Born as Haribhai Jethalal Jariwala, Sanjeev Kumar had a humble beginning to his film career, and starred in many action flicks early on. He was born in a Gujarati family in Surat, and the family, later on, settled in Mumbai (All photos/mid-day archives)
Sanjeev Kumar's stint at a film school led him to the Hindi film industry. He started his career as a stage actor, with IPTA in Mumbai and later joined the Indian National Theatre
In fact, he even failed a screen test conducted for a Rajshri film. Although he made his debut in the 1960 film Hum Hindustani, Sanjeev Kumar's first film as a lead was Nishan in 1965
The 1970 movie Khilona in which Sanjeev Kumar played a mentally challenged person gave him recognition for the first time, and ever since then he never looked back
Sanjeev Kumar won two National Film Awards for Best Actor for his performances in 'Dastak' and Koshish. In the latter, his character as a deaf and mute person was exemplary
Sanjeev Kumar reserved his best for filmmaker-cum-lyricist Gulzar with whom he collaborated in nine movies
Sanjeev Kumar has also starred in Gujarati films early in his career, with 'Kalapi' (1966) and another film 'Mare Javun Pele Par' (1968) with Aruna Irani. In 1980, he starred in the Punjabi movie 'Fauji Chacha'
Sanjeev Kumar shared his birthday with his good friend and colleague Shatrughan Sinha's wedding anniversary. In fact, they often celebrated the occasion together. In picture: Sanjeev Kumar at the wedding of Sharmila Tagore and Tiger Pataudi
Sanjeev Kumar had this belief that his family was cursed since no male member in his family lived to the age of 50. Cruelly, Kumar himself passed away on November 6, 1985 (at the age of 47) due to a massive heart attack
It is well-known that Kumar was in love with Hema Malini. Later, he was even in a relationship with Sulakshana Pandit but remained unmarried till his death
More than ten movies starring Sanjeev Kumar were released after his death - 'Professor Ki Padosan' (1993) being the last. Since Kumar couldn't shoot for the entire film, the storyline of the second half was altered and Kumar's character was made invisible
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