Ashok Kumar

Ashok Kumar (nee Kumud Ganguly) was born on October 13, 1911 in Bhagalpur (now Bihar ) in a family of wealthy Bengal zamindars (landlords) who emigrated from Bengal ^[5] and grew up in Khandwe (now Madhya Pradesh ) ^[9] . Ashok's parents were Kunjilal and Gauri Devi Ganguli ^[10] , the family had three more children: the daughter Sati Devi (born 1916, married the producer Shashadhara Mukherjee , the grandmother of the actress Kajol ) and the sons Anup Kumar (born in 1924) and Kishore Kumar (born in 1929), who also became Bollywood actors. Ashok's father, his grandfathers and uncles were lawyers ^{[11] [12]} and predicted the same fate for him, sending him to study law in Calcutta . However, he himself dreamed of becoming a director ^[12] , therefore he dropped out of school and arrived in Bombay on January 28, 1934 ^[13] .

Career

Ashok Kumar and Devika Rani in the film Achhut Kanya (1936)

In Bombay, he, with the help of his son-in-law Shashadhara, who at that time worked as a sound engineer at Bombay Talkies , got a job at a film studio as a lab technician ^[14] , in order to save money for training film production in Germany ^{[5] [15]} . Ashok did not intend to become an actor, since at that time it was a non-prestigious profession. However, the owner of the studio, director Himanshu Rai , persuaded him to play in the movie “The Boat of Life” ^[16] ( Jeevan Naya , 1936), when the actor who was supposed to play the main role escaped with the director’s wife, actress Devika Rani ^[12] . She soon returned, having quarreled with her lover, and became the first screen partner of Ashok Kumar. Together they starred in five films in a row in 1936-1937. Their film “The Untouchable” ( Achhut Kanya , 1936), where Ashok played a young brahmin who was ready to challenge social norms by marrying a lower-caste girl, had extraordinary success ^[14] . The song “Main ban ke chidiya”, performed in the film by the actors themselves, is still popular ^[17] . However, despite the success of the films, critics have noted the awkwardness in the acting game Kumar ^[14] .

His next screen pair was Leela Chitnis , and their films Kangan (1939), Bandhan (1940) and Jhoola (1941) became hits and made him a star ^[18] . His acting skills by this time significantly improved ^[14] . Noteworthy is also the role played by him as a radical journalist in the film Naya Sansar (1941) based on the script by Abbas .

But he performed his most famous role in the film “Fate” ( Kismet , 1943), playing continuously smoking pickpocket with a good soul. Before that, there was no precedent in Indian cinema, when the hero of the film could not be definitely called good or bad ^[19] . In addition, Ashok Kumar - the first in Bollywood played a dual role in the film ^[20] . “Destiny” also became the first Indian film certified as a “blockbuster for all times” ^{[21] [22]} . He walked to Bombay cinemas for a year, and at the Calcutta Roxy cinema for 44 months ^{[14] [15]} and collected at the box office a record 10 million rupees ^{[22] [23]} .

After leaving Bombay Talkies after the death of Himanshu Raya, in 1943, Ashok founded Filmistan Studios with R. B. Chunill, Shashadhar and Gyama Mukherjee ^[24] and starred in her first two films Chal Chal Re Navjavan and Eight Days . When Devika Rani decided to leave the cinema a few years later, and Bombay Talkies was put up for sale, Ashok Kumar bought it out and became a producer in the films Ziddi (1948), Mansion ( Mahal , 1949) and Mashal (1950) ^[5] . Unfortunately, due to monetary problems the studio was closed in 1952. After that, he created his own Ashok Kumar Productions, which released three of his films Raagini (1958), Kalpana (1960) and Meri Soorat Teri Aankhen (1963).

In the 1950s, when Leela Chitnis switched to the role of mothers, Kumar began working with younger actresses: Nalini Jivant (10 films) and Mina Kumari (14 films). With Nalini, he began an affair, which, however, had no effect on his marriage ^[12] . Among his films of that time are Sangram (1950), which was removed from the roll because of the scene of the hero's murder by his own father ^[25] , and Ek-Hi-Raasta (1958), in which his hero marries a widow. At the same time, Ashok Kumar worked with the famous director Bimal Roy , starring in his films “Married” (1953), based on the novel of the Bengali writer Sharath Chandra Chatterjee , and the "Prisoner" (1963).

In 1958, he played in the film "The One Who Drives the Machine" with his brothers Anup and Kishore. The film Rakhi (1962), in which they, together with Vahida Rehman, played a brother and sister, brought him the first FilmSet Award for Best Actor . The following year, he was nominated for the film " Fallacy " in which he played the role of a husband, whose wife is torn between the duty to the family and the love of another man. The second and last award in this category he received for the film "Blessing" 1968

In the 1960s, Ashok Kumar switched to character roles, often playing fathers. The role of Gopal in the film Afsana (1966) earned him a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor . Nominations for this award were also marked by roles in the films Mehrban (1967), “Victoria 203” (1972) and "The Little Thing" (1975). One of his latest films was The Return of the Thieves of Values ​​(1996), the sequel to The Thief of Values ​​(1967), in which he played the role of a villain. He also played in the Hum Log series, which was shown on the Doordarshan channel in 1984–85.

Ashok Kumar acted in films for 63 years, playing more than 200 films. He left the cinema in 1997, when his health deteriorated.

Personal Life

Ashok Kumar married on April 20, 1936 at the behest of his parents ^[12] . His wife's name was Shobha, and she was ten years younger than him. The couple had four children: the son of Arup (starred in the same film) and the daughter of Bharti Jeffrey, Rupa Varma (married to actor Deven Varma ) and Priti Ganguly ^[13] . Among their grandchildren - actress Anuradha Patel ^[26] . Shobha passed away a few days before the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage ^[12] .

He outlived both of his younger brothers. Kishore Kumar died on the day of his 76th birthday, and since then Ashok no longer celebrated his birthday ^[24] . The actor himself died at 14:30 on December 10, 2001 in his home in Chembure (Mumbai) from heart failure ^{[9] [18]} .

During his film career, Ashok Kumar has appeared in more than 250 films.

• 1959 - Sangit Natak Academy Award ^{[8] [27]}
• 1962 - India's fourth highest civilian award Padma Sri ^[28]
• 1963 - Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Rakhi ^{[29] [30]}
• 1964 - Prize of the Bengal Association of Film Journalists for the best male role in the Hindi film - “Fallacy” ^[31]
• 1967 - Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor - Afsana ^[30]
• 1970 - Prize of the Bengal Association of Film Journalists for the best male role in the Hindi film - "Blessing" ^[32]
• 1970 - Filmfare Award for Best Actor - “Blessing” ^[33]
• 1970 - National Film Awards (India) for the best male role - "Blessing" ^[34]
• 1995 - Star Screen Award for Lifetime Achievement ^[35]
• 1996 - Filmfare Award for Lifetime Achievement ^{[8] [30] [36]}
• 1989 - Dadasaheb Falke Prize ^[37]
• 1999 - India's third highest civilian award Padma Bhushan ^[38]
• 2001 - Awadh Samman Award from the Government of Uttar Pradesh ^[39]

• Dinesh Raheja. Ashok Kumar: The jewel in Bollywood's crown (English) . Rediff.com (April 29, 2002).