Raaj Kumar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Raaj Kumar
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Born |
Kulbhushan Pandit
20 October 1926 |
Died | 3 July 1996 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
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(aged 69)
Nationality | Indian |
Occupation | Film actor |
Years active | 1952–1995 |
Spouse(s) | Jennifer "Gayatri" Pandit |
Children | 3, 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. 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.
Contents
Personal life
Raaj Kumar was born in Loralai, Baluchistan, British India, now Pakistan in a Kashmiri Pandit family. In the late 1940s he moved to Mumbai, India where he became Sub Inspector under Mumbai Police. 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. 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.
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. He was cast with Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor and Balraj Sahni in Yash Chopra's family drama Waqt in 1965. He became known for his distinct style of dialogue delivery.
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. 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.
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 |