# Sunil Dutt

Sunil Dutt (born Balraj Raghunath Dutt; 6 June 1929 – 25 May 2005) was an Indian actor, film producer, director and politician. He worked in more than 80 films in a career spanning over 48 years and was the recipient of three Filmfare Awards, including two for Best Actor. He was honored with Padma Shri, in 1968, by the Government of India, for his contribution to Indian cinema.He was referred as "Reel and Real-Life Hero".
Dutt debuted in 1955 with the Hindi film Railway Platform. He rose to prominence with highly successful films, such as Ek Hi Raasta (1956) and Mother India (1957) and consistently starred in several top–grossing Indian films from the late-1950s to the 1970s, such as Sadhna, Sujata, Gumrah, Waqt, Khandan, Mera Saaya, Hamraaz, Milan, Mehrban, Padosan, Heera, Zakhmee, Nagin, Daaku Aur Jawan and Jaani Dushman, as well as some of his acclaimed performances include Insan Jaag Utha, Chhaya, Mujhe Jeene Do, Nartaki, Yaadein, Gaban, Chirag, Darpan, Reshma Aur Shera, 36 Ghante, Muqabla and Dard Ka Rishta. Beginning in the early-1980s, he appeared in supporting roles in notable films like Shaan, Badle Ki Aag, Kala Dhanda Goray Log, Watan Ke Rakhwale, Kurbaan and Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.
In 1995, he won the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the film industry for four decades.
Dutt married his Mother India co-star Nargis in 1958. Together they had three children, including the actor Sanjay Dutt. In 1984 he joined the Indian National Congress party and was elected to the Parliament of India for five terms from the constituency of Mumbai North West. He was the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports in the Manmohan Singh government (2004–2005) and also a former Sheriff of Mumbai.

## Early life

Sunil Dutt was born on 6 June 1929 in Nakka Khurd in the Jhelum District of the Punjab Province of British India (now in Punjab, Pakistan) into a Punjabi Hindu family of the Hussaini Brahmin caste, as Balraj Dutt to father Diwan Raghunath Dutt and mother Kulwantidevi Dutt.
Dutt belonged to a family of landlords. When he was five years old, Dutt's father died. When he was 18, the Partition of India began inciting Hindu-Muslim violence across the country. A Muslim friend of Dutt's father named Yakub, saved their entire family. The family resettled in the small village of Mandauli on the bank of the river Yamuna, located in the Yamunanagar District of East Punjab (now in Haryana).
Later in life, Dutt moved to Lucknow in the United Provinces with his mother, Kulwantidevi Dutt, and spent a long time in the Aminabad Bazaar neighborhood during graduation. He then moved to Bombay, where he joined Jai Hind College of the University of Bombay in the Churchgate neighborhood of South Bombay, as an undergraduate and took up a job at the city's BEST Transportation Engineering division. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History (Hons.) in 1954.

## Film career
### Early career and rise to prominence (1955–1957)

Director Ramesh Saigal was instrumental in giving Dutt a break in the film Railway Platform (1955) when the latter was hosting the show, Lipton Ki Mehfil on Radio Ceylon. While covering the Dilip Kumar film Shikast in 1953, Dutt met director Saigal, who impressed by his personality and voice, offered him a role in his upcoming film. Saigal came up with the new screen name "Sunil Dutt" for the debutante actor whose real name was Balraj Dutt to avoid name conflicts with the then veteran actor Balraj Sahni.
He shot to stardom with B. R. Chopra's family drama Ek Hi Raasta (1956) and Mehboob Khan's epic drama Mother India (1957). While Ek Hi Raasta was a superhit, Mother India went many steps ahead and emerged an All Time Blockbuster along with being the most successful film of the 1950s. Even being a newcomer that time, Dutt accepted the role of anti-hero but this was the film who made him the first anti-hero of Bollywood. It was dubbed in several European languages including Spanish, French and Russian; it did substantial business in Greece, Spain and Russia and was released in the Eastern Bloc countries. Technicolor arranged one screening of the film in Paris on 30 June 1958, under the name Les bracelets d'or ("The Gold Bracelets"). It did minimal business in Paris, but fared better in French colonies. It was successful in the Latin American countries of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Mother India was also acclaimed across the Arab world, in the Middle East, parts of Southeast Asia, and North Africa and continued to be shown in countries such as Algeria at least ten years after its release. It went on to win several accolades and was also featured in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

### Widespread success, setback and resurgence (1958–1979)

He once again collaborated with B. R. Chopra for Sadhna (1958) opposite Vyjayanthimala. The film did extremely well at the box office and went on to become a superhit. The following year, he starred in Bimal Roy's Sujata and Shakti Samanta's Insan Jaag Utha. While the former was a huge commercial success, Insan Jaag Utha did moderately well. Sujata also opened to critical acclaim and went on to win the National Film Award for Third Best Feature Film (Hindi). From 1960 to 1962, he delivered moderately successful films, such as Hum Hindustani in 1960, Chhaya in 1961 and Main Chup Rahungi in 1962. The year 1963 brought him in the big league with superhits in Gumrah and Mujhe Jeene Do. Apart from commercial success, both the films received positive reviews from critics. For his portrayal of a notorious bandit in Mujhe Jeene Do, Dutt won his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor. In 1964, he directed, produced and starred in Yaadein, an experimental film with him as the sole actor. It did not do well at the box office, but received critical praise and won National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film (Hindi) as well as an entry in Guinness Book of World Records in the category Fewest actors in a narrative film. Dutt's performance was highly praised by viewers and Yaadein is considered as a unique film which was ahead of its time.
Dutt reached his peak in the mid-1960s. He began 1965 with Yash Chopra's ensemble masala film Waqt. It opened to an excellent response from the audience and proved to be a major blockbuster as well as the highest-grossing film of the year. Today it is widely regarded as a cult classic. His next release was A. Bhimsingh's family drama Khandan which also performed very well and emerged a superhit with Dutt receiving immense acclaim for his portrayal of a dedicated family man who is paralysed and winning his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor. In 1966, he had a blockbuster in Raj Khosla's thriller film Mera Saaya and a flop in Lekh Tandon's historical drama Amrapali. The soundtrack of Mera Saaya composed by Madan Mohan was highly successful and one of the best-selling Hindi film albums of the 1960s. Its songs, such as "Jhumka Gira Re" sung by Asha Bhosle and "Mera Saaya Saath", a solo by Lata Mangeshkar remain popular till date. 1967 proved to be the best year of Dutt's career with three major commercial successes. He first starred in Adurthi Subba Rao's reincarnation drama Milan. A remake Of Telugu hit Mooga Manasulu (1964), Milan proved to be an equally successful at the box office with its songs "Sawan Ka Mahina", "Bol Gori Bol Tera Kaun Piya" and "Ram Kare Aisa Ho Jaye" topping the musical chart that year. For portraying an innocent boatman in the film, Dutt received a nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Actor category and won his first and only BFJA Award for Best Actor (Hindi). His next release was Bhimsingh's drama film Mehrban which also had Ashok Kumar, Nutan, Mehmood, Sulochana Latkar and Shashikala in the lead where he was a dedicated and honest man. Mehrban like Milan was also a commercially successful venture. He concluded the year with B.R. Chopra's suspense thriller Hamraaz which received positive reviews from critics, eventually emerging a blockbuster and Dutt's third consecutive hit of the year.
In 1968, he delivered another superhit in Jyoti Swaroop's musical comedy film Padosan where he played a buffoon lover named Bhola. Indiatimes ranked the film among the "Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films". Dutt surprised everyone with his comic timing. Amit Upadhaya of ThePrint in a retrospective article on film's 50th anniversary wrote ″As cult comedy films go, Jyoti Swaroop's Padosan is one of the few in Hindi film history to never run out of laughs. With its bare-bones plot about an innocent naïve young man Bhola, who falls in love with his dancer-singer Neighbour Bindu and wins her over in a not-so-honest but oh-so-charming way, the focus in Padosan is entirely on scene mechanics and individual performances." In a similar fiftieth-anniversary article, Devansh Sharma of Firstpost gave credit to RD Burman's soundtrack for changing the state of comedy genre in Hindi films as he felt that ″Burman's music gave wings to the camera that was otherwise doomed to sit still. Krishan's poetry also allowed the editor and director a lot of freedom as they could choose the appropriate shot for every emotion expressed in the songs.″
The year 1969 saw the rise of superstar Rajesh Khanna, who stormed the nation with Aradhana and Do Raaste. With his emergence, a number of stars saw a decline in their career graph and Dutt was one of them. During this period, Dutt saw only two successful films in Raj Khosla's Chirag (1969) and Raja Nawathe's Bhai-Bhai (1970), both co-starring Asha Parekh, while rest of his films did not do well. The series of failures continued from with films, including Reshma Aur Shera (which he also directed), Jwala, Zindagi Zindagi and Zameen Aasmaan. The year 1973 marked Dutt's return to the big league with Sultan Ahmed's dacoit drama Heera, which proved to be a massive hit. The success of Heera was followed by superhits, Pran Jaye Per Vachan Na Jaye (1974) and Zakhmee (1975) along with two more successful films, Geeta Mera Naam (1974) and Umar Qaid (1975), thus solidifying his comeback.
In 1976, Dutt had two releases - Rajkumar Kohli's horror film Nagin and Raj Khosla's action drama Nehle Pe Dehla. Nagin which had an ensemble cast, including Reena Roy, Feroz Khan, Sanjay Khan, Rekha and Mumtaz went on to become a blockbuster at the box office. On the other hand, Nehle Pe Dehla alongside Saira Banu and Vinod Khanna was also a major commercial success. The following year, he delivered two more successes with Paapi and Aakhri Goli. In 1978, Dutt donned the director's hat for Daaku Aur Jawan, co-starring Vinod Khanna, Reena Roy and Leena Chandavarkar. The film opened to positive response from critics and emerged a superhit at the box office. He also appeared opposite Rekha and Saira Banu in Ram Kasam and Kaala Aadmi, respectively. While Ram Kasam was a commercially successful, Kaala Aadmi failed to do well. In 1979, he reunited with Rajkumar Kohli for another multi-starrer horror film Jaani Dushman, which took a bumper opening and emerged a blockbuster as well as one of the highest-earners of that year. Dutt once again collaborated with Kohli for Muqabla, the same year. The film backed up with chartbuster song "Govinda Govinda", a duet by Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar went on to become a hit at the box office. He concluded the year with another critical and commercial success in the action drama film Ahinsa.

### Shift to character roles, hiatus and final works (1980–2003)

Dutt began the new decade with a pivotal supporting role in Ramesh Sippy's mega-budget action crime drama Shaan (1980). The film received positive reviews from critics, but ended up as a moderately successful venture due to its high costs. In 1981, he launched his son Sanjay Dutt's career with Rocky which was a hit. Shortly before the film's release, Nargis died of pancreatic cancer. Dutt founded the Nargis Dutt Foundation in her memory for the care of cancer patients. In 1982, he appeared alongside Dharmendra and Jeetendra in Rajkumar Kohli's action thriller Badle Ki Aag, which was a box office success. The following year, he directed, produced and starred in the drama film Dard Ka Rishta, alongside Ashok Kumar, Reena Roy, Smita Patil and Khushbu Sundar. Despite its heavy theme, Dard Ka Rishta did well commercially and proved to be a hit venture. Dutt followed it with a minor setback as he had a string of critical and commercial failures from 1984 to 1985 with films, such as - Raaj Tilak (did moderate success), Laila, Yaadon Ki Zanjeer and Faasle. This changed in 1986 with the critically acclaimed hit films like Kala Dhanda Goray Log , Mangal Dada and Watan Ke Rakhwale in 1987.
After appearing in Dharamyudh (1988), he went on a brief hiatus and returned to big screen in 1991 with Yeh Aag Kab Bujhegi (which he also directed for last time), Kurbaan and Pratigyabadh. While Pratigyabadh was a box office failure, Yeh Aag Kab Bujhegi proved to be an average fare and Kurbaan emerged a major commercial success. He followed it with another success in Virodhi (1992) and three more films in 1993 which were Parampara, Phool and Kshatriya before taking retirement from films to focus on his political career.
Dutt returned to films once again in 2003 with Rajkumar Hirani's satirical comedy drama Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. which had his son in the lead. Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. opened to highly positive reviews from critics and proved to be a commercially successful. Today it is considered a classic and one of the best films ever made in the history of Indian cinema. It was Sunil Dutt's last film; he died after two years of its release.

## Political career

In 1982, he was appointed as the Sheriff of Bombay, an apolitical titular position bestowed on him by the Maharashtra government for a year. He was elected a Member of Parliament from Northwest Mumbai for five terms (1984, 1989, 1991 [resigned in 1993 in protest over religious violence], 1999, and 2004). He worked actively for the cause of slum dwellers, refugees and displaced people.
In 1987 when Punjab was facing heightened militancy, Dutt, accompanied by his daughter Priya undertook a 2,000 km 76 day long Maha shanti Padyatra (journey by foot) from Bombay to Amritsar (Golden Temple) to establish communal harmony and brotherhood. During the padyatra, he attended more than 500 roadside meetings and suffered a bout of jaundice and blistered feet but recovered. He always stressed that violence is not the solution.His political career was halted for some years in the early 1990s when he worked to free his son from jail after he was arrested for keeping an AK-56 that he claimed was for the protection of his family after bomb blasts in Bombay.
After his son's release, Dutt contested in 1999 election from the same constituency and won. He was re-elected in 2004 and became Cabinet Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports in Manmohan Singh's government. He won several accolades including the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Award for National Integration and Communal Harmony in 1997, the Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Award for International Peace, Communal Harmony, Unity and National Integration in 1997 and the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award in 1998.

## Personal life

Dutt married actress Nargis, a Muslim, also of Punjabi Mohyal descent, on 11 March 1958. Prior to their marriage, Nargis converted to Hinduism and adopted the name Nirmala Dutt. Reportedly, Dutt had saved her life from a fire on the sets of Mother India. They had three children: Sanjay Dutt, Namrata Dutt, and Priya Dutt. Sanjay went on to become a successful film actor. Namrata married actor Kumar Gaurav, son of veteran actor Rajendra Kumar who had appeared alongside Nargis and Dutt in Mother India. Priya became a politician and a Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha).
With his wife, Dutt formed the Ajanta Arts Cultural Troupe, which involved several leading actors and singers of the time, and performed at remote frontiers to entertain the Indian soldiers at border. It was the first troupe to perform in Dhaka, after the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971.
Dutt's wife Nargis died in 1981. One year after her death, the Nargis Dutt Memorial Cancer Foundation was established by Dutt in her memory.

## Death

Dutt died of a heart attack in his sleep on 25 May 2005 at his residence in Bandra, West Mumbai, at age 75.He was the Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports in the Union Government led by Manmohan Singh and was the Member of Parliament from North-West Mumbai until his death. He was succeeded as Minister by Mani Shankar Aiyar. He was cremated with full state honours at Santacruz Crematorium in Mumbai. He quoted his wish,
   "There should be no statues or a street named after me, no postal stamp with my face or any organisation after me. I like people to remember me by my following work."
After his death, his seat in the Parliament was contested by his daughter, Priya Dutt, who won it and was a Member of Parliament until May 2014.

## Awards and honours

* 1964 – Filmfare Award for Best Actor for Mujhe Jeene Do
* 1964 – National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi for Yaadein
* 1966 – Filmfare Award for Best Actor for Khandan
* 1968 – BFJA Award for Best Actor (Hindi) for Milan
* 1968 – Padma Shri
* 1982 – Sheriff of Bombay
* 1995 – Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
* 1998 – Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award
* 1999 – Screen Lifetime Achievement Award
* 2000 – Anandalok Awards Lifetime Achievement Award
* 2001 – Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement
* 2005 – Glory of India Award by IIFS, London

## Legacy and tributes
### Legacy

Dutt is regarded as one of the greatest and most handsome actors of Indian cinema.He was known as the method actor and dedicated politician who won millions of hearts with his honesty, compassion, charm, perseverance, hard work and simplicity.Dinesh Raheja of Rediff.com noted, "Sunil Dutt capitalized on his ability to jump genres and expand on his oeuvre at different stages of his career. His willingness to experiment with cinema led him to star in offbeat films like Padosan, Amrapali, be the villain in Geeta Mera Naam, and bankroll films like Yaadein (starring just one man --himself), Mujhe Jeene Do (a reformist saga) and the stark desert epic Reshma Aur Shera. He has greeted the ups and downs in his life with an exhibition of sheer grit and stoicism."
He was also noted as a serial talent-spotter, giving major breaks to then struggling actors including Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Ranjeet and Shakti Kapoor in his home productions Reshma Aur Shera and Rocky respectively. His Autograph was preserved at Bollywood Walk of Fame at Bandra Bandstand.
One of the most successful actors of the 1960s and 1970s, he appeared in Box Office India's "Top Actors" list two times in 1966 and 1967.
In 2022, Dutt was placed in Outlook India's "75 Best Bollywood Actors" list.

### Tributes

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam called him "a gem of a human being". Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, “A colorful and charismatic personality and a celebrity in the world of cinema, Sunil Dutt touched the millions in our country through many of his purposeful and socially relevant roles in numerous films."Singer Lata Mangeshkar said, “He was a rare human being. People like him are difficult to find." During his funeral, Actress Shabana Azmi stated, “It comes as such a deep shock that Dutt Sahab is not with us. He was not only great just to those who work in the industry but also to the people of country."
When she was alive, his wife Nargis said, "He was the first person who treat me like a normal human being and he was always there for me in my hard times. If he hadn't come into my life, I would be shattered." His son Sanjay Dutt on his death anniversary, quoted, “He was a pillar of strength and inspiration. Holding onto the memories and his love. He will always remain a guiding light in my life. Missing him today and every day."
His co-stars like Vyjayanthimala said, "He was a true gentleman, a progressive man and a rational artiste." Asha Parekh said, "Dutt Saab was God’s child. He was a saint in the truest sense of the word. We did Chirag together where I had played a blind girl. He was so supportive and gentle." Mala Sinha said, "Sunil Dutt was so warm and respectful. He was so punctual during the shootings and he had always kind words for everyone on the sets." Vinod Khanna said, "I am proud to declare that I am Dutt Sahab's discovery. He was my idol." After watching his performance in Mother India, Amitabh Bachchan was impressed and considered him as "First Angry Man of Bollywood".

## In popular culture

* In 2007, Dutt's daughters Priya and Namrata published a book about the lives of their parents, titled, Mr. and Mrs. Dutt: Memories of our Parents. Also that year, Darlingji: The True Love Story of Nargis and Sunil Dutt was released by Kishwar Desai.
* In 2018, Paresh Rawal played Sunil Dutt, in his son's biopic Sanju. The film is ranked as one of the highest grossing Indian films of 2018.

## Filmography

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1955 | Railway Platform | Ram | |
| 1955 | Kundan | Amrit | |
| 1956 | Ek-Hi-Raasta | Amar | |
| 1956 | Rajdhani | N/A | |
| 1956 | Kismet Ka Khel | Prakash Verma | |
| 1957 | Payal | Mohan | |
| 1957 | Mother India | Birju | |
| 1958 | Sadhna | Professor Mohan | |
| 1958 | Post Box 999 | Vikas | |
| 1959 | Sujata | Adhir | |
| 1959 | Insaan Jaag Utha | Ranjeet | |
| 1959 | Didi | Gopal | |
| 1960 | Usne Kaha Tha | Nandu | |
| 1960 | Hum Hindustani | Surendra Nath | |
| 1960 | Ek Phool Char Kaante | Sanjeev | |
| 1960 | Duniya Jhukti Hai | Mohan / Bankelal | |
| 1961 | Chhaya | Arun / Poet Rahi | |
| 1962 | Main Chup Rahungi | Kamal Kumar | |
| 1962 | Jhoola | Dr. Arun | |
| 1963 | Gumraah | Rajendra | |
| 1963 | Aaj Aur Kal | Dr. Sanjay | |
| 1963 | Yeh Rastey Hain Pyar Ke | Anil Sahni | also producer |
| 1963 | Nartakee | Professor Nirmal Kumar | |
| 1963 | Mujhe Jeene Do | Thakur Jarnail Singh | also producer, Won - Filmfare Award for Best Actor |
| 1964 | Yaadein | Anil | also director and producer |
| 1964 | Gazal | Ejaaz | |
| 1964 | Beti Bete | Ramu / Krishna | |
| 1965 | Waqt | Advocate Ravi Khanna / Bablu | |
| 1965 | Khandan | Govind Shankar Lal | Won - Filmfare Award for Best Actor |
| 1966 | Mera Saaya | Thakur Rakesh Singh | |
| 1966 | Gaban | Ramnath | |
| 1966 | Amrapali | Magadh Samrat Ajatashatru | |
| 1966 | Maitighar | Himself | Guest appearance |
| 1967 | Milan | Gopinath (Gopi) | Won - BFJA Award for Best Actor (Hindi) Nominated - Filmfare Award for Best Actor |
| 1967 | Hamraaz | Kumar / S. N. Sinha | |
| 1967 | Mehrban | Kanhaiya | |
| 1968 | Padosan | Bhola | |
| 1968 | Sadhu Aur Shaitaan | Catholic Priest D'souza | Cameo (Uncredited) |
| 1968 | Gauri | Sunil Kumar | |
| 1969 | Pyasi Sham | Raja | |
| 1969 | Meri Bhabhi | Raju | |
| 1969 | Chirag | Ajay Singh | |
| 1969 | Bhai Bahen | Surendra Pratap | |
| 1970 | Darpan | Balraj Dutt | |
| 1970 | Bhai-Bhai | Ashok / Deep | Double role |
| 1971 | Reshma Aur Shera | Shera Singh | also director and producer |
| 1971 | Jwala | Ajit | |
| 1972 | Zindagi Zindagi | Dr. Sunil | |
| 1972 | Zameen Aasmaan | Ravi | |
| 1972 | Jai Jwala | Major Anand | Special appearance |
| 1973 | Man Jeete Jag Jeet | Bagga Daaku / Baghel Singh | Punjabi film |
| 1973 | Heera | Heera | |
| 1974 | Kora Badan | Sunil | Cameo |
| 1974 | Geeta Mera Naam | Suraj / Johnny | |
| 1974 | Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye | Raja Thakur | |
| 1974 | Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam | Sadhu | Punjabi film; Cameo |
| 1974 | 36 Ghante | Himmat Singh | |
| 1975 | Zakhmee | Anand | |
| 1975 | Umar Qaid | Raja | |
| 1975 | Neelima | Sunil | Cameo |
| 1975 | Himalay Se Ooncha | Vijay | |
| 1976 | Nagin | Vijay | |
| 1976 | Nehle Pe Dehla | Sunil | also producer |
| 1977 | Darinda | Krishna / Yogidutt | |
| 1977 | Paapi | Raj Kumar | |
| 1977 | Sat Sri Akal | Pilot Sardar Hari Singh | Punjabi film |
| 1977 | Charandas | Advocate Tondon | Cameo |
| 1977 | Aakhri Goli | Vikram | |
| 1978 | Ram Kasam | Bhola / Shankar | Double role |
| 1978 | Kaala Aadmi | Birju | |
| 1978 | Daaku Aur Jawan | Birju | also director |
| 1979 | Muqabla | Vikram (Vicky) | |
| 1979 | Jaani Dushman | Lakhan | |
| 1979 | Ahinsa | Birju | |
| 1979 | Salaam Memsaab | Naresh Sarit | Cameo |
| 1980 | Lahu Pukarega | Jitu | |
| 1980 | Shaan | DSP Shiv Kumar | Special appearance |
| 1980 | Yari Dushmani | Shambhu | |
| 1980 | Ganga Aur Suraj | Inspector Ganga | |
| 1980 | Ek Gunah Aur Sahi | Shankar Ramdas | |
| 1981 | Rocky | Shankar | Cameo, also director |
| 1981 | Meena Kumari Ki Amar Kahani | Himself | Documentary |
| 1982 | Badle Ki Aag | Lakhan | |
| 1982 | Dard Ka Rishta | Dr. Ravi Kant Sharma | also director and producer |
| 1983 | Film Hi Film | Himself | Documentary |
| 1984 | Raaj Tilak | Jai Singh | |
| 1984 | Laila | Dharamraj Singh / Thakur Prithviraj Singh | Double role |
| 1984 | Yaadon Ki Zanjeer | Ravi Kumar | |
| 1985 | Faasle | Vikram | |
| 1986 | Kala Dhanda Goray Log | Gauri Shankar / Michael | |
| 1986 | Mangal Dada | Mangal Dada | |
| 1987 | Watan Ke Rakhwale | Jailor Suraj Prakash | |
| 1987 | Raj Kapoor | Himself | Documentary |
| 1988 | Dharamyudh | Thakur Vikram Singh | |
| 1991 | Yeh Aag Kab Bujhegi | Professor Kishna | also director |
| 1991 | Kurbaan | Prithvi Singh | |
| 1991 | Pratigyabadh | Pascal | |
| 1991 | Hai Meri Jaan | Telegram Wala | Cameo |
| 1992 | Virodhi | Police Commissioner Jagdish Kapoor | |
| 1993 | Kshatriya | Maharaj Bhavani Singh | Special appearance |
| 1993 | Parampara | Thakur Bhavani Singh | |
| 1993 | Phool | Balram Choudhary | |
| 2003 | Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. | Hari Prasad Sharma | Final film |
| 2007 | Om Shanti Om | Magadh Samrat Ajatashatru | Recreated via CGI during the song "Dhoom Tana", (archive footage) |