Manoj Kumar

Manoj Kumar (born Harikrishan Giri Goswami; 24 July 1937 – 4 April 2025) was an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, lyricist and editor who worked in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, he worked in 55 films. He is regarded as one of the most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema. Known for starting the trend of patriotic films, he was given the nickname Bharat Kumar.
He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1992 and Dadasaheb Phalke Award; highest award in the field of cinema in 2015 by the Government of India for his contribution to Indian cinema and arts. He was also the recipient of a National Film Award and seven Filmfare Awards, in varied categories.
Kumar was born into a Punjabi Hindu Brahmin family in Abbottabad, a town in the North-West Frontier Province, British India (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan). His birth name is Harikrishan Giri Goswami. When he was 10, his family migrated from Jandiala Sher Khan to Delhi due to the Partition. Manoj Kumar pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hindu College before trying his luck in films. When he was young, he admired actors Dilip Kumar, Ashok Kumar and Kamini Kaushal and decided to name himself Manoj Kumar, after Dilip Kumar's character in Shabnam.
After making a little-noticed début in Fashion (1957), followed by forgettable roles in films like Sahara (1958), Chand (1959) and Honeymoon (1960), he landed his first leading role in Kaanch Ki Gudiya (1961). Piya Milan Ki Aas (1961), Suhag Sindoor (1961), Reshmi Roomal (1961) followed, but the majority of these sank without a trace. The first major commercial success came in 1962 with Vijay Bhatt's Hariyali Aur Rasta opposite Mala Sinha. The success of Hariyali Aur Rasta was followed by Shaadi (1962), Dr. Vidya (1962) and Grahasti (1963), all three of which performed well at the box office.
Kumar found another huge success as the main lead with Raj Khosla's mystery thriller Woh Kaun Thi? (1964). The film emerged a superhit, which was attributed to its watertight screenplay and melodious songs composed by Madan Mohan, such as "Lag Jaa Gale" and "Naina Barse Rimjhim", both solos by Lata Mangeshkar.
1965 was a big year for Kumar, as it initiated his rise to stardom. His first release was patriotic drama Shaheed, based on the life of Bhagat Singh, the Independence revolutionary. It received highly positive responses from critics as well as the then Prime Minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri, and was a huge hit at the box office. This was followed by romantic drama Himalay Ki God Mein, a blockbuster which made him a bankable star. Before the end of year, he scored another hit with the mystery thriller Gumnaam. The success streak continued in 1966, when he reunited with Khosla for Do Badan alongside Asha Parekh. This film was remembered for Khosla's direction, Kumar's performance, and songs written by the lyricist Shakeel Badayuni, including "Raha Gardishon Mein", sung by Mohammed Rafi, and "Lo Aa Gayi Unki Yaad", a solo by Lata Mangeshkar. He delivered another hit that year in Shakti Samanta's Sawan Ki Ghata, performing opposite Sharmila Tagore.
After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri asked him to create a film based on the popular slogan Jai Jawan Jai Kissan ("Hail the soldier, hail the farmer"). The result was his directorial debut, the patriotic drama Upkar (1967). It opened to critical acclaim and topped the box office chart that year, eventually emerging an All Time Blockbuster. Its music was the sixth best-selling Hindi film album of the 1960s. One of the songs from Upkar, "Mere Desh Ki Dharti" is played every year during the Republic Day and Independence Day celebrations in India. The film won Kumar the National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film as well as his first Filmfare Best Director Award. His next release, Patthar Ke Sanam too went on to become a huge hit, but Anita opposite Sadhana flopped. In 1968, he co-starred alongside Raaj Kumar and Waheeda Rehman in Neel Kamal. The same year, he reunited with Rehman for Aadmi, which also had Dilip Kumar in the lead. Neel Kamal proved a blockbuster at the box office, becoming the third highest-grossing film of 1968. Aadmi also performed well, and was declared a hit by the end of its run. The year 1969 saw the rise of Rajesh Khanna, who stormed the nation with back-to-back blockbusters in Aradhana and Do Raaste. Kumar's only release that year was Mohan Sehgal's Happy Go Lovely (1951) adaptation Sajan co-starring Parekh. The film was a hit, and ranked tenth among the highest-grossing films of that year.
Kumar returned to patriotic themes in 1970 with Purab Aur Paschim, which juxtaposed life in the East and West. It proved to be a massive blockbuster both in India and overseas. In the United Kingdom, the film was released in 1971 and ran for over 50 weeks in London. It grossed £285,000 in the UK, equivalent to ₹2.5 million (US$332,252.41). It broke the UK box office record of Do Raaste, which had released in the UK a year earlier. Purab Aur Paschim held the UK record for 23 years, until it was finally broken by Hum Aapke Hain Kaun in 1994. His other releases of 1970 were - Yaadgaar, Pehchan and Mera Naam Joker. The first was a box office success, while Pehchan (opposite Babita) proved a hit venture, but Raj Kapoor's Mera Naam Joker (in which he had a supporting role) flopped at the time of release, but gained cult status with the passage of time and the growing visibility of Indian content in world cinema. After delivering a semi-hit with Balidaan in 1971, the following year, he starred in Sohanlal Kanwar's Be-Imaan and directed and starred in Shor. Both the films received highly positive response from audience and emerged blockbusters at the box office. The latter featured the memorable song "Ek Pyar Ka Nagma Hai", a duet by Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh, which was composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and was listed at #29 in the Binaca Geetmala annual list 1972. Kumar won his first and only Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance in Be-Imaan, as well as a Filmfare Award for Best Editing for Shor.
Kumar's peak came in the mid-1970s, when he delivered three huge blockbusters in a row. This started with the social drama Roti Kapada Aur Makaan, which he also directed. In addition to Kumar, the film starred Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman and Moushmi Chatterjee. Released on 18 October 1974, it emerged as the biggest hit of the year and was given the verdict of All Time Blockbuster by the end of its run. Its soundtrack composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal dominated the musical charts and was the fifth best-selling Hindi film album of the 1970s. In 1975, Kumar reunited with Sohanlal Kanwar for Sanyasi, which took a bumper opening, eventually emerging a blockbuster and taking third spot at the box office that year. For his portrayal of a religious minded young man in the film, Kumar received his fourth and final nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Actor category. With the action crime film Dus Numbri in 1976, he completed his hat-trick of blockbusters.
In 1977, he had two releases, the much delayed Amaanat and Shirdi Ke Sai Baba, both of which were commercially successful. After a year-long break, he starred in the hit Punjabi film Jat Punjabi. In 1981, Kumar directed and starred in historical drama Kranti alongside Dilip Kumar, Hema Malini, Shashi Kapoor, Parveen Babi and Shatrughan Sinha. Kranti went on to become the biggest patriotic hit of all time, topping the box office chart in 1981. It was the most successful film of the 1980s, and Kumar's third All Time Blockbuster after Upkar and Roti Kapada Aur Makaan. The craze of the film was such that in places like Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana there were shops selling Kranti T shirts, jackets, vests and even underwear. The year 1981 was a big one for the industry which saw some huge blockbusters like Naseeb, Laawaris, Ek Duuje Ke Liye, Love Story and Meri Aawaz Suno and many other hits, but Kranti stood apart and top of the pile. It also proved to be the last notable successful Hindi film of Kumar's career.
After Kranti in 1981, Kumar's career began to decline, and films he starred in such as Kalyug Aur Ramayan (1987), Santosh (1989), Clerk (1989) and Deshwasi (1991), all flopped at the box office. He quit acting after his appearance in the 1995 film Maidan-E-Jung. He directed his son, Kunal Goswami, in the 1999 film Jai Hind, which had a patriotic theme. The film was a box office failure and the last film Kumar worked on.
That same year, at the 44th Filmfare Awards, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, for a career spanning over 40 years.
Like many other Bollywood stars, Kumar decided to enter politics following his retirement. Before the 2004 general election in India, he officially joined Bharatiya Janta Party.
Kumar was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai, where he died due to chronic heart-related complications. The secondary cause of death was decompensated liver cirrhosis, according to the medical certificate issued by the hospital. Kumar died at the age of 87 in Mumbai on 4 April 2025.
Manoj Kumar is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema. He is noted for his acting, style and patriotic films. Apart from his successful acting career, Kumar is regarded as one of the best directors of Hindi cinema along with Raj Kapoor, Raj Khosla and Mehboob Khan. Many of the films directed by him, such as Upkar (1967), Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (1974) and Kranti (1981) sold 40–50 million tickets in India alone and are among the biggest blockbusters ever in the country.
One of the most successful actors of the 1960s and 1970s, Kumar appeared in Box Office India's "Top Actors" list eight times, (1967–1969, 1972–1976).
He consistently worked with the actors Prem Nath, Pran, Prem Chopra, Kamini Kaushal and Hema Malini in his career. His closest friends from the industry included Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Mukesh, Mahendra Kapoor, Dharmendra, Rajendra Kumar and Shashi Kapoor.
In 2022, he was placed in Outlook India's "75 Best Bollywood Actors" list.
Kumar's trademark movement of a hand covering the face was very popular, and continues to be the butt of jokes of latter day stand-up comedians. In 2007, the Shah Rukh Khan film Om Shanti Om featured the lead character pretending to be Manoj Kumar, so as to sneak into a movie premiere, by holding his hand over his face. Kumar filed a lawsuit which was settled out of court.