Raaj Kumar Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Raaj Kumar Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Raaj Kumar

• Did Raaj Kumar smoke?: Yes [17]
  

• Did Raaj Kumar drink alcohol?: Yes [18]

• Raaj Kumar was an Indian actor who acted in more than 70 films in a career that lasted for more than forty years; 42 years to be exact (1952-1995). He is best remembered for his flamboyant looks and quintessential dialogue delivery.

• In his acting career spanning more than four decades, he gave many memorable roles, such as ‘Shamu’ in Mother India (1957), ‘Ram’ in Dil Ek Mandir (1963), ‘Raja’ in Waqt (1965), ‘Chitrasen’ in Neel Kamal (1968), ‘Salim’ in Pakeezah (1972), ‘Rajeshwar Singh’ in Saudagar (1991), and ‘Brigadier Suryadev Singh’ in Tirangaa (1993).
  

  Raaj Kumar in different roles

• He was born into a middle-class Kashmiri Brahmin family in Loralai, now in Pakistan.

• After India’s partition, he moved to Bombay where he started working as a police officer (a Sub-inspector) in the late forties and was attached to the Mahim Police Station. However, after his alleged involvement in a murder case, he had to quit the police service.

• After leaving the police service, he switched to acting and also changed his name from Kulbushan Pandit to Raaj Kumar in 1950. [19]

• Although the 1952 Hindi film Rangeeli is considered to be his debut film, he made his screen debut with the 1950 Hindi film Neeli. [20]

• Before Rangeeli and Neeli, he had auditioned for the Hindi film Daulat in 1949 but got rejected. [21]

• During the ’60s, he met an Anglo-Indian air hostess named Jennifer on a flight and fell in love with her. Their romance blossomed, and soon, they got married to each other. After marriage, Jennifer changed her name to Gayatri.

• Apart from being a Golfer, he was also a horse rider, a trait which was similar to his wife Jennifer’s, and they both used to do a lot of horse riding in Gulmarg. [22]

• Raaj Kumar was first noticed in Sohrab Modi’s costume action drama film Nausherwan-E-Adil in 1957 in which he played the role of Prince Naushazad. However, it was Mother India, which was released in the same year, that established him in the film industry. The film went on to become India’s official entry to the Oscars. Although he played a brief role as the husband of Nargis in Mother India, his posied acting skills caught the eyes of cine critics.
  

  Raaj Kumar and Nargis in Mother India

• The 1959 Hindi film Paigham earned him his first Filmfare nomination in the category of Best Supporting Actor. Thereafter, he got four more Filmfare nominations in the same category – for Dil Ek Mandir (1963), Waqt (1965), Kaajal (1965), and Neel Kamal (1968). In Paigham, he played the role of a Mill worker alongside Dilip Kumar.
  

• He reunited with Dilip Kumar in the 1991 Bollywood film Saudagar, directed by Subhash Ghai. The film went on to become a classic story about friendship. Here’s a famous dialogue of Raaj Kumar from Saudagar –जानी…हम तुम्हें मारेंगे और जरूर मारेंगे, पर बंदूक भी हमारी होगी और गोली भी हमारी होगी और वह वक्त भी हमारा होगा।”
• His dialogues from the film Waqt are still remembered among the film fraternity. Here’s the most popular dialogue of Raaj Kumar from the film –चिनॉय सेठ, जिनके घर शीशे के बने होते हैं वो दूसरों पर पत्थर नहीं फेंकते।
• Raaj Kumar became a household name after the 1972 Hindi film Pakeezah. The film rocketed Kumar to fame, and for years to come, many young ones tried to imitate his style in wooing their loved ones. In the film, Raaj Kumar played the role of an aristocrat who fell in love with a nautch girl just by seeing her feet in a railway compartment. Here’s the most famous romantic line of Raaj Kumar from Pakeezah –आपके पांव देखे, बहुत हसीन हैं, इन्हें जमीन पर मत उतारिएगा मैले हो जाएंगे।”
  

  Amrohi directing Raaj Kumar and Meena Kumari in Pakeezah

• Interestingly, the lady whose feet Raaj Kumar had addressed in Pakeezah was not the lead heroine of the film Meena Kumari but her body double. [23]

• The 1993 Bollywood film Tirangaa is considered the last hit film of Raaj Kumar. In the film, he played the role of ‘Brigadier Suryadev Singh’ whose dialogues are still popular among his fans. Here’s a popular dialogue of Raaj Kumar from Tirangaa –हम आंखो से सुरमा नहीं चुराते। हम आंखें ही चुरा लेते हैं।”

• Unlike other Bollywood actors who often preferred doing two to three films simultaneously, Raaj Kumar was very selective, and he rarely did more than one film at a time. He was so professional and confident in choosing films that when a journalist, at the peak of his career, asked him to name some of his favourite roles, he replied,I Have not yet done a role I’ve disliked. I select only what I like.” [24]

• Just like the confidence in choosing a film, he had similar confidence in his personal life; as he often used to quote –I believe in things I do, I do things I believe in.”

• Even after being a star, he maintained a recluse and mysterious life. Once when a journalist asked him whether he ever felt lonely, he replied,I can find companionship in a crowd or in solitude. No, I never feel lonely but there are moments when I want to be alone.”

• In his youth, he permanently lost his hairs due to some unknown disease. Since then, he wore wigs. [25]

• The sunset hour was his favourite time of the day, and he often wanted to be photographed late in the evenings.

• He was considered one of the first actors in Bombay who had started driving a Jeep.

• He was passionate about dogs and had many pets at his Juhu house; his favourite one was Toby. [26]

• Raaj Kumar was a chain smoker and a heavy drinker; he was often spotted with his signature pipe and scotch whiskey. [27]
  

• He was very concerned for his image and never let the media to find flaws in his work ethics. Describing his punctuality and a disciplined approach on the sets, filmmaker Mehul Kumar who had worked with Raaj Kumar in the films like Tiranga (1993), Marte Dum Tak (1987), and Jung Baaz (1989), once said that on the first day of Marte Dam Tak’s shoot, Raaj Kumar arrived at Madh Island in a cab, and when asked the reason that why had he used a cab instead of his personal car, Raaj Kumar replied,My car broke down near my Juhu bungalow. I thought if I didn’t turn up on the first day, the press would dub me a truant.” [28]

• Raj Kumar was often termed as an introvert and less sociable, a thing that he once clarified by saying –I pick my associates, otherwise, socialisation would be hypocrisy.” [29]

• Reportedly, even after being an affluent person who had every luxury to enjoy, he drove the same Plymouth car for more than forty years. He also retained the same tailor, hairdresser, and driver during the same period. [30]

• He was an explicit and outspoken person, once he questioned over the portrayal of death scenes in the films and pointed the film industry for turning death into a Tamasha and had insisted that his own exit would be a private, family affair. He said,Jab jaonga pata bhi nahin chalega (When the time really comes, you won’t know).” [31]