Born on July 20, 1927, in the city of Sialkot in the present-day Pakistan, Rajendra Kumar is one of the biggest superstars in the history of Indian cinema as he acted in 80 films over four decades and gave many blockbusters in his career. But it is an interesting story that Kumar never wanted to become an actor.
Rajendra Kumar's father had a successful textile business in Karachi and after the Partition of India, the family left their home and came to India. Once in India, Rajendra Kumar tried his luck in the Hindi film industry and came to Bombay, now Mumbai. At that time, he had only Rs 50 in his pocket, which he had gathered after selling his father's precious watch. He never wanted to become an actor and got the job of an assistant director with HS Rawail in 1948.
While working with the filmmaker, he reluctantly appeared in brief roles in Patanga and Jogan. Producer Devendra Goel got so impressed by seeing Kumar's performance in just one scene in Jogan that he decided to cast him as the leading actor in Vachan. The 1955 release became a big hit and the industry got its newest star. Rajendra Kumar never looked back then as his next major film was Mother India, which became India's biggest hit at that time. This was his first blockbuster.
In the 1960s, the actor starred in multiple blockbusters such as Goonj Uthi Shehnai, Sangam, Gharana, Arzoo, Mere Mehoob, Dil Ek Mandir, Suraj, and Ayee Milan Ki Bela. Some of these hits ran in theatres for over 25 weeks and were dubbed the silver jubilee films. Rajendra Kumar thus earned his famous nickname Jubilee Kumar.
From mid-1970s, he saw a decline in his career. In 1981, he introduced his son Kumar Gaurav in Bollywood with the romantic drama Love Story. The film became a blockbuster and Kumar Gaurav was dubbed the next superstar, but his next ten films bombed at the box office and he could never attain the success his father had seen in the industry. On July 12, 1999, eight days ahead of his 72nd birthday, Rajendra Kumar died due to cardiac arrest in his sleep.
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