By: Farhana

He was the man behind the 'nau avtaars', the man who made people roll with laughter. He was Haribhai Jariwala, 'Sanjeev Kumar' to the movie hungry finicky audiences. 'NAYA DIN NAYI RAAT', one masterpiece given brilliance by Sanjeev Kumar. He played nine different characters in the film. He suited the roles every bit. Anybody else could have hardly done justice to the roles. The make-up, the costume, everything was so true to the characters, it was a marvel to have him perform.

Bollywood was not a bed of roses, and for Haribhai, it meant persistent struggle to get through. Acting was not a came-saw-conquered phase. Beginning his career with theatre, he moved ahead, slowly but surely. After dabbling in theatre, he joined the Filmalaya Acting School and did his first role, a bit role in Filmalaya's HUM HINDUSTANI (1960).

Sanjeev Kumar's first film as hero was NISHANA. But he was first noticed in a big way in SANGHASH (1968) where he was pitted against Dilip Kumar and more than held his own in the scenes they did together. (In fact many thought he scored over Dilip Kumar in the scenes they did together) Slowly he began getting leading roles opposite top actresses like Nutan, Waheeda Rehman and Mala Sinha. He played the mentally unstable and lost lover in 'KHILONA' (1970) and won accolades that he rightly deserved. After all, depicting a defeated character is a thorny act. But again what stood out in the film was his outstanding acting.

KHILONA (1970) made Sanjeev Kumar into a star. He was absolutely spot-on as a mentally imbalanced man who is helped back to sanity by a prostitute hired to nurse him. The same year also saw him deliver a fine performance in DASTAK, winning his first National Award as Best Actor.

 In spite of being a star, Sanjeev Kumar still opted for roles that were off the beaten track in films like ANUBHAV (1971). Sanjeev Kumar was one of those few actor-stars to whom the role meant more than anything in the world. He was willing to play any character of any age in a film, even if it wasn't the lead role, provided the role challenged his acting abilities, which of course were considerable. PARICHAY (1972) and KOSHISH (1972), which won him a second National Award, brought him into contact with their director, Gulzar. Thus started a mutually beneficial partnership that saw some of Sanjeev Kumar's finest work as an actor. The Gulzar - Sanjeev Kumar partnership resulted in such fine films as AANDHI (1975), MAUSAM (1975), ANGOOR (1981) and NAMKEEN (1982) with strong Sanjeev Kumar performances in each of them.

Despite making his reputation as a serious actor, he displayed a great flair for the light-hearted and mainstream films like MANCHALI(1973), SEETA AUR GEETA(1972), MANORANJAN (1974), PATI PATNI AUR WOH (1978) and ANGOOR. Films like NAYA DIN NAYI RAAT (1974) wherein he played multiple roles further showcased his acting talent and versatility.

Sanjeev Kumar was one actor who improved his performance tremendously at the dubbing stage with his marvellous voice control. The quiver in his emotionally saturated voice was as important an element of his acting as small casual gestures like running his hand down his neck. He carries an aura, an unbeatable charisma. Sanjeev Kumar was not handsome compared to other actors of his time. But he possessed those rusty and tousled looks that enabled him to fit into almost any and every character with absolute ease. For him, substance scored a higher point over the guise. He played almost all the possible characters with ease with effortless exactitude.

'KOSHISH' (1972) had him enacting a deaf-mute husband to a deaf-mute Jaya Bhaduri. It is amazing to watch him emote having internalised his feelings without the help of dialogue and his performance is screen acting at its very best. The film shows a supreme actor at the peak of his histrionic talent. Jaya and Sanjeev Kumar made an excellent pair on screen presenting most of the relationships and few of their greatest hits included 'ANAMIKA', 'PARICHAY', 'SHOLAY' and 'SILSILA'. He once commented that he had been Jaya's father, husband, father-in-law, etc. and he regretted not having played her son even once.

In 1977 Sanjeev Kumar had an opportunity to work with the great Satyajit Ray when he made his first film outside Bengal, SHATRANJ KE KHILADI (1977). The film features delightful performances by Saeed Jaffrrey and Sanjeev Kumar as Mir and Mirza respectively, so utterly absorbed in their game of chess that Mirza neglects his wife while Mir's wife has an affair right under his unsuspecting nose! When Lucknow falls to the British, they leave for an abandoned mosque on the outskirts of the city to play in peace! It is a delightful nuance performance under a great director.

Among his later lot of films the only two that really stand out are VIDHAATA (1982), which again brought him face to face with Dilip Kumar; and HERO(1983), both directed by Subhash Ghai.

Sanjeev's on screen life was full of jubilant surprises but off-screen, he had drenched himself in alcohol. A bachelor, Sanjeev Kumar died of an acute heart ailment in 1985. It is ironic that someone who had played so many elderly roles, himself didn't even live to be fifty.

But the genius remains embedded in the hearts of the audiences forever.

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