Ashok Kumar | |
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| Born | Kumudlal Ganguly (1911-10-13)13 October 1911 |
| Died | 10 December 2001(2001-12-10) (aged 90) Mumbai,Maharashtra, India |
| Other names | Dadamoni |
| Alma mater | Presidency College, Calcutta |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, producer,painter, singer |
| Years active | 1934–1997 |
| Works | Filmography |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4, includingPreeti Ganguly |
| Relatives | SeeGanguly family SeeMukherjee-Samarth family |
| Awards | |
| Honours |
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| Signature | |
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Ashok Kumar (bornKumudlal Ganguly; 13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001) was an Indian actor who attained iconic status inIndian cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema.[1][2] He is considered to be the first superstar of Indian cinema as well as the first lead actor to play an anti-hero.[3][4] He also became the first star to reinvent himself, enjoying a long and hugely successful career as a character actor. He was a member of the cinematicGanguly family.[5] He was honoured in 1988 with theDadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest national award for cinema artists,[6] by theGovernment of India. He received thePadma Shri in 1962 andPadma Bhushan in 1999 for his contributions to Indian cinema.[6]
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Ashok Kumar was born Kumudlal Ganguly into aBengaliBrahmin family inBhagalpur,Bengal Presidency,British India (present-dayBihar, India).[7] His father, Kunjlal Ganguly, was a lawyer while his mother, Gouri Devi, was a housewife. Kumudlal was the eldest of four children. His only sister, Sati Devi, a few years younger than him, was married at a very young age toSashadhar Mukherjee and became the matriarch ofa large "film family". Next was his brother,Kalyan, 16 years younger (b.1927), who later took the screen nameAnoop Kumar. Youngest of all wasAbhas (b.1929), whose screen name wasKishore Kumar, who became a phenomenally successful playback singer in Hindi films. Although the eldest by several years, Kumudlal outlived all his siblings. In fact, he stopped celebrating his birthday after his youngest brother, Kishore, died on that day in 1987.
While still a teenager and well before he had even given thought to a career in films, the young Kumudlal was married to Shobha (a first cousin of actressChhaya Devi), a girl of his ownBengali Brahmin community and similar family background, in a match arranged by their parents in the usual Indian way.[8] Their lifelong marriage was a harmonious and conventional one, and despite his film career, the couple retained a very middle-class outlook and value system, bringing up their children with traditional values in a remarkably simple home. They were the parents of one son, Aroop Ganguly, and three daughters named Bharati Patel, Rupa Verma andPreeti Ganguly. Aroop Kumar Ganguly worked in only one film, appearing as a hero inBezubaan (1962), which flopped at the box office. He then made a career in the corporate world. The eldest daughter, Bharati Patel, is the mother of the actressAnuradha Patel. His second eldest daughter, Rupa Ganguly, is a former actress and widow of actor-comedianDeven Verma.[9] The youngest daughter,Preeti Ganguly acted as a comedienne in several Hindi films during the 1970s and 1980s and died unmarried in 2012.[10]
Kumudlal's daughter Bharati married twice. Her first marriage was to Dr. Veerendra Patel, a Gujarati doctor. Through this marriage, she had two sons, Rahul and Rohit, and one daughter, the actressAnuradha Patel, who is married to the actorKanwaljit Singh. Later, and much against the wishes of all her relatives, Bharati married Hameed Jaffrey, a Muslim, the brother of the actorSaeed Jaffrey.[11] By this second marriage, Bharati had one son, Saahil, and also acquired step-daughters, Geneviève and Shaheen, who were Hameed's daughters by his first wife Valerie Salway, a woman of Scottish, Irish, Portuguese and Spanish heritage.[12] Geneviève married aSindhi businessman named Jagdeep Advani. Their daughter is actressKiara Advani.[13] Thus, Ashok Kumar has no blood relationship with Kiara Advani but he is related to her in her family tree. In all, Kumar had eight biological grandchildren - Bharati's four children Rahul, Rohit, Anuradha and Saahil, and Aroop's four children Rishi, Mihir, Tushar and Somdatta (from his marriage to Nirmala Ganguly), in addition to his step-granddaughters Geneviève and Shaheen.
Ganguly was educated atPresidency College of the University of Calcutta, Kolkata, where he studied to become a lawyer. However, his heart was not in his law studies. Ganguly was more interested in cinema, in which he dreamt of working as a technician.
Kumar reluctantly made his debut in the year 1936 withFranz Osten'sJeevan Naiya alongsideDevika Rani.[14]
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His breakthrough came the same year with another Franz Osten's filmAchhut Kannya which was a reformist piece featuring aBrahmin boy falling in love with a girl from the so-calleduntouchables in Indiansociety.[15]After the huge box office success ofAchhut Kanya, he delivered a hat-trick of silver jubilee hits withKangan (1939),Bandhan (1940) andJhoola (1941), all oppositeLeela Chitnis.[16]
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In 1943, Ashok Kumar played the lead role inGyan Mukherjee'sdrama filmKismet oppositeMumtaz Shanti.[17] It became the first film to present the main lead as ananti-hero as well as an unmarried girl getting pregnant.[18] Despite having themes considered way ahead of times,Kismet became the firstIndian film to do a nett business of₹10 million (US$120,000) and emerged anAll Time Blockbuster at the box office.[19] It ran inKolkata'sRoxy Cinema for 184 weeks, a record which remains unbroken till date.[20]Kismet also got the tag of being the first true blue mega blockbuster in the history ofIndian cinema.[21] Its music, especially the patriotic song "Aaj Himalay Ki Choti Se" written byKavi Pradeep was highly successful and played big role in makingKismet a box office sensation.[22] The mass hysteria created byKismet made Kumar the first big superstar of Indian cinema.[23][24] Such was his popularity at the time that, in the words of Manṭo, "Ashok's popularity grew each passing day. He seldom ventured out, but wherever he was spotted, he was mobbed. Traffic would come to a stop and often the police would have to use lathis to disperse his fans".[25] The huge box office success ofKismet was followed by films, such as Gyan Mukherjee'sChal Chal Re Naujawan (1944),Mehboob Khan'sHumayun (1945) andKishore Sahu'sSajan (1947), all three of which received critical acclaim and emerged box office hits.[26]
In 1949, Kumar produced and starred inKamal Amrohi'sMahal, which hadMadhubala as the female lead. Recalled asHindi cinema's firsthorror film,Mahal went on to become a blockbuster at the box office andthird highest-grossing film of the year, behindBarsaat andAndaz.[27] The film made Madhubala an overnight sensation and launched the career ofLata Mangeshkar who sangAayega Aanewala, which remains popular till date.[28][29]Mahal also became the source of inspiration for several films likeMadhumati (1958),Karz (1980) andOm Shanti Om (2007).[30] The early-1950s saw the rise of younger crop of stars likeDilip Kumar,Dev Anand andRaj Kapoor, but Kumar remained rock-steady and continued to deliver huge hits throughout the decade.[23] In 1950, Kumar delivered another blockbuster and highest-earning film of the year withRamesh Saigal'sSamadhi oppositeNalini Jaywant.[31] That same year, he reunited with Jaywant and Gyan Mukherjee forSangram.[32] AfterKismet, Kumar again donned the hat of anti-hero forSangram, in turn adding another huge hit in his kitty.[33] In 1951, he starred inB. R. Chopra'scrime drama filmAfsana andNitin Bose'sromantic musicalDeedar.[34][35]Afsana in which Kumar played a double role was the first hit of Chopra as a filmmaker and made him a notable name in the industry whileDeedar co-starringNargis and Dilip Kumar also proved to be a major commercial success.[36][37]
Kumar's only notable release of 1952 was M. L. Anand'sromantic dramaBewafa which also had Nargis and Raj Kapoor in the lead.[38] In 1953, he produced and starred inBimal Roy's romantic dramaParineeta alongsideMeena Kumari.[39] Based upon the 1914 Bengali novel of thesame name bySarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, it proved to be a critical and commercial success.[40] Post-Parineeta, Kumar had three unsuccessful ventures inBaadbaan (1954),Sardar (1955) andBandish (1955), but this changed with a superhit in B. R. Chopra'sfamily drama filmEk Hi Raasta (1956), acting alongside Meena Kumari andSunil Dutt.[41] He also had successes inM. V. Raman'sBhai-Bhai andShakti Samanta'sInspector, the same year andDevendra Goel'sEk Saal, the next year.[42][43]
In 1958, Kumar added one more superhit in his kitty withSatyen Bose'smusical comedyChalti Ka Naam Gaadi, which also had his brothersAnoop Kumar andKishore Kumar in the lead.[44] The film gained cult status in later years and got remade twice in Hindi and once inMarathi.[45] Its soundtrack composed byS. D. Burman was highly successful with a number of hit songs, including "Babu Samjho Ishaare", "Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si", "Hum The Woh Thi Aur Sama Rangeen" and "Haal Kaisa Hai Janaab Ka".[46][47][48] His other major release of the year was Shakti Samanta'scrime thrillerHowrah Bridge which had Madhubala opposite him.[49] The film opened to positive response from critics and proved to be a hit.[50] Its dance numbers - "Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu" sung byGeeta Dutt which brought fame toHelen and "Aaiye Meharban" sung byAsha Bhosle were hugely popular among the masses.[51] Kumar's last notable film in his prime came withYash Chopra's maiden directional ventureDhool Ka Phool (1959), co-starringMala Sinha,Rajendra Kumar andNanda.[52] It opened to critical acclaim and emerged a blockbuster at the box office.[53]
With the beginning of the 1960s, Kumar was open to all kind of roles, whether as main lead, second lead, or in a character role.[54] This prevented him from being type-cast and he continued to receive acclaim for his work.[55]
It started with B. R. Chopra'scourtroom dramaKanoon (1960) which also had Rajendra Kumar and Nanda in the lead.[56] Despite not having any songs and other gimmicks required in a commercial Hindi film,Kanoon emerged a hit and went on to winNational Film Award for Best Feature Film (Hindi).[57][58][59] After playing a brief role in Yash Chopra's critically acclaimedpartition dramaDharmputra (1961), the following year, he did lead roles inA. Bhimsingh'sRakhi andPhani Majumdar'sAarti.[60][61] BothRakhi andAarti received critical acclaim and proved to be box office hits.[62] Kumar received his firstFilmfare Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a doting brother inRakhi.[63] 1963 proved to be a hugely successful year for Kumar with many successes.[64] He first collaborated with B. R. Chopra for theromantic thrillerGumrah co-starring Sunil Dutt,Mala Sinha,Shashikala andNirupa Roy.[65]Gumrah did very well at the box office and proved to be a superhit.[66] For his performance in the film, Kumar won his firstBFJA Award for Best Actor (Hindi).[67] The film wonNational Film Award for Third Best Feature Film in Hindi.[68] This was followed by Bimal Roy's critically and commercially successful drama filmBandini.[69]Bandini was the last feature film directed by Roy and won him his finalFilmfare Award for Best Director along withNational Film Award for Best Feature Film (Hindi) as well asFilmfare Award for Best Film.[68] Before the end of year, he reunited with Rajendra Kumar inH. S. Rawail'smuslim socialMere Mehboob, co-starringSadhana andNimmi.[70] The film topped box office chart in 1963 and emerged anAll Time Blockbuster.[57] Its music composed byNaushad dominated the year-end annual list ofBinaca Geetmala and was the second best-sellingHindi film album of the 1960s.[71][72]
In 1964, Kumar delivered two moderately successful films with A. Bhimsingh'sPooja Ke Phool andInder Raj Anand'sPhoolon Ki Sej which hadDharmendra andManoj Kumar in the lead respectively, but his other releases, such asChitralekha andBenazir flopped at the box office.[73] In 1965, he had a hit inBheegi Raat and a semi-hit inOonche Log.[74] The hit streak continued in 1966 withAsit Sen'sMamta which again had Dharmendra in the lead along withSuchitra Sen who played a double role.[75] It was a successful venture domestically, but anAll Time Blockbuster in overseas markets.[76] The same year, Kumar also appeared inBrij Sadanah'sAfsana which was a box office failure, but won himFilmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.[77] 1967 was a notable year for him as he starred in two of the biggest hits of the year -Vijay Anand'sspy heist thrillerJewel Thief and A. Bhimsingh's light hearted drama filmMehrban.[78][79] Both the films proved to be critical and commercial successes with Kumar getting applauded for his performances in them and receiving a nomination in theFilmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor category for the latter.[80][81]
In 1968, he played the lead role inHrishikesh Mukherjee's social dramaAashirwad.[82] Although the film did not do well at the box office, it was a huge critical success, winningNational Film Award for Best Feature Film (Hindi).[83] Kumar's portrayal of a loving father was very well received and won him all the major accolades that year, such asNational Film Award for Best Actor,Filmfare Award for Best Actor andBFJA Award for Best Actor (Hindi).[84][85][86] One of its song "Rail Gaadi Chhuk Chhuk Chhuk Chhuk" sung by Kumar himself is considered the firstrap song of Indian cinema.[87] Kumar ended the decade on a high. He co-starred alongsideSanjay Khan and Sadhana inR.K. Nayyar'smystery thrillerIntaqam which went on to become a superhit at the box office.[88] He then did a guest appearance in Samanta'sromantic blockbusterAradhana which madeRajesh Khanna a superstar. Kumar also reunited with Hrishikesh Mukherjee for drama filmSatyakam which like their previous collaborationAashirwad met with immense acclaim and wonNational Film Award for Best Feature Film (Hindi).[89][90]
The 1970s saw the domination of whole new generation of stars, including Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra,Amitabh Bachchan, Manoj Kumar,Shashi Kapoor,Vinod Khanna,Jeetendra andRishi Kapoor.[91] Kumar worked with all of them in various successful and acclaimed films.[92] In 1970, he played important roles in two directional ventures of Asit Sen,Sharafat co-starring Dharmendra,Hema Malini andSafar which also had Rajesh Khanna,Sharmila Tagore,Feroz Khan in the lead.[93][94] Both the films emerged superhits and received big thumbs from reviewers, especiallySafar which won Sen his firstFilmfare Award for Best Director.[95] He also collaborated with Manoj Kumar for his second directional, the patriotic dramaPurab Aur Paschim, which proved to be a blockbuster in India as well as overseas.[96][97] The following year, he appeared in acclaimed ventures, suchNaya Zamana,Guddi andAdhikar.[98][99] In 1972, he starred in Kamal Amrohi's magnum opusPakeezah which had Meena Kumari as the eponymous lead, alongsideRaaj Kumar.[100] Despite getting mixed reviews and being a slow starter, it went on to become a massive blockbuster and also the final film appearance of Kumari who died few weeks after its release.[101] Kumar then played the role of a doting grandfather in Samanta'sAnuraag and a crook in Sadanah'sVictoria No. 203.[102][103] Both the films emerged superhits with Kumar again getting nominated in theFilmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor category forAnuraag.[20] That same year, he reunited with Rajesh Khanna forMaalik andDil Daulat Duniya, but contrary to expectations, both the films flopped commercially.[104]
Kumar played small roles in both of his major releases of 1973 and 1974 which were -Dhund andPrem Nagar, respectively.[105][106] In 1975, he had a superhit inChori Mera Kaam co-starring Shashi Kapoor andZeenat Aman.[107] He also appeared alongside Amitabh Bachchan andJaya Bachchan inMili.[108] It did average business, but won massive acclaim and is now considered a film ahead of its times.[109] The following year, Kumar saw four profitable ventures inEk Se Badhkar Ek,Barood,Chhoti Si Baat andSuntan.[110] He received his fifth and final nomination in theFilmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor category for his heartfelt portrayal of a retired colonel inChhoti Si Baat.[111] His other successful films of the decade, includeDream Girl (1977),Anand Ashram (1977),Safed Jhooth (1977),Chala Murari Hero Banne (1977),Dil Aur Deewaar (1978),Anpadh (1978) andKhatta Meetha (1978).[112][42][113]
Kumar began the next decade with supporting role in four hit films, includingKhubsoorat,Jyoti Bane Jwala,Sau Din Saas Ke andJudaai.[114] In 1981, he had two more box office successes withShibu Mitra'sMaan Gaye Ustaad and Pramod Chakravarty'sJyoti.[115] He then played the lead role in Basu Chatterjee'scomedy dramaShaukeen (1982), which was a commercial as well as critical success and is now considered a cult classic.[116] In 1983, he appeared in another of Basu Chatterjee's acclaimed venturePasand Apni Apni and Sunil Dutt's drama filmDard Ka Rishta, which proved to be a box office hit.[117][118] The following year, Kumar made his television debut with the soap operaHum Log, which was telecasted onDoordarshan and presented the story of anIndian middle-class family from the 1980s and their daily struggles.[119][120] Every episode ended with the Kumar in a sharp suit and dark glasses explaining the theme of the day and prodding viewers to think about what they had just watched.[121] During its 1 and a half-year run, he received over 400,000 letters from young viewers, asking him to convince their parents in marriage of their choice. The show proved to be a huge success with each episode having a regular viewing audience of more than 50 million.[122]
In 1985, Kumar played a notable supporting role in B. R. Chopra's drama filmTawaif.[123][124] The film opened to positive response from reviewers and emerged a major commercial success.[125] In 1986, he played the title role in B. R. Chopra's acclaimed and successful television showBahadur Shah Zafar.[120][126] The following year, he appeared inShekhar Kapoor'ssuperhero filmMr. India, which was a major critical and commercial success, followed by two more hits films,Watan Ke Rakhwale andJawab Hum Denge.[127][128] Towards the end of decade, Kumar's workload slowed due to declining health. His major releases in 1988 and 1989 -Inteqam andClerk, respectively, were critical and commercial failures.[129][130]
In the early-1990s, he appeared in films, such asMajboor (1990),Begunaah (1991),Humlaa (1992) andAasoo Bane Angaarey (1993), but they did not succeed at the box office. During this period, success came with the TV showsBheem-Bhavani (1990) andTehkikaat (1994).[120] Kumar receivedLifetime Achievement Award at the41st Filmfare Awards, which was held in the year 1996.[131] The same year, he reunited with Dev Anand and Dharmendra forReturn of Jewel Thief, which was highly anticipated before release, but ended up as a loss making venture.[132] Kumar quit acting after making an appearance inAshim Samanta's romantic dramaAnkhon Mein Tum Ho (1997) starringSharad Kapoor,Suman Ranganathan andRohit Roy.[133] The film opened to negative reviews from critics and was a box office flop.[42][134]
Ashok Kumar died at the age of 90 in Mumbai on 10 December 2001 of heart failure at his residence inChembur. The thenPrime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee described him as "an inspiration... for many generations of aspiring actors.[54]
Kumar was a pioneering actor who introduced natural acting to Hindi cinema and the distinctive style and mannerisms that he adopted in his later career still remain extremely popular among mimicry artists.[135]
Kumar had an eye for talent and helped several up-and-coming artists get a break. He groomedHrishikesh Mukherjee during the director's association withBombay Talkies.[136] The filmmaker went on to helm movies, such asAnari (1959),Asli-Naqli (1962),Anupama (1966),Aashirwad (1968),Satyakam (1969),Anand (1971),Chupke Chupke (1975) andKhubsoorat (1980).[137][138][139] He producedNeel Kamal (1947),Ziddi (1948) andMahal (1949) which launched the careers ofRaj Kapoor,Dev Anand andMadhubala respectively.[140][141][142] He also collaborated withShakti Samanta forInspector (1956) andHowrah Bridge (1958), which proved to be game-changers for the then struggling filmmaker.[143][42]Filmfare included his performance inAashirwad in its list of "80 Iconic Performances".[144]
He inspired many of his younger contemporaries, includingDilip Kumar,Dev Anand,Raj Kapoor to succeeding generations of artists, such asShammi Kapoor,Manoj Kumar andRaaj Kumar among others.[145][146]
One of the highest paid actors of the 1940s and 1950s, Kumar appeared inBox Office India's "Top Actors" list eight times, (1940–1945, 1949–1950).[23] In 2022, he was placed inOutlook India's "75 Best Bollywood Actors" list.[147]
This BR Chopra directorial was based on the Christie play, The Unexpected Guest, and featured Sanjay Khan, Zeenat Aman, Danny Denzongpa, and Ashok Kumar, among others. The story is about a car-wrecked stranger knocking on the door of a damsel-in-distress who has just shot her husband. On hearing her sad tale of woe, the stranger decides to help her escape punishment.
The actor occasionally appeared on television, famously known for anchoring the first Indian soap opera Hum Log (1984-1985). Dadamoni appeared as the title character in Bahadur Shah Zafar (1986) and played the role of a detective along with his brother Anoop Kumar in Bheem-Bhawani (1990-1991).
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