This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007)

Sanjeev Kumar (Hindi: संजीव कुमार; 9 July 1938 – 6 November 1985) was one of the most prominent Indian actors in Bollywood.

Personal life and background[link]

Sanjeev Kumar was born as Haribhai Jariwala in Gujarat to a Gujarati family. His first home was in Surat and family based in Mumbai. A stint in the film school took him to Bollywood, where he eventually became a movie star. He remained a bachelor all his life and died of a massive heart attack in 1985.^[1] He has two younger brothers and a sister.

Career[link]

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.

He was always ready to take unconventional roles that challenged him as an actor. He played Mirza, a chess-obsessed Lucknowi (citizen of Lucknow), in Satyajit Ray's classic Shatranj Ke Khiladi (1977). Perhaps his best-remembered roles were in the blockbuster films Sholay (1975) and Trishul (1978). 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 a serious actor in Hindi cinema.

During the early 1980s, Sanjeev Kumar did more supporting roles than playing the lead. In 1980, he starred in a Punjabi movie Fauji Chacha. .

Personal Life[link]

Sanjeev Kumar never married but was involved with actress Sulakshana Pandit, whom he did not marry, having been turned down by Hema Malini, with whom he was in love at the time. Hema Malini went on to marry her frequent co-star Dharmendra.^[2]

Death[link]

In 1985 at the age of 47 Sanjeev Kumar had a massive heart attack, resulting in his death.^[3] Ironically for an actor who played many elderly roles, he did not live to the age of 50.

Ten of his already completed films were released after his death, with his final film Professor Ki Padosan being released in 1993. At the time of his death only three-fourths of this film was complete, and it was decided to alter the story in the second half of the film to explain the absence of Sanjeev Kumar's character

Awards[link]

National Film Awards[link]

• National Film Award for Best Actor – Won
  1971 Dastak – Hamid
  1973 Koshish – Haricharan
  

Filmfare Awards[link]

Sanjeev Kumar was nominated for 14 Filmfare Awards. ^[4] Thrice as Best Supporting Actor and rest as Best Actor. He won the awards twice as Best Actor and once as Best Supporting Actor, as shown below.

• Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Won
  1976 Aandhi – J.K.
  1977 Arjun Pandit – Arjun Pandit
  

• Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Won
  1969 Shikar – Inspector Rai
  

• Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Nominated
  1971 Khilona – Vijaykamal S. Singh
  1974 Koshish – Hari Charan Mathur
  1976 Sholay – Thakur Baldev Singh
  1977 Mausam – Dr. Amarnath Gill
  1978 Yehi Hai Zindagi – Anand Narayan
  1978 Zindagi – Raghu Shukla
  1979 Devata – Tony/Tarun Kumar Gupta
  1979 Pati Patni Aur Woh – Ranjeet Chhadha
  1983 Angoor – Ashok R. Tilak
  

• Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Nominated
  1979 Trishul – Raj Kumar 'R.K.' Gupta
  1983 Vidhaata – Abu Baba
  

Other Awards[link]

• 1974 - BFJA Best Actor for Koshish^[5][6]

Filmography[link]

Actor[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sanjeev Kumar at the Internet Movie Database