Mumbai, October 12 (IANS). Ashok Kumar’s name is always included in golden letters in the history of Bollywood. He was not only a wonderful actor, but also a personality that gave a new direction to Hindi Cinema. Very few people know that his journey in films did not start with any brilliance or big dreams, but that his first work as a laboratory assistant was in Bombay Talkies. With this work he suddenly became the hero of films and caught the hearts of people. Ashok Kumar was born on October 13, 1911 in a Bengali family in the Bhagalpur district Bihar. His real name was Kumudlal Ganguly. His father Kunjilal Ganguly was a lawyer. Ashok also had a dream to become a lawyer since childhood and his father also inspired him to follow the same path. But after failing the bar exam for the first time, Ashok Kumar felt it might not have been his way. After this he came to Mumbai to prove himself. There, his sister Sati Devi’s husband Shashadhar Mukherjee worked in Bombay Talkies. Ashok sought his help and got a job as a laboratory assistant in Bombay Talkies. His motive for this work was not to reach glitter or stars in the film world. He just wanted to survive in everyday life. He worked behind the camera and understood the technical processes of filmmaking. But fate had something else for him in mind. In 1936, when the recording of the film ‘Jeevan Naiya’ was underway, the main hero of the film Nazmul Hasan suddenly left the film. Bombay Talkies -owner Himanshu Rai immediately decided to make Ashok Kumar a hero. Director Franz Austen was also surprised to hear this news, because he believed that Ashok’s appearance was not suitable for the hero. Nevertheless, Bombay Talkies did not change his decision and so Ashok Kumar performed for the first time in the film ‘Jeevan Naiya’. During this film, his name was changed from Kumudlal Gangule to ‘Ashok Kumar’. From here, his new identity began to form. ‘Jeevan Naiya’ has become successful and Ashok Kumar gradually became the first superstar of Hindi Cinema. His simplicity and natural acting won the hearts of people. He has worked in many memorable films like ‘Achhut Kanya’, ‘Howrah Bridge’, ‘Kishmat’, ‘Chalti Ka Name Gaadi’, ‘Bandini’, ‘Bandhan’, ‘Jhoola’ and ‘Kangan’. The movie ‘Cossmat’ is very important in the career of Ashok Kumar. The film was released in 1943 and was the first film in the Indian theater to earn more than Rs 1 crore at the box office. In this film, he played the role of anti-hero, which was very new and different at the time. The success of “Cussy” made him an overnight star and his popularity skyrocketed. Ashok Kumar not only acted, he also directed and produced films. Many major films were made of its production company, the most important of which was ‘Ziddi’. Veteran actors like Dev Anand made their debut with this film. In addition, he acknowledged and gave opportunities to many great artists such as Madhubala, Pran, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Shakti Samanta. In this way, Ashok Kumar gave many new faces and talents to Hindi Cinema. Ashok Kumar received many awards in his life. In 1988 he received the ‘Dada Saheb Phalke’ award, the largest film award from the Government of India. In addition, he also received high civil honors such as Padmashree. However, there was no less sad in the life of Ashok Kumar. His younger brother and famous singer Kishore Kumar died on October 13, 1987, who was also Ashok Kumar’s birthday. This sadness affected him so much that he stopped celebrating his birthday. On September 10, 2001, Ashok Kumar breathed his last and said goodbye to the world. -—IANS PK/AS
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