When I think of actor Sanjeev Kumar, two songs promptly come to mind. The first one is 'Thande Thande Paani Se Nahana' from BR Chopra’s film Pati, Patni Aur Woh (1978), where he is in a playful mood. The other is 'Meri Bheegi Bheegi Si' from Raghunath Jhalani’s film Anamika (1973), where he is consumed by pain. These songs demonstrate his amazing range as a performer, seemingly at ease before the camera.
If you are a fan of his work, get a copy of Hanif Zaveri and Sumant Batra’s book An Actor’s Actor: The Authorized Biography of Sanjeev Kumar. Published by Ebury Press, it offers an intimate account of his 47-year life that encompassed some of the most iconic Hindi films ever made, including Gulzar’s Koshish (1972) and Aandhi (1975), Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay (1975), Yash Chopra’s Silsila (1975), and Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977).
Before he took on the screen name Sanjeev Kumar, he was known as Harihar Jariwala. He was born in 1938 to “a small but well-respected family in Surat” that rode the wave of “an economic boom” in the second half of the 19th century but also experienced great financial distress. His father died when he was a child so his mother raised him all by herself. The authors have done an excellent job of depicting the mother-son relationship in this book.
Apparently, his mother had dreams of “making” him a doctor or lawyer so she scolded the teacher who was nurturing the “desire for theatre” in him. She said, “Teachers build their students’ careers, and you are spoiling my son’s prospects! I am sending my son to your school to help him seek an education, and you are encouraging him to take up acting? What will he become? Is he Prithviraj Kapoor’s son? Who will give him a chance to act?”
Unable to persuade him to abandon his dreams, she decided that getting him a wife would be the perfect way to domesticate him. It did not matter that the son was only 16 years old. She found a girl named Hansuya, and got her son engaged to her. This engagement lasted several years but never culminated in marriage. He was simply not interested. When the mother realised how determined he was to make it is an actor, she pawned her jewellery to help him.
This book will acquaint you with Kumar’s early training as an actor with Sashadhar Mukherjee’s acting school – Filmalaya – and the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA). Apparently, artists working with IPTA were not paid because they were involved in amateur and experimental theatre. At that time, it was not feasible for Kumar to work with little or no remuneration, so he began to act in Gujarati plays and make some money.
All 22 chapters of this book are bursting with anecdotes from the actor’s professional life. However, the chapter titled 'The Landmark Films' might appeal most to readers interested in the man’s craft rather than his stardom. It includes three of Gulzar’s films – Koshish (1972), Angoor (1982), and Namkeen (1982). According to Zaveri and Batra,
“No other director was as successful as Gulzar in allowing him to try out such a large spectrum of characters.”
This chapter gives a peek into how angry Kumar’s co-stars used to get because of his tendency to be perpetually late on set. Once, he made actor Sharmila Tagore wait for eight hours in full make-up. She recounts, “When he entered, I didn’t speak to him, and showed my anger by my expressions, but he did not react. He behaved as though nothing had happened, smiling his charming smile. He had a good quality, that he would never argue with anyone.”
She adds, “Whoever had a problem with him would automatically calm down. We tolerated his late arrival because he was sweet and down-to-earth.” This portrait of Kumar is corroborated by Gulzar, who was apparently so miffed with the actor’s tardiness that he felt like hitting the actor. However, the smile disarmed him. Gulzar says, “If other actors took an entire shift to complete their work for the day, Hari would complete the same in half time.”
This book is based on interviews with renowned film and theatre personalities such as AK Hangal, Prem Chopra, Deven Varma, Dilip Kumar, BR Ishara, Raman Kumar, Sarika, Parikshit Sahni, Basu Chatterjee, Farida Jalal, Rohini Hattangadi, Alyque Padamsee, Anju Mahendru, Sulbha Arya, Saroj Khan, Sachin Pilgaonkar, Leena Chandavarkar, Ramesh Sippy, and Ashok Saraf. Kumar’s friends and family have also shared their memories of him.
The biography contains a beautiful foreword by actor Shatrughan Sinha. He recalls the time when he desperately needed money to sort out a personal matter, and all the close friends who had promised to help left him in the lurch. He writes, “Sanjeev Kumar had quietly sent his secretary, Jamnadas ji, to see me. Jamnadas ji had carried with him what looked like video cassettes wrapped up in newspaper but turned out to be wads of currency notes.”
Sinha was moved by this expression of generosity. He adds, “Unlike other acquaintances, who talked of interest and terms of credit, Sanjeev Kumar lent me the money without a rupee as interest, and on ‘returnable when able’ terms.” Sinha and his family felt a deep sense of loss when Kumar died of a massive heart attack at the age of 47. Sinha’s wife, Promi aka Poonam, regarded Kumar as her brother. Their children, Luv and Kush, addressed Kumar as 'mama' (maternal uncle).
If you relish filmi gossip, this book will give you a lot to chew on. The authors have written about Kumar’s relationships with actors such as Nutan, Hema Malini, and Sulakshana Pandit. If this book is to be believed, Nutan wanted to separate from her abusive husband and marry Kumar but she could not because the husband blackmailed her and threatened to harm her son. Malini did not marry Kumar because his mother wanted her prospective daughter-in-law to stop working in movies and only take care of the household.
The authors state, “Sulakshana Pandit once went to a Hanuman temple with him, and asked him to put sindhoor in her maang. He refused to do so, saying he was still in love with Hema Malini, and had made up his mind to not marry at all.” Though Kumar did not get hitched, he liked helping couples going through a rough time. This book claims that he assisted actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bhaduri in resolving their disputes amicably.
Kumar died in 1985, the year I was born. He left behind an exciting body of work, which continues to delight audiences and inspire actors in the present. Zaveri and Batra’s book does justice to his legacy. It depicts various shades of him, instead of putting him on a pedestal. It shows how charitable he was, what a terrific sense of humour he had, how much he adored his family, what the absence of a father figure did to him, and how he got into the habit of drinking with friends because he could not open up about his feelings.
Chintan Girish Modi is a freelance writer, journalist and book reviewer.
source https://www.firstpost.com/art-and-culture/an-actors-actor-book-review-sanjeev-kumars-authorised-biography-is-a-peek-into-both-his-stardom-and-craft-10212081.html
