Sanjeev Kumar- An Actor Par Excellence

This is a random tribute to a great actor I grew up watching. In roles that needed him to do a variety of things. Scream at Gabbar Singh with rage in Sholay (his voice was one of the highlights), act mentally ill and dependent on his caretaker in Khilona, act playful on roller-skates in Seeta aur Geeta (hawa ke saath saath, ghata ke sung sung...maybe the only song on roller skates), act coy in Manchali, but also mischievous (O manchali, kahan chali ..was one of my favourites for its energy).

His nawab who says Shabba Khair (good night in Urdu) in a particular style, in Manoranjan, a comedy based on Irma La Douce, his nine roles in Naya Din Nayi Raat, his tortured self in Trishul, his deaf and dumb act in Koshish, his song in half-pants in Devata (chal baithe church ke peeche), his boss wooing multiple scretaries in office with the same sad story in Pati, Patni aur Woh, were some more memorable roles. I think he also was the bride-killing monster in Jaani Dushman.

And his double role in Angoor, along with Deven Varma in a double role, was one of his best.

He could bring romantic roles to life just as easily as tense ones with gravitas, and his acting was very natural in any situation he played out. In real life, he was Haribhai Jariwala, from Gujarat. One of the truly great actors we have had in Hindi movies.

1 comment:

Harimohan said...

Probably the most versatile actor I have seen in Hindi cinema. Admired that way he brought a quiet dignity to the persona he played - something that he probably carried in real life. First saw him in Manchali and some scenes remain in my mind till date. I still feel that despite the great talent that Hindi cinema had in his era, he still had more to offer that was not exploited. Certainly in my top 5 actors list.

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