Raaj Kumar

Following the independence of India and its partition, Raaj Kumar moved to Bombay and joined the Bombay Police, where he served as a sub-inspector attached to the Mahim police station. Although films were never a part of his childhood, he became fascinated with the world of films. An opportunity came when he was at New Empire cinema watching a film, when producer-director K.B. Lall 'spotted' him. Thereafter, Veteran cinematographer Fali Mistry took his first screen test though neither Lall nor Mistry were part of his first film.

Raaj Kumar made his official acting debut in 1952 with Rangeeli (Rangili). Starring Rehana, Yakub and Leela Mishra, the film was directed by Najm Naqvi. A moderate success, the film launched Kumar's career. This was followed by Anmol Saharaa, directed by Amar Dutt. In the following year, he acted in Hasrat Lucknavi's film Aabshar, starring Nimmi, Lalita Pawar, and Kuldip Kaur. The film failed at the box office.

Although Raaj Kumar continued to act mainly in minor roles, such as in Shanti Kumar's Krishna Sudama (1957), none of the films established him as being a star. This period of relative anonymity was broken by his role in Mehboob Khan's Mother India, the most iconic film of Hindi cinema. Kumar played Nargis' husband in the film which starred Rajendra Kumar and Sunil Dutt in the leading roles. Although Kumar's role was brief, it was impactful, and he left a lasting impression on the audience. The film's stupendous success catapulted its stars to fame and critical acclaim.

In the same year, Raaj Kumar acted in Sohrab Modi's costume drama Nausherwan-E-Adil (also known as Farz aur Mohabbat). Starring alongside Sohrab Modi, Mala Sinha and Naseem Banu, Raaj Kumar played the role of Shehzada Naushazad or Joseph. Featuring ornate sets, powerful dialogues, and a formidable cast, the film was written by Shams Lucknowi and explored the notions of justice and moral responsibility. The song picturisations were particularly notable.

Although Raaj Kumar continued to get roles in films, stardom remained elusive. In 1959, however, fate took a turn with Ramanand Sagar's Paigham, starring him alongside Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala. This was the first time that Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar worked together on a film and the former was cast as the younger brother to the latter. Raaj Kumar's emotionally charged performance was notable and highlighted his ability to portray ordinary, working-class characters with authenticity. The film was a blockbuster hit at the box office. Raaj Kumar was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor, which marked his first major award recognition and was a significant step in establishing his credibility as a serious actor. In the same year, he acted in Ujala alongside Shammi Kapoor.

The romantic drama Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai starring Raaj Kumar and Meena Kumari, was a superhit film. The film featured Kumar in the role of a doctor, who is in love with a nurse. However, he is obligated to marry another. While Kumar's performance was noteworthy, the film is remembered mainly for Kumari's performance, along with the superhit song "Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh" sung by Lata Mangeshkar, which became a chartbuster. In fact, it is because of this song that Shankar-Jaikishan won the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director the following year, unseating the favourite musical of the year, Mughal-e-Azam and its music composer, Naushad.

Another emotionally charged romantic drama, Dil Ek Mandir, starred Raaj Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, and Meena Kumari, in the lead roles. A remake of a Tamil film, it featured a love triangle where Raaj Kumar played the character of Ram, a patient struggling with cancer. Directed by C. V. Sridhar, the film became a superhit. Raaj Kumar received his first major award, the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor, for this film.

Based on Munshi Premchand's eponymous novel, Godaan (1963) allowed Raaj Kumar to showcase his versatility. Set in undivided India, Kumar plays Hori, a poor farmer who is heavily in debt. A powerful portrayal of the struggles of peasants in rural India, the film is a commentary on poverty and the exploitation of peasants by the landlords. Directed by Trilok Jaitley, the film was noted for the understated performances of the actors and the music by Pandit Ravi Shankar.

Starring Raaj Kumar and Mala Sinha, Suraj Prakash's Phool Bane Angaare, was a love story that gave Kumar yet another hit that year. By this time, Kumar had established himself as a well-rounded, bankable performer, with his distinctive swagger, enunciation, and dialogue delivery, making him stand apart from the rest of the leading actors at the time.

This was a stupendous year wherein Raaj Kumar had a dizzying ascent to stardom after many years of playing second lead roles. Yash Chopra's epic family drama Waqt, featured an ensemble cast with Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor, Sadhana, Sharmila Tagore, and Balraj Sahni. Raaj Kumar played Raja Chinnoy (Raju), a sophisticated, crafty yet charming thief. His commanding performance ensured that his character became one of the most memorable aspects of the film. The dialogue, “Chinoy seth, jinke apne ghar sheeshe ke hote hain, woh doosron pe patthar nahin phenka karte” [Chinoy Seth, those who live in glass homes don't go about pelting stones at others' homes], is amongst the most iconic dialogues of Hindi cinema. The film also introduced Raaj Kumar's iconic catchphrase "Jaani", which first appeared in this film and became synonymous with his persona thereafter. Kumar won his second Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.

Ram Maheshwari's romantic drama Kaajal starring Raaj Kumar alongside Meena Kumari and Dharmendra, was an adaptation from Gulshan Nanda's novel, Maadhavi. Kumar received a Filmfare award nomination in the Best Actor category for the film. The film marked his decided transition from a supporting actor to a leading star.

B.R. Chopra's suspense thriller Hamraaz starring Raaj Kumar, Sunil Dutt, and Mumtaz, was a reunion of sorts for Kumar with Chopra, after the success of Waqt (1965). Kumar played Captain Rajesh and the film became a blockbuster hit, winning the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. The songs of the film were especially notable, especially the evergreen melody, "Neele Gagan Ke Tale.”

Ram Maheshwari's romantic thriller Neel Kamal starring Raaj Kumar, Waheeda Rehman, and Manoj Kumar was a major hit. Raaj Kumar played the role of Chitrasen, an artist whose soul longs for his lost love, Neel Kamal. The film was nominated in eight categories at the Filmfare Awards including Best Film, and Best Supporting Actor for Raaj Kumar. As his star persona gained momentum, Raaj Kumar cultivated several distinctive characteristics that became part of his star image. He exclusively wore white shoes on screen, a choice that became one of his characteristic features. His measured and commanding style of dialogue delivery became one of his most celebrated traits as he brought gravitas and his own brand of charisma to every role that he portrayed.

Chetan Anand's classic tragic romance Heer Raanjha starred Raaj Kumar with Priya Rajvansh. Based on the epic love poem by Waris Shah, Anand's film featured the entire dialogues in verse. Jal Mistry's cinematography, Madan Mohan's music, and Kaifi Azmi's dialogues made the film memorable, especially the classic song, "Yeh Duniya, Yeh Mehfil Mere Kaam Ki Nahin.”

After Waqt (1965), it was Pakeezah that gave Raaj Kumar his most iconic role. The magnum opus of legendary filmmaker Kamal Amrohi that starred Meena Kumari in her final film appearance, the film is the quintessential Muslim social. With Ashok Kumar in the lead role, Raaj Kumar played Salim Ahmed Khan, a forest ranger, who falls in love with a courtesan just by seeing a glimpse of her feet in a railway compartment. Once again, the film gave Kumar a memorable dialogue, “Aapke paon dekhe, bahut haseen hain. Inhe zameen pe mat utariyega. Maile ho jaayenge” [I had a glimpse of your beautiful feet. Please do not put them on the ground, they will get soiled], which is considered the epitome of romantic love portrayed on screen. The film had a slow start at the box office but went on to become a massive blockbuster and gained cult status in later years. Its soundtrack, composed by Naushad, dominated the musical charts and its haunting melodies remain evergreen. Pakeezah was particularly significant for Raaj Kumar because it reunited him with his co-star of several films, Meena Kumari, and presented him with the opportunity to work with Kamal Amrohi. His performance as Salim Ahmed Khan remains one of the most iconic roles of his career and his famous dialogue from the film became immortal.

With a change in approach and genres, the 1970s brought significant changes in the film industry. Raaj Kumar's more traditional, stylized way of acting seemed to be a thing of the past in the changing milieu. Several of his films failed to make an impression at the box-office. This included Dil Ka Raaja (1972), Chetan Anand's Hindustan Ki Kasam (1973), and 36 ghante (1974). However, the film that broke this jinx was Ek Se Badhkar Ek (1976), where Raaj Kumar starred alongside Ashok Kumar, Navin Nischol, and Sharmila Tagore. Directed by Brij Sadanah, the film was a big success at the box office and was remade in Telugu as Mugguru Muggure.

Raaj Kumar played a double role in Ram Maheshwari's action drama, Karmayogi. Starring Jeetendra and Mala Sinha, the film was a superhit and remade in Telugu as well. Despite his occasional successes, the decade of the 1970s, was a challenging time for Raaj Kumar, as he struggled to find roles that matched the calibre of his earlier work, and many of his films failed to achieve the commercial success he had previously enjoyed.

Raaj Kumar had two releases this year, both of which failed to make a mark at the box office. The first was Esmayeel Shroff's crime thriller Bulundi, which did average business, and the second was Chetan Anand's reincarnation drama, Kudrat. The latter starred Raaj Kumar along with Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Khanna, Hema Malini, and Priya Rajvansh. Although the two films were not commercially successful, they nonetheless marked a pivotal moment in Raaj Kumar's career wherein he segued into character roles when leading roles had started to become scarce.

Sultan Ahmed's action film Dharam Kanta gave Raaj Kumar a silver jubilee hit after a long time. Starring Kumar alongside Rajesh Khanna, Waheeda Rehman and Jeetendra, the film's music was composed by Naushad.

Throughout the 1980s, Raaj Kumar appeared in character roles, some of which found success, such as Mehul Kumar's Marte Dam Tak (1987), Esmayeel Shroff's Suryaa: An Awakening (1989) and Swaroop Kumar's Desh Ke Dushman (1989). His big moment, however, came in the 1990s, with the film Saudagar (1991). Subhash Ghai's action drama marked the debut of Manisha Koirala and Vivek Mushran. Raaj Kumar played Thakur Rajeshwar Singh, a powerful and authoritative character, who was pitted against Veer Singh played by Dilip Kumar. Saudagar reunited Raaj Kumar with Dilip Kumar after 32 years as their first collaboration had been in Paigham (1959). This coming together of two veteran stars was celebrated by audiences and critics alike and was a high point of the film. The film had a record opening and was a blockbuster at the box office as well as the highest earner of the year. Its soundtrack, composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal, was a chartbuster. Once again, the film gave Raaj Kumar an iconic dialogue that endures till today, "Jaani... hum tumhe maarenge aur zaroor maarenge, par bandook bhi hamari hogi aur goli bhi hamari hogi, aur vah waqt bhi hamara hoga" [Darling, I will kill you… I will certainly kill you but the gun, the bullet, and even the time of killing, will be determined by me].

Mehul Kumar's patriotic action drama Tirangaa (1993), starred Raaj Kumar alongside Nana Patekar. Kumar played the role of Brigadier Suryadev Singh, and the film was a blockbuster hit, the last of Kumar's career.

Following Tirangaa, Raaj Kumar's film career began to wind down, and his last role was in Esmayeel Shroff's God and Gun (1995).

Raaj Kumar's passed away on 3 July 1996 in Mumbai. He was 69 years old at the time. He was being treated for throat cancer. Despite battling the cancer, he maintained his public persona and his image till the very end.

Raaj Kumar's legacy is cemented as being one of Hindi cinema's greatest actors. Celebrated for his distinctive dialogue delivery, his ability to portray a wide range of characters with conviction, and his stylish screen presence; his gravelly baritone ensured that he commanded a unique screen presence, even when cast alongside major stars. His graceful and theatrical performance style set him apart from his contemporaries and his ability to elevate romantic lines, deliver lengthy monologues, or moments of anguish with carefully measured pauses and refined articulation earned him a devoted fan following. However, this very quality also became a limitation for him as an actor, as later films demanded a more natural approach. In a career spanning over four decades, he left an enduring legacy with roles in some of the most iconic films of Hindi cinema.