Biography of Raj Kumar

(October 8, 1929-2001)

Raj Kumar was one of those stars who did not go by the method school. No matter what character he played, he did not shed his regal style, his trademark and much-imitated style of dialogue delivery.

Before joining films, Raj Kumar was a police inspector. His real name was Kulbhushan Pandit. His first film was 'Rangeeli' opposite Rehana. It was the role of a beleaguered husband in "Mother India', which established him as an actor to reckon with. In Yash Chopra's ‘Waqt’ he easily stood out even when cast with the top stars of his time. There was something about his personality that made him a big star.

Raj Kumar's scene-stealing abilities were evident right from the early days when he matched his talent with Dilip Kumar in S.S. Vaasan's ‘Paighaam'. Some of his box-office winner films were 'Neel Kamal’, ‘Dil Ek Mandir’, ‘Kaajal, Humraaz', 'Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayai', 'Pakeezah and ‘Tiranga'. Over thirty years later he did another film ‘Saudagar' and stole the thunder from co-star Dilip Kumar. Raj Kumar died in 2001.