Sanjeev Kumar (July 9, 1938 – November 6, 1985) was an Indian actor in
Bollywood movies. He was born to a Gujarati family living in a Mumbai
slum and after a stint in film school, managed to land roles as B-movie
heroes, eventually becoming a star. He gradually gained weight and
found himself doing supporting roles rather than playing the lead. In
1985, when he was only forty-seven years old, he died of a heart
ailment. He had never married.
Sanjeev's first film as a hero was
the 1965 Nishana, described as a B-movie swashbuckler. In 1968, he
played opposite the famous actor Dilip Kumar in Sanghash. 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 for 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 independent filmmaker Satyajit Ray's Shatranj
Ke Khiladi (1977). Perhaps his best-remembered role was his supporting
role as Thakur Baldev Singh in the megahit Sholay (1975).
He 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). He was
a versatile actor and he performed nine different roles simultaneously
in the film "Naya Din Nayi Raat" (1974). The movie was based on the
original Tamil film Navarathri played by Sivaji Ganesan in (1964) and
also emulated by Akkineni Nageswara Rao in the Telugu film Navarathri.
During
the early 1980s Sanjeev Kumar did more supporting roles than playing
the lead. In 1985, when he was only forty-seven years old, he died of a
heart ailment. He had never married. He was involved with actress
Sulakshana Pandit who wanted to marry him, but he rejected her marriage
proposal, because he never got over his heartbreak after actress Hema
Malini rejected his marriage proposal to marry her frequent co-star
Dharmendra.[1] 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 this film was only 75%
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. One of
his other notable releases after his death was K. Asif's much delayed
Love and God which was over 20 years in the making. After director K.
Asif died in 1971, production came to a halt and the film finally
released in incomplete form in 1986, one year after Sanjeev Kumar
himself also died.