By Jagmohan Singh Barhok
On His 98th Birth Anniversary
आखिरी पल हैं आखिरी आँहें तुझे ढूँढ रही हैं
डूबती सांसें बुझती निगाहें तुझे ढूँढ रही हैं
सामने आजा एक बार
आजा, मैं तो मिटा हूँ तेरी चाह में
तुझको पुकारे मेरा प्यार
Raj Kumar, carved a niche for himself in Mehboob Khan’s “Mother India”, an Oscar-nominated movie featuring Nargis, Sunil Dutt and Rajendra Kumar in the cast. A sub-inspector in the Mumbai police in late 40s, the actor went on to work in Paigaam, Ujala, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai, Dil Ek Mandir, Waqt, Humraaz, Neelkamal, Maryada and Heer- Ranjha which eventually shaped his film career.
In “Paigaam” he outclassed Dilip Kumar in a particular scene; both never worked again for years until Subhash Ghai ventured to bring them together in “Saudagar”.The remarkable feature of his acting was his distinct style of dialogue delivery which made the audiences clap intermittently in his films. Sridhar’s “Dil Ek Mandir” won him a Filmfare Award in the Best supporting role category. Kumar appeared in few detective films towards the end of his career ‘Marte Dam Tak’, ‘Saazish’ , ‘Muqaddar Ka Faisla’, ‘Desh Ke Dushman’, ‘Police Public’ to name few.
Although the actor was not gifted with a romantic disposition, he was cast in musical hits like ‘Neel Kamal’, ‘Pakeezah ‘& ‘Heer Ranjha’. Played his roles with aplomb.’Nausherwan-e-Adil'(1957 )also featuring Sohrab Modi, Mala Sinha, Naseem Banu & Shammi was one of his earlier films.
The actor well versed in various sinews of film acting, was often seen as a potential threat to fellow actors. Known for his arrogance and belief that he was the superlative. His funeral was attended by a very few, as I had earlier predicted.
