Entertainment News Desk – Ashok Kumar Birth AnniversaryDadamuni or Ashok Kumar was born on 13 October 1911 in Bhagalpur. He was the eldest among three brothers, hence he was called Dada. Muni means gem in Bengali, so he eventually became the grandfather of films. By the way, his name at birth was Kumudlal Kunjilal Ganguly. Ashok Kumar was rich in versatile talent. Not only an actor, he was also well versed in astrology. The first superstar of Hindi films and the first person to play the role of anti-hero. He suddenly came into films. He had a desire to advance in the technical field, but then he became a hero by accident.
Novelist and writer Saadat Hasan Manto was among his friends. ‘Manto has written in ‘Meena Bazaar’ that a bold woman took Ashok Kumar to her house, so that she could charm him. But they were so determined that the woman had to change her strategy. She told him, ‘I was just testing you, you’re like my brother!’ His entry into films was coincidental. This is mentioned in his biography ‘Dadamuni The Life and Times of Ashok Kumar’. He was suddenly cast in the lead role in the 1936 film ‘Jeevan Naiya’. Actually, the lead actor had gone missing.
The film starred actress Devika Rani, who was known as the bindaas Dragon Lady at that time. She smoked, drank, did everything. Ashok Kumar hesitantly worked in Himanshu Rai’s film which was a hit. After this ‘Achhoot Kanya’ which was a blockbuster. The journey that started after this did not stop for long. In the next six decades, he starred in films like ‘Police Wale Aur Chor’, ‘Kismat’, ‘Mahal’, ‘Parineeta’, ‘Kanoon’, ‘Gumrah’, ‘Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi’, ‘Aashirwad’, ‘Mamta’, ‘Jewel Thief’. Worked in many films including ‘Khoobsurat’ and ‘Khatta Meetha’.
Ashok Kumar received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1988. Many years before this, he was also honored with Padmashree. Nabendu Ghosh, Dadamuni’s biographer, writes that Ashok Kumar’s world was vast – he was a charming orator, guru, homeopath, astrologer, painter, linguist, poet and above all a loyal friend and devoted husband and father. Ashok Kumar was a family man. He loved his family very much, perhaps that is why he stopped celebrating his birthday since 1987. This was a big shock. His beloved younger brother Kishore Kumar had left this world. The sad thing was that his father also died on his birthday, 13 October. Dadamuni left this world with great sadness on 10 December 2001.