Fondly called Haribhai, the legendary Sanjeev Kumar, acted in 155 films (Hindi), including an uncredited appearance in Hum Hindustani (1960) and a cameo in Aao Pyar Karen. He appeared in many supporting roles but the movie Khilona, where in he lost his mental balance after seeing a disturbing incidence, lead to a major boost in his career.
The new biography, Sanjeev Kumar: The Actor We All Loved, takes the reader through the highs and lows of his life and career. The book, published by Harper Collins, talks about each aspect of his life such as his love life, relationships, habits of drinking and smoking and his decision to remain unmarried. It reveals how he was smitten by Hema Malini, whom he met on the sets of Ramesh Sippy’ s Seeta Aur Geeta, but fate intervened, and she married Dharamendra.
In the book, Tanuja is quoted saying how much his mother’s demise affected him. “After her passing, he wouldn’ t listen to anyone.”
The book is full of incidents, like the one where Amitabh Bachan convinced him to accept Silsila, after he had refused Yash Chopra. It also has articles by close friends Randhir Kapoor, Gulzar, co-stars Sharmila Tagore and Tanuja, who highlight the rich details of his life. A section called “Hurricane Hari”, documents how he builds his legacy.
The book begins with Gulzar’ s poem –‘An Ode To My Friend’ and ends with Vidya Balan saying. “He made everything believable. He just became the character.”
The book was launched on 9 th July, Sanjeev Kumar’ s birthday and is endorsed by our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. His nephew Uday Jariwala and biographer take us through the actor’ s short but memorable life.
