Birthday Bumps: Long live Bollywood's patriotic hero, Manoj Kumar

Jul 24, 2012 15:53pm

Actor Manoj Kumar who is lovingly known as 'Mr. Bharat' owing to a long list of patriotic films, celebrates his 75th birthday today!
Manoj Kumar's real name is Harikrishna Giri Goswami and he was born on July 24, 1937 in Abbottabad, a town of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa now located in Pakistan.
He was a huge fan of actor Dilip Kumar, so much so that he decided to name himself after Dilip's character in the film 'Shabnam' (1949).
Manoj Kumar entered Bollywood with 'Fashion' in 1957 with Pradeep Kumar and Mala Sinha as his costars.
He landed his first major lead role in 1961 with 'Kaanch Ki Gudia' opposite Sayeeda Khan. The film also starred Shubha Khote.
But the film that got him recognition was 'Hariyali Aur Raasta' (1962) produced and directed by Vijay Bhatt. The film revolved around a love triangle between Manoj Kumar, Mala Sinha and Shashikala.
In 1965, Manoj Kumar played the role of Shaheed Bhagat Singh in the biography 'Shaheed' and starting then he established himself as the patriotic hero.
Manoj Kumar is still remembered for his role as Bhagat Singh.
Kumar then appeared with Sadhana in Raj Khosla's 'Woh Kaun Thi' (1964), the suspense-thriller where he played the role of Dr Anand.
In 1965, Manoj Kumar reunited with director Vijay Bhatt and Mala Sinha in the hit film 'Himalaya Ki God Mein'.
Manoj starred in the box-office hit 'Gumnaam' (1965) which was based on Agatha Christie's novel 'And Then There Were None'. The film also starred Nanda, Pran, Helen and Mehmood.
Manoj Kumar and Raj Khosla repeated their successful Actor-Director partnership with 'Do Badan' in 1966, which is still remembered for its musical score.
Produced by the Nadiadwalas and directed by Raja Nawathe, 'Patthar Ke Sanam' was an intriguing love triangle between Manoj Kumar, Waheeda Rehman and Mumtaaz with a magical musical score.
After the Indo-Pak war in 1965, then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri suggested to Manoj Kumar to make a film on the popular slogan 'Jai Jawan Jai Kissan'. Manoj Kumar created 'Upkaar' (1967), his directorial debut which got him many awards.
'Purab Aur Paschim' (1970) saw Manoj Kumar and Saira Bano illustrating the differences between western and eastern societies.
Bollywood's patriotic hero is also recognised by his trademark hand covering the face gesture.
Who can forget the chemistry between the unlikely pair Manoj Kumar and Zeenat Aman in 'Roti Kapda Aur Makaan' (1974). The film was written, directed and produced by this veteran actor.
Co-starring with Hema Malini in 'Dus Numbri' (1976), Manoj Kumar's sunglasses made an iconic fashion statement!
He was back with Hema Malini in 'Kranti' 1981 where he played the character 'Bharat' once again.
Manoj Kumar was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1992.