Manoj Kumar

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Manoj Kumar (born 24 July 1937, at Abbottabad, NWFP, British India) is an Indian actor and director in the Bollywood film industry. He is known for acting in and directing films with patriotic themes, and has been given the nickname "Mr Bharat" (Bhaarat is the Sanskrit and Hindi term for India).

Early life

Manoj Kumar was born in Abbottabad, a town of the North-West Frontier Province, British India. Abbottabad is now located within the borders of Pakistan. His original name was Harikishan Giri Goswami. When he was 10, his Gosain Hindu family had to move to India owing to partition. They settled in Hanumangarh district, Rajasthan and is know to have roots in Patel Nagar area of New Delhi.

After graduating from Hindu College, University of Delhi, he decided to enter the film industry.

Career

As a youth, he admired Bollywood superstar Dilip Kumar, and decided to name himself Manoj Kumar after Dilip's character in Shabnam (1949).^{[citation needed]}

After making a little-noticed début in Fashion in 1957, Manoj landed his first leading role in Kaanch Ki Gudia (1960) opposite Sayeeda Khan. Piya Milan Ki Aas and Reshmi Roomal followed, setting the stage for the Vijay Bhatt-directed Hariyali Aur Raasta (1962) opposite Mala Sinha. Kumar then appeared with Sadhana in Raj Khosla's Woh Kaun Thi (1964), and reunited with Vijay Bhatt and Mala Sinha in Himalaya Ki God Mein (1965).

The patriotic hero

Kumar's image as the patriotic hero started with the 1965 film Shaheed ^[1], based on the life of Bhagat Singh, a martyr in the struggle for India's freedom. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri asked him to create a film based on the popular slogan Jai Jawan Jai Kissan (hail the soldier, hail the farmer).^{[citation needed]}

The result was Kumar's magnum opus and his directorial debut, Upkaar (1967). In it, he played both a soldier and a farmer. The film was also noted for the famous song Mere Desh Ki Dharti, written by Gulshan Bawra, composed by Kalyanji-Anandji and sung by Mahendra Kapoor. Upkaar was a hit and won Kumar his first Filmfare Best Director Award.

After dabbling in various roles in the late 1960s, Manoj returned to patriotic themes in Purab Aur Paschim (1970), in which life in the East and West are juxtaposed. In 1972, he starred in Be-Imaan (for which he won the Filmfare Best Actor Award) and directed and starred in Shor (1972). The latter, opposite Jaya Bhaduri, was not a huge box office success, but it did feature the memorable song Ek Pyar Ka Nagma Hai, a duet by Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh, which was composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal.

In 1976 Manoj Kumar created history by giving 3 back to back blockbuster in form of Roti Kapda Aur Makaan (1974), Sanyasi (1975) and Dus Numbari (1976).

Later career

The mid-1970s saw Kumar star in three hit films: Roti Kapda Aur Makaan (1974) was a social commentary featuring an all-star cast including Zeenat Aman, Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan that won him his second Filmfare Award for Best Director; Sanyasi (1975) had Kumar and Hema Malini in the lead roles of a religious-themed comedy; and Dus Numbri (1976) also gave Kumar and Hema top billing. In 1981, Kumar reached the peak of his career when he got the opportunity to direct his idol, Dilip Kumar, as well as star in Kranti, a story about the struggle for Indian independence in the 19th century. Kranti was the last notable successful film in his career. He also starred in the hit Punjabi film Jat Punjabi.

After Kranti, Kumar's career began to decline in the 1980s as all of his films failed at the box office. In 1989 he cast Pakistani actors Mohammed Ali and Zeba in his film Clerk which was considered to be a groundbreaking event. He quit acting after his last film appearance in the 1995 film Maidan-E-Jung. His son, Kunal Goswami, tried to revive the patriotic theme, and was directed by Kumar in the 1999 film Jai Hind which was a flop. Kumar was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award that same year.

Manoj Kumar had his own unique style in Hindi Films. To cite an excerpt from one of his greatest ham films Clerk: Ashok Kumar is dying after a massive heart attack. His son Manoj is unable to get a doctor to treat him. Manoj then remembers that his father had been a war veteran who had fought alongside Netaji. So Manoj plays a patriotic song (Kadam kadam badhaye jaa) on a bedside player and Ashok Kumar’s life is saved. He is marching fit. His trademark hand-covering-the-face was very popular and continues to be the butt of jokes of latter day stand-up comedians.
Kumar's acting trademark, a hand covering the face, was very popular, though it has also been the target of satirists. In 2007, the Shah Rukh Khan film Om Shanti Om featured the lead character pretending to be Manoj Kumar so as to sneak into a movie premiere, by holding his hand over his face. Kumar filed a lawsuit, which was settled out of court.^{[citation needed]}

Politics

Like many other Bollywood stars, Kumar decided to enter politics following his retirement. Before the 2004 general election in India, it was announced that he had officially joined the ranks of the Shiv Sena.

Personal life

Kumar is married to Shashi Goswami (originally from Jodhkan, Sirsa district, Haryana). His brother Rajiv Goswami, and son Kunal Goswami, also entered the film industry.

Awards

• 1968 - Filmfare Best Movie Award for Upkaar
• 1968 - Filmfare Best Director Award for Upkaar ^[2]
• 1968 - Filmfare Best Story Award for Upkaar
• 1968 - Filmfare Best Dialogue Award for Upkaar
• 1968 - National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film for Upkaar
• 1968 - BFJA Awards: Best Dialogue for Upkaar [1]
• 1972 - Filmfare Best Actor Award for Beimaan
• 1975 - Filmfare Best Director Award for Roti Kapda Aur Makaan
• 1999 - Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
• 1992 - Padma Shri Award
• 2008 - Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2009 - Phalke Ratna Award by the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy [2]

Special Honour

In recogonition to the devotion of Shri Manoj Kumar towards Shri Saibaba, Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi has named a road near the Shri Saibaba Samadhi Mandir Complex after Shri Manoj Kumar as "Saibhakt Manoj Kumar Goswami Marg".

Selected filmography

Actor

References

boxofficeindia.com

External links

• Manoj Kumar: Bollywood's Own Mr Bharat
• Showbiz Legends: Manoj Kumar
• Manoj Kumar at the Internet Movie Database