Sanjeev Kumar or Harihar Jariwala was born on july 9, 1938 in surat. He was one of the most prominent actors in bollywood . He was the man behind the 'nau avtaars', the man who made people roll with laughter. He suited the roles every bit. Anybody else could have hardly done justice to the roles. The make-up, the costume, everything was so true to the characters, it was a marvel to have him perform.
Sanjeev Kumar was born in Surat, Gujarat to a Gujarati family living in Mumbai. A stint in film school took him to Bollywood, where he eventually became a star. He remained a bachelor all his life. He loved Actress Hema Malini and even put a marriage proposal to her but she refused. Bollywood was not a bed of roses, and for Haribhai, it meant persistent struggle to get through.
He died in 1985. He made actress Jaya Bhaduri his sister in real life and after that didn't pair opposite to her in movies.
Career: Sanjeev Kumar made his debut in the film Hum Hindustani in 1960. Sanjeev's first film as a hero was the 1965 Nishan. In 1968, he played opposite the famous actor Dilip Kumar in Sangharsh. In 1970, Khilona made him a star. He went on to star in the hits Seeta Aur Geeta (1972) and Manchali (1973).
He started working with the well-known director Gulzar in the early 1970s. He did nine films with Gulzar, including Aandhi (1975), Mausam (1975), Angoor (1981) and Namkeen (1982). Many of his fans believe that these are some of the best films that he did.
In Naya Din Nayi Raat (1974) Sanjeev Kumar reprised the nine-role epic performance by Sivaji Ganesan in Navarathiri (1964), which was also previously reprised by Akkineni Nageswara Rao in Navarathri (Telugu; 1966). This film has enhanced his status and reputation as an actor in Hindi cinema.
Sanjeev Kumar was one of those few actor-stars to whom the role meant more than anything in the world. He was willing to play any character of any age in a film, even if it wasn't the lead role, provided the role challenged his acting abilities, which of course were considerable.
Sanjeev Kumar was one actor who improved his performance tremendously at the dubbing stage with his marvellous voice control. He carries an aura, an unbeatable charisma. Sanjeev Kumar was not handsome compared to other actors of his time. He played almost all the possible characters with ease with effortless struggle.
'KOSHISH' (1972) had him enacting a deaf-mute husband to a deaf-mute Jaya Bhaduri. It is amazing to watch him emote having internalised his feelings without the help of dialogue and his performance is screen acting at its very best. Jaya and Sanjeev Kumar made an excellent pair on screen presenting most of the relationships and few of their greatest hits included 'ANAMIKA', 'PARICHAY', 'SHOLAY' and 'SILSILA'. He once commented that he had been Jaya's father, husband, father-in-law, etc. and he regretted not having played her son even once.Among his later lot of films the only two that really stand out are VIDHAATA (1982), which again brought him face to face with Dilip Kumar; and HERO(1983), both directed by Subhash Ghai. In 1977 Sanjeev Kumar had an opportunity to work with the great Satyajit Ray when he made his first film outside Bengal, SHATRANJ KE KHILADI (1977). The film features delightful performances by Saeed Jaffrrey and Sanjeev Kumar as Mir and Mirza respectively.
Sanjeev's on screen life was full of jubilant surprises but off-screen, he had drenched himself in alcohol. A bachelor, Sanjeev Kumar died of an acute heart ailment in 1985. It is ironic that someone who had played so many elderly roles, himself didn't even live to be fifty.
But the genius remains embedded in the hearts of the audiences forever.
