This Bollywood superstar gave blockbusters as producer, charged Amrita Singh for phone calls on set; was Raj Kapoor's...

Written By Riya Sharma | Updated: Sep 19, 2024, 10:03 AM IST

Rajendra Kumar

This Bollywood superstar gave blockbusters even as a producer, had a special connection with Raj Kapoor.

Many Bollywood actors who have given blockbusters, also turned into producers and found success. One such superstar, who impressed audiences with continuous blockbusters, later became a hit producer too. However, he charged Amrita Singh for phone calls that she made on the set of his film. 

The superstar we are talking about appeared in more than 80 films in a career spanning over four decades. He gave his son his first blockbuster which was called Jubilee Kumar. He is none other than Rajendra Kumar. 

Rajendra Kumar never wanted to be a hero and took up work with director H. S. Rawail as an assistant. For nearly five years, he worked with Rawail as an assistant in films like Patanga, Sagai, and Pocket Maar. He began his acting career with small roles in films like Patanga and Jogan and appeared as the main lead in Devendra Goel's Vachan alongside Geeta Bali. The film emerged as a hit and gained him recognition. 

After this, there was no looking back. After Vachan, he gave other successful films like Mother India and then shot to stardom in 1959 with three back-to-back hits. There was a time when the actor gave seven back-to-back blockbusters. With continuous hits from 1960 onwards and many of his films running for a minimum of 25 weeks (silver jubilee), Rajendra Kumar earned the sobriquet of Jubilee Kumar and emerged as a Superstar. 

Later, he turned producer. In 1970, he produced his first film The Train which became a blockbuster. He then launched his son Kumar Gaurav in Bollywood with the film Love Story. The film also starred Vijayta Pandit, Vidya Sinha, Danny Denzongpa, Amjad Khan and Aruna Irani appear in supporting roles. The film emerged as a blockbuster and made his son a star. Some of Rajendra Kumar's hit movies as a producer include Naam, Phool, and others. 

Rajendra Kumar charged Amrita Singh for phone calls 

According to IMDb, for the premiere of his first movie, Vachan, Rajendra Kumar was asked if he wanted any seats for his relatives or friends, and thinking that it would be complimentary, he answered ten. After some days when he went to get his fees from the producer's accountant, he was given a lesser amount, and when he asked why he was told that the money was deducted for the seats he took for his relatives and friends. He took this lesson as a principle of production and when he produced Naam, he deducted some amount from Amrita Singh's fees for the long calls she had made from Hong Kong to India.

Rajendra Kumar and Raj Kapoor's friendship

Rajendra Kumar and Raj Kapoor were best friends. Their friendship was so strong that Rajendra Kumar's son Kumar Gaurav got engaged to Raj Kapoor's daughter Reema Kapoor. However, the engagement was later called off. Kumar Gaurav later married Sanjay Dutt's sister Namrata and Reema married a businessman Manoj Jain.

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