9 July, 1938 saw the birth of one of the finest actors in Hindi Cinema- Harihar Zariwala aka Sanjeev Kumar. Today on his 69th Birth Anniversary, we spoke to people from the film fraternity who were either associated with him or who were influenced by his acting prowess.

Mala Sinha:
“He was a very sensitive actor, he never acted- he just became the character. But off-screen he was very child-like; he dropped by at our place unannounced one day and declared that he would have lunch with us. My Baba was embarrassed because we are fish-eaters and we had nothing much to offer a Gujarati vegetarian! But he assured us that he didn't mind eating fish at all. He ate heartily picking out fish-bones as deftly as we do.”

Yash Chopra:
“My film Silsila is special because it has immortal moments. For Rekha's husband I wanted Sanjeev Kumar, but he wasn't willing. After Sholayand Trishul he wasn't willing to play second fiddle to a script that focused on Amitabh Bachchan. He wasn't willing to even listen to the story, but I insisted and followed him to Bangalore. We were half-way through the narration and I was telling him of the restaurant scene when Jaya and Amitabh take the dance floor and Sanjeev asks me to stop. He stopped me, phoned his secretary to check his dates and said he was doing the film.”

Moushmi Chatterjee:
“Sanjeev Kumar was my favorite co-star who played my hero, father and brother-in-law in different films.

Rajpal Yadav:
“I want to become like Sanjeev Kumar. He had great comic timing and regaled people in films like Angoor and Swarag Narak but he also possessed the chameleon-like ability to become the character he portrayed. Nobody laughed at his entry in Sholay because he personified a duty-bound police officer. Then, take Koshish for instance. His heart-rendering portrayal of a deaf and dumb father brings tears to our eyes even today. I want to cast myself in the same mould.”

Seema Deo:
I was scared to work with Sanjeev Kumar in Yehi Hai Zindagi and told him “Aap mujhe sambhaal lena.” He smiled and said, "But I am your fan."

Subhash Ghai:
“Sanjeev Kumar was one of the finest actors I have ever worked with. He was one of those heroes who would play many characters at one time. He could change get ups and colours. He was a dear and honest person. He was a delight for any director to work with. He has given some very memorable performances. He was a very good-hearted person. He used to give money to small producers to complete the shooting of the film. He died unmarried but he was a constant lover..”

A K Hangal:
“He used to work in theatre and I have directed him on stage. We never went to each other's house, but we still loved each other. We never showed it to each other. When he died I did not get out of the house for a long time. I did not eat for two days. I have never cried for anybody's death, but I cried for Sanjeev's. He had a very sublime personality. He was of a good nature. He was not the showy types. He was a very good actor.

I used to smoke in those days and even he was a smoker. I asked him for a cigarette one day. He didn't say anything but went 10-20 feet away from me and stood in a corner and gave me a cigarette there. I wondered why he was doing that to me. Then I realized I used to give him cigarettes in the same way when he was kadkaa (ran out of money). So, that was why he was taking revenge from me.”