Raaj Kumar
| Raaj Kumar | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Kulbhushan Pandit 8 October 1926 Loralai, British India now Loralai Balochistan, Pakistan |
| Died | 3 July 1996 (aged 69) Mumbai, India |
| Cause of death | Throat cancer |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse(s) | Gayatri Raajkumar |
| Children | Puru Raajkumar, Vastavikta Pandit, Panini Raajkumar |
Raaj Kumar (8 October 1926 – 3 July 1996), born Kulbhushan Pandit, was a Hindi film actor. He worked as sub-inspector of Mumbai Police in the late 1940s before he turned to acting with the 1952 film Rangeeli. He appeared in the Oscar-nominated 1957 film Mother India and went on to star in over 70 Hindi films in a career that spanned over four decades.
Raaj Kumar was born in Loralai, Balochistan, British India in a Kashmiri Pandit family. In the late 1940s he moved to Mumbai, India where he became Sub-inspector of the Mumbai Police. He married Jennifer, an Anglo-Indian, whom he met on a flight where she was the airhostess. She later changed her name to Gayatri per Hindu customs. They had three children, sons Puru Raajkumar (a Bollywood actor), Panini Raajkumar and daughter Vastavikta Pandit, who made her screen debut in 2006 film Eight: The Power of Shani.
Raaj Kumar made his acting debut in the 1952 film Rangili and appeared in films like Aabshar, Ghamand and Lakhon Mein Ek, but it was as Prince Naushazad in Sohrab Modi’s Nausherwan-E-Adil (1957) that he became famous. In 1957, he achieved prominence with his brief role as the husband of Nargis in Mother India. He followed this with the unglamorous role of a mill worker in Paigham (1959) alongside Dilip Kumar. He was cast with Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor and Balraj Sahni in Yash Chopra’s family drama Waqt. In Sridhar’s Dil Ek Mandir, Raaj Kumar played the role of a cancer patient for which he won the Filmfare Award in the Best supporting actor category for movies Dil Ek Mandir and Waqt. He became known for his distinct style of dialogue delivery.
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