Sanjeev Kumar’s death on November 6, 1985, came as a shock to millions of his fans. In two decades of his acting career, he excelled in diverse roles combining the tragic and the comic.
In a world where labels come easily, Sanjeev Kumar defied categorisation. Can we, for instance, in the days to come, look back and eulogise him as “the greatest actor” of Hindi cinema in our times? Or could we give him such commonplace sobriquets as the king of tragedy or of comedy?
Like all truly great actors, Sanjeev Kumar’s achievements cover a range that is not even easily comprehensible. The national award-winning performances in Dastak and Koshish have only to be juxtaposed to the comedy of Manchali and the light-hearted banter of his incredible performance in Manoranjan, the star-presence he projected in Sholay, the dramatic guest appearance in Parichay, the fresh vitality of a young actor in Sanghursh and Khilona, and the controlled portrayals in popular cinema such as Trishul — for us to realise that here was an actor who could turn in a competent performance in practically any kind of situation. He showed no reticence either in dancing round the trees, or the bulging waistline swinging in tune to the noisy orchestrations of the music director.
In films like Anokhi Raat and Anubhav he turned out to be a forerunner of the new breed of actors now so evident on the Hindi film scene — the Naseeruddin Shahs, the Om Puris and the Girish Karnads. None of whom, incidentally, have yet managed to achieve the mass popularity that made Sanjeev Kumar that rare bird of the Indian cinema: an actor who attained star status.
{{/usCountry}}In films like Anokhi Raat and Anubhav he turned out to be a forerunner of the new breed of actors now so evident on the Hindi film scene — the Naseeruddin Shahs, the Om Puris and the Girish Karnads. None of whom, incidentally, have yet managed to achieve the mass popularity that made Sanjeev Kumar that rare bird of the Indian cinema: an actor who attained star status.
{{/usCountry}}In this, Sanjeev Kumar inherited the mantle of the legendary Guru Dutt. Through sheer dint of their ability to impress the larger audience of the commercial cinema with the human quality of their acting, Guru Dutt and Sanjeev Kumar elevated themselves to a star status that defied the conventional requirement of the Bombay film star. They were attractive personalities, no doubt, but hardly qualified to be the chocolate-faced, physically endowed playboy of the Hindi screen. In Guru Dutt’s case, the intellectual and emotional magic of his directorial genius helped to establish him as a star in his own right.
Sanjeev Kumar, on the other hand, had to depend entirely on his versatile talents as an actor. Pulling his way through routine potboilers, superficial family dramas, the farcical violence of stunt films (of which he had signed many during the early years of struggle), he was always conscious that the ambition of his youth was to become a film star, and the only way open to him was through his talent as an actor. At the box-office he was often in direct competition with Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna and Jeetendra. He may not have emerged as a box-office draw in that bracket in his own right but he was strong enough to be always counted in the race -- a dark horse who could upstage the best of them on the odd day.
(Excerpts from an article published in HT on November 17, 1985)