Revision as of 19:39, 29 April 2025

Manoj Kumar

Zafri Mudasser Nofil , A tribute to Manoj ‘Bharat’ Kumar "Daily Excelsior" 27/3/2016

Manoj 'Bharat' Kumar

The Dada Saheb Phalke award for Manoj Kumar is a tribute to the veteran actor-director who is best known for his films with patriotic themes and called by fans as “Bharat Kumar”. “Hariyali Aur Raasta”, “Woh Kaun Thi”, “Himalaya Ki God Mein”, “Do Badan”, “Upkaar”, “Patthar Ke Sanam”, “Neel Kamal”, “Purab Aur Paschim”, “Roti Kapda Aur Makaan” and “Kranti” are some of his memorable films.

The 78-year-old was selected for the 47th Phalke Award for 2015 for his outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema. A five-member jury of Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Salim Khan, Nitin Mukesh and Anup Jalota unanimously recommended Kumar for the prestigious award, named after father of Indian cinema Dhundiraj Govind Phalke aka Dadasaheb Phalke and introduced by the government in 1969.

The award consists of a Swarn Kamal (Golden Lotus), a cash prize of Rs. 10 lakh and a shawl.

The award is given on the basis of recommendations of a committee of eminent personalities set up by the government for this purpose.

The actor was taking a nap when he got calls from Ashok Pandit and Madhur Bhandarkar who gave him the news. He could not believe his ears and thanked the government for rewarding his work “at last”.

“It is certainly one of the most prestigious awards we have. I am extremely satisfied with Zafri Mudasser Nofil is Principal News Coordinator with PTI whatever I have achieved in my life, and my family is extremely happy with this news,” he said. He also remembered his late parents saying without their noble teaching and guidance, he would have never reached the stage he is now. He also named V Shantaram, Raj Kapoor and Raj Khosla as his inspiration.

Born as Harikrishna Giri Goswami in July 1937 in Abbottabad in pre-Independent India, he was 10 when he shifted to Delhi. After graduating from Hindu College, University of Delhi, he decided to enter the film industry. He is believed to have adopted the name Manoj Kumar inspired by Dillip Kumar’s role of Manoj in “Shabnam”.

After making his debut in the film “Fashion” in 1957, Kumar got his first leading role in “Kaanch Ki Gudia” in 1960. His film “Do Badan” is remembered for many reasons including his performance, Raj Khosla’s direction, the outstanding musical score by Ravi and immortal songs by lyricist Shakeel Badayuni.

In the 1960s he also acted in romantic films like “Honeymoon”, “Apna Banake Dekho”, “Naqli Nawab”, “Paththar Ke Sanam”, “Sajan”, “Sawan Ki Ghata” and social films like “Shaadi”, “Grihasti”, “Apne Huwe Paraye”, “Pehchaan” and “Aadmi”.

His image as the patriotic hero started with the 1965 film “Shaheed”, based on the life of Bhagat Singh. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri asked him to make a film based on the popular slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kissan’. The result was Kumar’s magnum opus and his directorial debut “Upkaar”. “Roti Kapda Aur Makaan” (1974) was a social commentary featuring an all-star cast including Zeenat Aman, Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan.

He shared great on-screen chemistry with actresses like Mala Sinha, Sadhana and Hema Malini. Kumar’s career started to decline after “Kranti”. He quit acting after his appearance in the 1995 film “Maidan-E-Jung” but returned as a director to launch son, Kunal Goswami, in the 1999 film “Jai Hind” which had a patriotic theme. The film, however, did not do well at the box office.

Kumar won a National Film Award for “Upkaar” and was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1992.

Earlier this month, he had said that he is currently working on his next directorial venture which would be based on Aryabhata, the famous mathematician from the classical age.

“I’m going to return as a director soon. I am working on a film on Aryabhata. It is an interesting story to tell viewers about his contribution. We have been working on the film for a very long time. Since three years we are working on script, as it is a difficult subject to deal with,” he had said.

Kumar was also in the news a few years ago when he had objected to a spoof on him in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer “Om Shanti Om”.

In 2007, a Mumbai court ruled that the scene be deleted before the television premiere of the film that year. Sony Entertainment Television went ahead with the screening after deleting the offending scene.

The next year, a court asked the makers of the film to remove all the scenes that were found distasteful by the actor from all the prints as well as broadcast material forever.

Then in 2013, Kumar filed a lawsuit against Shah Rukh and producers Eros International seeking damages after “Om Shanti Om” was released in Japan with the offending scenes intact.

“The film was released in Japan without deleting those scenes. I had forgiven them twice but not this time. They have disrespected me. They also face contempt of court as the court had asked them to forever and from all prints and broadcast material, delete those scenes,” Kumar had said then.

Shah Rukh, however, blamed the film’s distributors for the legal row.

“I don’t know much about it as I have just come back. Very honestly, I had personally apologised to him then. My respect goes to all actors who are older and younger to me. Distributors have made a genuine mistake… old print was sent (to Japan).

“He (Kumar) has done a legal thing. He is welcome to do that. I don’t take it personal,” he had said.

A brief biography

Avijit Ghosh, April 5, 2025: The Times of India

Manoj Kumar’s personal life was remarkably free from the controversies that gossip mags hungrily fed on in the 1970s and 1980s.


Born in 1937 in Abbottabad, a town in north Pakistan, Kumar lost his uncle to Partition violence. At 10, he arrived in the capital, growing up in the refugee colonies of Kingsway Camp and Hudson Line in Delhi. His infant brother, Kuku, too died in the same period. “Bahut rota hua bachpan tha (I had a very sad childhood),” he said in Guftagoo, a Rajya Sabha TV show.


Recalling a moment in Delhi’s Tis Hazari hospital during the Partition riots, he said, “When the sirens blared, the doctors and nurses would take shelter in the basement. My mother screamed. Kuku had died. I was angry. I took a lathi, beat up doctors and nurses. Later we immersed him in the Yamuna. As the body sank, I felt I was sinking. My father made me promise that night I will never fight again.” The boy kept his word. His father was a poet who was given the pen name “khizr” (the knowledgeable) by eminent poet Allama Iqbal, he said. 


Kumar got interested in movies after watching Dilip Kumar in ‘Jugnu’ (1947). He even took his celluloid name, Manoj Kumar, after the character played by Dilip Kumar in ‘Shabnam’ (1949), an actor who was to influence his style. His real name was Harikrishan Goswami.


A graduate from Delhi’s Hindu College, Kumar arrived in Bombay in 1956. In TV shows, he recounted facing abuse, sleeping on railway platforms and getting beaten by cops before making his debut in a small role in director and relative Lekhraj Bhakri’s ‘Fashion’ (1957). He made his leading man debut in HS Rawail’s ‘Kaanch Ki Gudiya’ (1961) and survived a series of flops before striking gold in Vijay Bhatt’s social drama, ‘Hariyali aur Raasta’ (1962).


Tall, fair and handsome, Kumar became a reliable box-office brand, delivering hits such as ‘Himalaya Ki God Mein’ (1965), ‘Sawan Ki Ghata’ (1966) and ‘Neel Kamal’ (1968), a reincarnation yarn. The engagement with nationalism started with ‘Shaheed’ (1965), where he played revolutionary Bhagat Singh. The film received National Award for Best Featu re film in Hindi. Made at the request of then PM Shastri, his directorial debut ‘Upkar’ (1967), partly shot in a village on the outskirts of Delhi, became a super hit. No song encapsulates rural India’s idealised image better than lyricist Gulshan Bawra’s ‘Mere desh ki dharti…’


As Kumar’s career progressed, he developed a drawl for dialogue delivery; a signature hand move- ment across the face became more pronounced. Critics scoffed at the mannerisms but fans didn’t mind. He also graduated to writing, editing, producing and directing his movies. In the 1980s, he even wrote songs, making him an accomplished all-round talent.


Manoj Kumar’s multi-starrer historical ‘Kranti’ (1981) was his biggest box-office hit. But thereaf- ter the winners dried up. His final appearance as a leading man was in the vastly outdated ‘Clerk’ (1989) which showcased Pakistani stars, the Rampur-born Mohammad Ali and Zeba Ali.


Kumar was married to Shashi, whose mother Savita Behen was a Congress politician of Delhi, who was nominated to Rajya Sabha, recalls Vivek Shukla, a chronicler of the capital. Initially a Congress supporter, Kumar joined the BJP in 2004.
His death on Friday was mourned widely. “He was an icon of Indian cinema, who was particularly remembered for his patriotic zeal, which was also reflected in his films. Manoj-ji’s works ignited a spirit of national pride and will continue to inspire generations,” posted Prime Minister Modi on X.

6 SHORT TAKES

DHARAM’S CHUM | During their days of struggle, Manoj Kumar and Dharmendra were close friends. Kumar played a huge role in convincing Dharmendra to stay put when the latter had nearly given up the fight and was on his way to Delhi where he had landed a job, writes Rajiv Vijaykar in his biography of Dharmendra 


LAUNCHING BROTHER | In the 1980s, star sons were launched with abandon. Kumar launched his brother Rajeev Goswami in Painter Babu (1983). He was paired opposite Meenakshi Sheshadri. But the film flopped


SONS DON’T RISE | Manoj Kumar’s son, Kunal Goswami, acted in films such as Kranti (child artiste), ‘Ghungroo’ (1983), ‘Kalakaar’ (1983) and ‘Do Gulaab’ (1983), but could not make much headway. His other son, Vishal Goswami, was playback singer for his brother in ‘Ricky’ (1986) and later released a ghazal album


MANOJ, THE LYRICIST | Kumar wrote at least one song in most movies he made in the 1980s. The title song of the megahit, ‘Kranti’, was penned by him

‘OM SHANTI OM’ CONTROVERSY | In 2007, Manoj Kumar sued Shah Rukh Khan, his wife Gauri and director Farah Khan for his allegedly defamatory portrayal in the film, ‘Om Shanti Om’. The amount was Re 1. Yash Chopra played peacemaker to bring a resolution 


CENSOR TROUBLES | Manoj Kumar’s film, Kalyug aur Ramayan (1987) landed in censor trouble. It was earlier called, Kalyug Ki Ramayan, and had to be renamed to allegedly avoid hurting religious sensibilities

MANOJ KUMAR

 Hariyali Aur Rasta (1962)  Woh Kaun Thi (1964)  Gumnaam (1965)  Shaheed (1965)  Do Badan (1966)  Upkar (1967)  Neel Kamal (1968)  Purab Aur Paschim (1970)  Shor (1972)  Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (1974)  Sanyasi (1975)  Dus Numbri (1976)  Kranti (1981)

Like Raj Kapoor, Kumar had an ear for popular music

Some actors, who later became filmmakers, displayed a keen ear for good music and it reflected in the movies they acted in and made. Raj Kapoor was one such filmmaker. So was Manoj Kumar. Most films Kumar made in the 1960s and 1970s were not only box-office biggies but embellished with platinum music albums. Songs were integral to their narrative. Kumar, like Kapoor, had a distinctive style of picturisation as evident in Ek pyaar ka nagma hai (film: Shor) and Main na bhoolonga (film: Roti Kapada Aur Makaan).


Kumar’s Roti Kapada Aur Makaan was a rare film which ended up capturing the top two spots in the annual show of Binaca Geetmala, the hit radio countdown parade, with Mehangai maar gayee (No 1) and Hai hai yeh majboori (No 2). Even the Nitin Mukesh-Lata duet, Zindagi ki na toote ladi (film: Kranti) was a chart-topper. Laxmikant-Pyarelal were the music directors of these films.


Composer duo Kalyanji-Anandji provided the score for some of his early hits such as Himalay Ki God Mein, and the initial films produced and directed by him such as Upkar and Poorab aur Pacchim. Upkar’s Mere desh ki dharti remains mandatory in schools for special days. Santosh Anand, a popular lyricist of the 1970s and 1980s, debuted in ‘Purab Aur Pacchim’ (1970). The film’s opening credit said, ‘Introducing Santosh Anand’, an honour generally reserved for heroes and heroines.
Anand, a librarian then, had become a popular poet in Delhi. The actor-director met him at the city’s Oberoi Hotel and listened to his poems. The long soiree, said Anand, was the actor’s way of establishing a poetic bond. A few days later, Kumar sent him an air ticket for Bombay. “I wrote about 50 stanzas for my first song, ‘Purva suhani aayee re’. He chose the parts he needed,” Anand told TOI in 2018.


Later Anand also penned the chartbusting number, ‘Ek pyaar ka nagma hai (film: Shor),’ for Kumar. — Avijit Ghosh