Pradeep Kumar – the legendary actor of 60s.
Pradeep Kumar is one of the legendary actors, who had glorified bollywood and tollywood films during the 40s, 50s and 60s. He impressed the Bengali audience in films like Biyallish, Dasshumohan, Grihadaha, etc, some having patriotic feeling embedded them, the others based on classical Bengali literature.
When he went to Bombay, producers and directors could not ignore his majestic personality and did cast him in historical characters which required elegance. He made a significant impact on the audience in the film Anandmath, along with Prithviraj Kapoor and Bharat Bhushan. In Anarkali, he displayed the royal style of acting during the mughal period opposite Beena Rai, who played the role of anarkali. His other film Nagin, opposite Vaijayantimala was also successful.
In the 60s, he acted in musical blockbusters, one after the other, starting with Aarti, opposite Meena Kumari. The songs composed by Roshan and sung by Rafi and Lata were masterpieces, including “aapne yaad dilaya to mujhe yaad aya”, “ab kya missal doon mai tumhare shabab ki”, “baharon ki manzil rahi”, to name a few.
He had a screen presence which resembled Shahjahan, and the get up was exploited in the film Taj Mahal, 1963, where his performance was excellent. He displayed the royal form of lifestyle existing during the historical age and his lips in the songs of Rafi, composed by Roshan was marvellous, including songs like “paon chulene do phulon ko inayat hogi”, “jo wada kiya ho nibhana parega”, etc. The love of the monarch towards poetry, ghazals, architecture and beauty was well exhibited by Pradeep Kumar, and critics say that there was no second actor who could depict the character in the same manner as Pradeep Kumar.
Apart from historical films, Pradeep Kumar also showed his excellence in social films like Bheegi Raat and Bahu Begum opposite Meena Kumari and Ashok Kumar. The films involved triangular affairs, where one person had to sacrifice his affection for the other friend, which was done both these films by Ashok Kumar. But Pradeep Kumar played the role of decent individual in these films, who felt the emotions of Meena Kumari and ultimately was admired by the audience. The songs in these films like “dil jo na keh saka”, “jane who kaun hai, kya naam hai in ankhoka”, “hum intezer karenge tera qayamat tak”, “duniya kare sawal”, were some of the songs composed by Roshan in these films, which were the best creations ever in the history of bollywood music.
His films Chitralekha, opposite Meena Kumari, Rajhath opposite Madhubala, Adalat, opposite Nargis, Meri Surat Teri Anken, opposite Asha Parekh, also showed his depth of acting. Notable songs in these films include “man re to kahe na dheer dhare”, “saze dil cher de”, etc. He was probably one of the most majestic actors ever to grace bollywood, and even being a Bengali, he did not find it difficult to pronounce urdu dialogues whenever required in the historical classics. It is difficult to mention his performance in the films he has acted because his presence was felt for more than 30 years and he acted with all the leading actresses of that age. The Television channels should held Retrospectives on the legend to educate the new generation about royal style of acting.
When he went to Bombay, producers and directors could not ignore his majestic personality and did cast him in historical characters which required elegance. He made a significant impact on the audience in the film Anandmath, along with Prithviraj Kapoor and Bharat Bhushan. In Anarkali, he displayed the royal style of acting during the mughal period opposite Beena Rai, who played the role of anarkali. His other film Nagin, opposite Vaijayantimala was also successful.
In the 60s, he acted in musical blockbusters, one after the other, starting with Aarti, opposite Meena Kumari. The songs composed by Roshan and sung by Rafi and Lata were masterpieces, including “aapne yaad dilaya to mujhe yaad aya”, “ab kya missal doon mai tumhare shabab ki”, “baharon ki manzil rahi”, to name a few.
He had a screen presence which resembled Shahjahan, and the get up was exploited in the film Taj Mahal, 1963, where his performance was excellent. He displayed the royal form of lifestyle existing during the historical age and his lips in the songs of Rafi, composed by Roshan was marvellous, including songs like “paon chulene do phulon ko inayat hogi”, “jo wada kiya ho nibhana parega”, etc. The love of the monarch towards poetry, ghazals, architecture and beauty was well exhibited by Pradeep Kumar, and critics say that there was no second actor who could depict the character in the same manner as Pradeep Kumar.
Apart from historical films, Pradeep Kumar also showed his excellence in social films like Bheegi Raat and Bahu Begum opposite Meena Kumari and Ashok Kumar. The films involved triangular affairs, where one person had to sacrifice his affection for the other friend, which was done both these films by Ashok Kumar. But Pradeep Kumar played the role of decent individual in these films, who felt the emotions of Meena Kumari and ultimately was admired by the audience. The songs in these films like “dil jo na keh saka”, “jane who kaun hai, kya naam hai in ankhoka”, “hum intezer karenge tera qayamat tak”, “duniya kare sawal”, were some of the songs composed by Roshan in these films, which were the best creations ever in the history of bollywood music.
His films Chitralekha, opposite Meena Kumari, Rajhath opposite Madhubala, Adalat, opposite Nargis, Meri Surat Teri Anken, opposite Asha Parekh, also showed his depth of acting. Notable songs in these films include “man re to kahe na dheer dhare”, “saze dil cher de”, etc. He was probably one of the most majestic actors ever to grace bollywood, and even being a Bengali, he did not find it difficult to pronounce urdu dialogues whenever required in the historical classics. It is difficult to mention his performance in the films he has acted because his presence was felt for more than 30 years and he acted with all the leading actresses of that age. The Television channels should held Retrospectives on the legend to educate the new generation about royal style of acting.
Article By: CR Chatterji.
