Ashok Kumar: An unintentional actor who challenged norms, experimented and gave many firsts to Indian cinema

After reluctantly making his debut with the 1936 movie Jeevan Naiya, helium starred successful Janmabhoomi and past Achhut Kanya, the second creating a important impact. Ashok Kumar’s girl recalls successful the publication Dadamoni: The Life and Times of Ashok Kumar: “I ne'er forgot the singular laurel that had travel to you aft the merchandise of Achhut Kanya. Among the flood of letters and telegrams was 1 that said, ‘Congratulations Ashok Kumar connected the occurrence of Achhut Kanya.’ Below it, the signature work ‘Adolf Hitler.’ ‘How could you teardrop and propulsion distant specified a humanities document, Papa!’ I had cried out. I volition ne'er hide your words: ‘Laurels tin ne'er beryllium much important than principles and quality values.'” This was during a clip erstwhile Nazis were connected the rise.

A poster of Achhut Kanya.

In 1943, helium starred successful Gyan Mukherjee’s movie Kismet, which introduced bold themes to Indian cinema, showcasing an anti-hero quality successful treble roles and depicting an unmarried miss getting pregnant. The movie became the archetypal large deed successful the past of Bombay cinema, and archetypal blockbuster successful Indian cinema, moving successful packed theaters for 3 years.

Fast guardant to 1949, Ashok Kumar backed India’s archetypal fearfulness film, Mahal, arsenic some the pb prima and producer. This marked the directorial debut of Kamal Amrohi, launched Madhubala, and introduced playback vocalist Lata Mangeshkar. Most notably, it introduced the taxable of reincarnation for the archetypal time. The movie emerged arsenic 1 of the biggest hits of the decennary and the biggest fiscal occurrence successful Bombay Talkies’ history, a workplace founded by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani, with which Ashok Kumar was associated for astir 20 years. Did his risks marque him a superstar?

A poster of Mahal.

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In 1950, Ashok Kumar took different hazard by becoming the archetypal leader to represent an anti-hero successful Sangram. The movie ran for sixteen weeks successful packed houses. Bharati Jaffery recalls, “In the sixteenth week, the constabulary commissioner came location to accidental that Chief Minister Morarji Desai had decided to prohibition the film. Why? Because of the interaction of your performance. This movie was astir a lad spoiled by his indulgent begetter who gets into nefarious activities: helium gambles and kidnaps the miss helium loves. You tried to explicate to the constabulary commissioner that the movie has a moral, that ‘the leader gets his punishment.’ But helium said, ‘Dadamoni, the occupation is that you are connected the different broadside of the law. In the gunfight erstwhile you sprout and the constabulary get injured, the assemblage was cheering for you! The instrumentality cannot licence this. You are a relation model, Dadamoni; radical privation to travel you and volition extremity up against the law. We cannot fto you bash that.'”

A poster of Sangram.

It was 1959 erstwhile Ashok Kumar took different immense risk. He starred successful a courtroom play Kanoon–a movie connected the signifier of superior punishment. A movie that questioned if it was close for the authorities to instrumentality a beingness connected the ground of claims of an eyewitness. Ashok Kumar played Badri Prasad–the justice suspected of being the culprit. This was besides arguably the archetypal movie that had nary songs. A clip erstwhile songs were the nationalist look of each emotion of the characters. Kanoon, with nary songs, became a milestone.

He went connected to prima successful films similar Ek Hi Raasta, addressing widow remarriage–still a societal taboo. Meri Soorat Teri Aankhen–a movie astir an disfigured antheral with a beauteous voice, successful emotion with a beauteous girl. It was the perennial communicative of interior vs outer beauty. Jewel Thief–where helium played the villain, and Gumraah, a movie based connected the taxable of infidelity. Ashok Kumar continuously reinvented himself, shifting from starring roles to anti-heroes to quality roles, but with each role–big oregon small–he continued to resonate with his assemblage until his last movie Achena Atithi successful 1997. People adjacent accepted him playing acheronian shades–be it Bikash, the state combatant successful Bandini (1963), Judge Ajay successful Do Bhai (1970), oregon Dr Prakash successful Aarti (1962). Was it his experiments that made him a superstar?

A poster of Kanoon.

“I ne'er liked moving and singing romanticist songs. I similar quality roles,” Ashok Kumar said successful an interrogation with Prasar Bharati successful 1988. While helium continued to radiance successful each relation helium did, helium besides wanted to permission cinema aft each movie helium finished.

“I cannot archer anybody however I stayed applicable successful the manufacture for truthful long. Its been implicit 55 years since I began my acting career, but however it happened, I person nary idea. People usually past successful movie for 10 years astatine max arsenic stars. When I was 5 years into acting, I thought to permission the manufacture and proceed my unfinished instrumentality degree. But, astatine that time, I was inactive successful demand, truthful I gave it a thought and decided to springiness different 5 years to acting. And conscionable similar that galore 5 years passed by. Now, aft each these years, I regret to not person collected immoderate of my work. Now, adjacent if I want, I cannot find my erstwhile works. I ne'er collected it due to the fact that I ne'er thought I would beryllium successful films for truthful galore years. People inquire maine for secret, but determination is nary secret,” Ashok told Prasar Bharti.

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The 1 concealed to his success, however, was his effect to challenges: “When idiosyncratic challenges maine oregon comments, ‘You can’t bash this oregon that,’ I extremity up showing them I can,” said Ashok Kumar successful an interrogation with Lehren Metro.

Perhaps this is wherefore the reluctant histrion became the archetypal large prima of India aft being rejected by Franz Osten pursuing his archetypal surface test. He told successful an interrogation shared by Broadcast Imaging, “They made maine beryllium connected the stairs of a gathering and asked maine to sing. I ended up singing 1 of the songs my ma taught maine erstwhile I was young. It was rather funny. Osten saw maine and told Himanshu Rai, ‘This lad volition not do. He has got a quadrate jaw. It’s nary good.’ He came to maine and asked, ‘What bash you do?’ I told him, ‘I americium studying instrumentality successful Calcutta.’ He said, ‘Go backmost to Kolkata and survey law.’ But Himanshu Rai gave maine a occupation arsenic laboratory technician.”

A poster of Kismet.

“When they were shooting for Jeevan Naiyya, they couldn’t find an histrion for the film. Himanshu Rai came to maine and told me, ‘Please spell get ready, I privation you to enactment successful this film.’ I said, ‘I can’t bash it. My parents are against it.’ But helium requested and assured maine this would beryllium my lone film. The movie was received well, past they made maine bash different film, and past Achhut Kanya, which excessively became a hit.”

However, contempt each the praise helium received, the actor-singer would often person feedback similar “Try acting from your heart.”

Ashok Kumar told successful an interrogation with Broadcast Imaging, “I saw the people of my movie and adjacent I could spot determination was thing disconnected astir my acting. The manager would conscionable inquire maine to accidental dialogues, but wouldn’t usher astir expressions oregon oculus moments.” He added, “I bought a publication titled Rehearsal. It was each astir theatre, but yet it helped maine larn dependable modulation, pauses, pitch. I would spell to the oversea enactment and practice. Eventually, I understood, they wanted maine to talk done my eyes, and erstwhile I learnt that art, I seldom said dialogues and lone utilized my eyes to express.”

Sadat Hasan Manto wrote successful his book: “Ashok’s popularity grew each passing day. He seldom ventured out, but wherever helium was spotted, helium was mobbed. Traffic would travel to a halt and often the constabulary would person to usage lathis to disperse his fans.”

Despite the fame, and talent, Ashok Kumar maintained: “I americium not ambitious.” In an interrogation with Lehren Metro, helium said: “When I volition beryllium gone from this world, if radical volition retrieve maine conscionable arsenic ‘he was a bully human’, that shall beryllium much than enough. I request thing more.”

Today marks Ashok Kumar’s 113th commencement anniversary.