Sanjeev Kumar:The actor who had predicted his death and obsessed over older roles

There is a popular saying: ‘A flame that burns twice as bright, lasts half as long!’ And many of Sanjeev Kumar’s near and dear ones believe this is the best way to define the life of the star, who was affectionately called Haribhai. The actor, who was born on July 9, 1938, breathed his last on November 6, 1985 at the age of 47. By this time, the actor had featured in about 165 films, out of which 155 were in Hindi and 10 in other languages.

In the book Sanjeev Kumar: The Actor We All Loved, Paresh Rawal recalled a conversation with Jamnadas, the manager of Sanjeev Kumar, who said, “Paresh, agar Amitabh Bachchan ka baap banna hai to Sanjeev Kumar hi ban sakta hai! Aur kaun banega? (Who but Sanjeev Kumar can match Amitabh Bachchan on the screen?)” And hence, Sanjeev was seen playing an elderly role in many of his films including the cult classic Sholay (1975), Trishul (1978), Mausam (1975), Sawaal (1982), and Devata (1978). Sanjeev was 37 when he played Thakur in Sholay, and 40 when he played RK Gupta, the father of Amitabh Bachchan’s Vijay Kumar and Shashi Kapoor’s Shekhar Kumar, in Trishul.

While, many would think why did the actor take up such older roles at a young age when other A-listers would refuse to get typecast in such roles, Tabassum–the late actress who shares her birthday with Sanjeev Kumar and has worked with him in the film Alibaba Aur 40 Chor, among others–revealed in one of her earlier YouTube videos that Sanjeev was obsessed with older roles.

She recalled in Tabassum Talkies, “I asked him once, why are you so obsessed with older roles? He revealed to me, ‘Tabassum, a palm reader once predicted that I wouldn’t live long and I won’t see older age. This is why I play older roles in films to live that life which I am not fated to otherwise.’”

Sanjeev Kumar’s journey of playing older roles began back when he was in theater.

AK Hangal recalled in an interview with Lehren Retro, “When I was working in theatre, Sanjeev Kumar had approached me for work. Then I gave him a role of an old man in a drama. He was a very mature man.”

Sachin Pilgaonkar, who has shared the screen with Sanjeev Kumar, told Bollywood Aaj Aur Kal, “Haribhai was a Gujarati man. He had worked immensely on Gujarati stage with Sohrab Modi ji. He then joined IPTA. The first role he bagged in the Hindi theatre was of an old man. He played the husband to theatre icon Shaukat Azmi (mother of Shabana Azmi). Maybe it was since then only that people assumed that despite the guy being in his 20s, he is capable of playing older roles better.”

Though the Trishul star was obsessed with roles of elderly men and the industry trusted him with such roles opposite stars like Big B, Sanjeev Kumar is regarded as an actor who was best at everything he did. His films Angoor, Koshish, Khilona and Pati Patni Aur Woh stand as a testament to his versatility.

According to Paresh Rawal, the audience used to sigh with relief when Sanjeev entered the frame, ‘Nothing can go wrong now!’ In the book, Sanjeev Kumar: The Actor We All Loved, Paresh Rawal claims, “He was director’s fail-safe artiste, an avatar all in his own league to perform and enthrall.”

Sanjeev Kumar, who was compared to Hollywood actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, was trusted by many filmmakers to essay the most challenging lead roles as well as character roles with equal gumption.

As an actor, Sanjeev in a very short time added many firsts to his credit. He was the first actor to introduce prosthetic make-up in Hindi cinema with his 1981 film Chehre Pe Chehra. He was also the first actor to play nine different roles in the 1974 movie Naya Din Nai Raat. In fact, it was the actor’s film Aandhi (1975), which was one of the first movies to be banned in independent India.