Born on 9 July 1938 in Surat, Gujarat, Harihar Jethalal Jariwala (Sanjeev Kumar) had his acting roots on the stage of ‘IPTA’ and ‘Indian National Theatre’ of Mumbai. He is also fondly known as ‘Haribhai’. At the age of just 22, he played an elderly father in Arthur Miller’s play ‘All My Sons’.
Next, he played the role of a 60-year-old father in the drama ‘Damru’ under the direction of AK Hangal. When he turned to films, on the advice of director Espy Irani, he changed his name from ‘Sanjay Kumar’ to ‘Sanjeev Kumar’ so that his name would not clash with rising actor Sanjay Khan.
After making his debut in cinema with a small role in the 1960 film ‘Hum Hindustani’, Sanjeev Kumar challenged the established heroes of Hindi cinema with his spontaneity and talent.
It is said that a great example of his acting humility was seen on the sets of the film ‘Aandhi’ (1975). In one scene of the film, his mentor and senior artist AK Hangal had to lift Sanjeev Kumar’s coat. Sanjeev Kumar objected that he would not get his senior to do such work. AK Hangal then explained to him that he was only answerable to his character in front of the camera and not to the hierarchy of real life.
Sanjeev Kumar gave Indian cinema an incredible variety of characters, from the silent pain of a deaf-mute character to nine characters depicting nine different rasas in ‘Naya Din Nayi Raat’ (1974). Thakur Baldev Singh of ‘Sholay’ (1975) has been recorded in history.
Sanjeev Kumar won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for ‘Shikar’ in 1968. Got national recognition from ‘Khilona’ (1970). Received National Film Award (Best Actor) for ‘Dastak’ (1971) and ‘Koshish’ (1973). Received Filmfare Best Actor Award for ‘Aandhi’ (1975) and ‘Arjun Pandit’ (1976). His double comic role in ‘Angoor’ (1982) was considered by critics as his best comedy performance.
Sanjeev Kumar’s personal life remained an incomplete and painful story. It is said that during the shooting of the film ‘Sita Aur Geeta’ (1972), a trolley accident took place in Mahabaleshwar during the filming of the song ‘Hawa Ke Saath Saath’, in which he and Hema Malini had a narrow escape.
This incident brought both of them closer. They wanted to get married and their mother Shantsharan had also given consent. Sanjeev Kumar’s traditional demand was that Hema leave work after marriage, which was rejected by Hema’s mother, leading to the breakup of the relationship.
After this, Sulakshana Pandit proposed marriage to her but she refused, deciding not to ruin anyone’s life due to premonition of her death.
Sanjeev Kumar departed from this world on 6 November 1985. To commemorate his legacy, ‘Sanjeev Kumar Auditorium’ was constructed in his hometown Surat at a cost of Rs 108 crore and in 2013, the Government of India issued a postage stamp in his honour.
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