Mehta's critically acclaimed film Earth in 1998.

He died on 12 July 1999 of cancer, 8 days before his 70th birthday. He was known to never have taken medicines in his entire life.

Personal life

He married Shukla and had a son and two daughters. His son Kumar Gaurav married Namrata Dutt, the daughter of actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis and sister of actor Sanjay Dutt.

Rajendra had acted with Sanjay's parents Sunil Dutt and Nargis in the blockbuster film Mother India (1957) where both Sunil Dutt and Rajendra Kumar played natural sons of Nargis. He had a special relationship with Sunil Dutt, who is quoted as having said that "Even though Rajendra Kumar did not win any award through out 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".

He was a gentleman to the true sense of the word - very disciplined on the film sets and polite with his co-stars. Meena Kumari, the legendary actress paired with him in a number of films. Although, being a major star at the time, he would modestly address Meena Kumari as 'Mem Sahab'. Rajendra Kumar lived his life astutely and conserved his resources very well.

Honours and recognitions

  • 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.[2]

Awards and nominations

Rajendra Kumar was nominated for Best Actor category three times.

Trivia

  • Father of Kumar Gaurav.
  • Films started coming his way when he played the role of a son of Nargis in Mother India.
  • His daughter-in-law (Namrata) is Sunil Dutt's and Nargis Dutt's daughter.
  • Started as an assistant director before getting a role in Vachan.
  • Was nicknamed as "Jubilee Kumar" by the trade people because majority of his movies used to do either Silver or Golden Jubilee.
  • He used to actively participate in campaigning for friend, Sunil Dutt, whenever the latter used to contest for elections.
  • For the premier of his first movie, 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 producer's 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 Singh's fees for the long calls she had made from Hong Kong to India.
  • Was best friends with Raj Kapoor, so much so that his son Kumar Gaurav was engaged to the latter's daughter, Reema Kapoor. However, this friendship could not last long after their children broke the engagement.

Filmography

Actor:

Producer:

  • The Jungle Book (1994) (co-executive producer) (co-producer)
  • Phool (1993) (producer)
  • Jurrat (1989) (producer)
  • Naam (1986) (producer)
  • Lovers (1983) (producer)
  • Love Story (1981) (producer)

Presenter:

Editor:

Director:

Soundtrack:

  • Mere Mehboob (1963) (performer: "Mere Mehboob Tujhe", "Allah Bachaye", "Tere Pyar Mein Dildar", "Janeman Ek Nazar", "Yaad Mein Teri", "Tumse Izhar e Haal", "Mere Mehboob Mein Kya", "Ae Husn Zara Jaag", "Yaad Mein (revival)")

Thanks:

Self:

Archive Footage:

Footnotes

  1. ^ 1st Filmfare Awards 1953
  2. ^ Arts Tribune
Hindi cinema
1920s
1920 1921 1922 1923 1924
1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s
1930 1931 1932 1933 1934
1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944
1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954
1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964
1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974
1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
2025 2026

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Rajendra_Kumar&oldid=444119382"