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Rajendra Kumar Tuli (20 July 1927 – 12 July 1999) was an Indian actor who starred in Bollywood films. Starting his career in 1949, he appeared in more than 80 films in a career spanning over four decades. He was popularly known as the 'Jubilee Kumar' during the 1960s when he starred in several commercially successful films. [3]

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Rajendra Kumar
Born	Rajendra Kumar Tuli (1927-07-20)20 July 1927[1] Sialkot, Punjab, British India
Died	12 July 1999(1999-07-12) (aged 71) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Actor Producer Director
Years active	1949–1998
Spouse	Shukla Kumar (?–1999)
Children	3 including Kumar Gaurav
Relatives	Ramesh Behl (nephew) O. P. Ralhan (brother-in-law)
Family	Behl family
Honours	Padma Shri (1970)[2]

He also produced several films starring his son Kumar Gaurav. The Government of India honored him with the Padma Shri in 1970.

Career

Rajendra Kumar was born in a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family in Sialkot, in the Punjab province of British India.[4] His grandfather was a successful military contractor and his father had a textile business in Karachi, Sindh, British India. During the Partition of India, the family had to leave all the land and property behind and move to India. When they came to Bombay, Kumar decided to try his luck in the Hindi film industry. He never wanted to be a hero and took up work with director H. S. Rawail as an assistant. For nearly five years, he worked with Rawail as an assistant in films like Patanga, Sagai, Pocket Maar.

During this time, he made his film debut with a cameo in the 1949 film Patanga, followed by a small role in Kidar Sharma's 1950 film Jogan, opposite Dilip Kumar and Nargis. It was producer Devendra Goel who noticed Kumar in Jogan and gave him a break in Vachan in 1955. Kumar was paid only fifteen hundred rupees for the film; however, the film was a hit and was Kumar's first silver jubilee film and he was given a title – 'A star is Born'.[5] He got further success with his supporting role in Mehboob Khan's blockbuster epic film Mother India in 1957 in which he played Nargis's character's son. His first major success as a romantic leading man was in Amit Saxena's musical Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959), co-starring Ameeta.

The 1960s saw Kumar rise to stardom. There were times when he had six or seven films which had run for more than 25 weeks (known in India as a "silver jubilee film"), all running at the cinema at the same time, which rendered him the nickname "Jubilee Kumar".[6] He starred in many box office hits including Dhool Ka Phool (1959), Gharana (1961), Dil Ek Mandir (1963), Mere Mehboob (1963), Sangam (1964), Ayee Milan Ki Bela (1964), Arzoo (1965), Suraj (1966), Jhuk Gaya Aasmaan (1968), Talash (1969) and Ganwaar (1970). He received the Filmfare Nomination for Best Actor for Dil Ek Mandir (1963), Ayee Milan Ki Bela (1964), Arzoo (1965), and as Best Supporting Actor for Sangam (1964).[7] He also starred in K. Asif's incomplete film Sasta Khoon Mehanga Paani co- starring Saira Banu. His brother Naresh Kumar directed him in films like Gora Aur Kala (1972) and Do Jasoos (1975).

From 1972 onwards, he faced competition from Rajesh Khanna and many of his films were flops. He then switched to character roles in the late 1970s and 1980s. He was offered a role in the film Saajan Bina Suhaagan opposite Nutan in 1978 which was a success. He also starred in a number of Punjabi films like Do Sher and Teri Meri Ik Jindri.

In 1981, Rajendra introduced his son Kumar Gaurav in the film Love Story which he produced and also starred in. The film was declared a blockbuster.[8] Rajendra produced a few other films starring his son but none matched the success of Love Story with the exception of the 1986 film Naam, which featured his son starring alongside Sanjay Dutt. His last production was the 1993 film Phool which also didn't do well. In 1995, he acted in the television serials Andaz and Vansh which were his last acting roles.

Personal life

He married Shukla of the Behl family of Hindi films, a sister of Ramesh Behl and Shyam Behl and aunt of their sons Goldie Behl and Ravi Behl.[9] He and Shukla had a son and two daughters. His son Kumar Gaurav also had a brief acting career. His daughter Dimple was married to Hollywood film producer Raju Patel.

His sister Manorama was married to Indian film producer O. P. Ralhan.

Kumar acted with Sunil Dutt and Nargis in the film Mother India (1957) where Sunil Dutt and Rajendra Kumar played sons of Nargis's character. He had a special relationship with Dutt and used to actively participate in campaigning for him, whenever the latter used to contest for elections. Dutt quoted as having said that "Even though Rajendra Kumar did not win any award throughout his career, he was one of the most genuine human beings I have ever encountered. When I was struggling with the troubles related to the arrest of my son Sanjay Dutt and my house was repeatedly being searched by means of numerous police raids, Rajendra Kumar was the one who came to my rescue by staying at my house and ensuring that raids were conducted using due procedures, false evidences were not planted in the house and valuables were not stolen." Kumar was best friends with Raj Kapoor, so much so that his son Kumar Gaurav was engaged to the latter's daughter, Reema. However, their friendship fell apart after their children broke the engagement and Kumar Gaurav married Sunil Dutt and Nargis's daughter Namrata.

He attained a Ph.D. and had a title of 'Doctor' prefixed to his name.

Death

Known to refuse taking any medication, he died at the age of 71 on 12 July 1999, just a day after his son's 43rd birthday, and just 8 days before his 72nd birthday. He died of cardiac arrest in his sleep.[10]

Honours and recognitions

• Rajendra Kumar was honoured with the Padma Shri Award in 1970.
• He was also conferred with Justice of Peace honour and served as Honorary Magistrate.
• He was awarded the National Honour by late Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru simultaneously for Kanoon (Hindi) and Mehndi Rang Lagyo (Gujarati film).
• He received a special Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award and was associated with several charity schemes.[11]

Awards and nominations

Filmfare Awards

Rajendra Kumar was nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Actor for three consecutive years in 1964, 1965 and 1966. In 1965, he also received an additional nomination for Best Supporting Actor.[12]

Best Actor
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1964	Dil Ek Mandir	Dr. Dharmesh	Nominated
1965	Ayee Milan Ki Bela	Shyam
1966	Aarzoo	Gopal/Sarju
Best Supporting Actor
1965	Sangam	Gopal Verma	Nominated

Filmography

As actor

Films as actor
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1949	Patanga		Small Role
1950	Jogan	Vijay's Friend	Small Role.
1955	Vachan	Kishore
1956	Toofan Aur Deeya	Satish Sharma / Masterji
	Aawaz	Ashok
1957	Mother India	Ramu
	Ek Jhalak
	Duniya Rang Rangeeli	Shyam
1958	Devar Bhabhi	Ramu
	Ghar Sansar	Deepak
	Khazanchi	Harish Mohan
	Talaq	Ravi Shankar Chaube
1959	Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan	Dr. Anand
	Dhool Ka Phool	Mahesh Kapoor
	Do Behnen	Ramesh
	Goonj Uthi Shehnai	Kishan
	Santan	Mohanlal Verma
1960	Kanoon	Advocate Kailash Khanna
	Maa Baap	Raj Kumar 'Raju'
	Mehndi Rang Lagyo	Anil	Gujarati Film
	Patang	Dr. Rajan
1961	Zindagi Aur Khwab	Inspector Manoj
	Aas Ka Panchhi	Rajan 'Raju' Khanna
	Dharmputra	party leader	Special Appearance
	Amar Rahe Yeh Pyar	Advocate Iqbal Hussain
	Gharana	Kamal
	Pyaar Ka Saagar	Kishan Chand Gupta
	Sasural	Shekhar
	Sanjog	Guest Role
1963	Akeli Mat Jaiyo	Prince Amardeep
	Dil Ek Mandir	Dr. Dharmesh	Nominated - Filmfare Award for Best Actor
	Gehra Daag	Shankar
	Hamrahi	Shekhar
	Mere Mehboob	Anwar
1964	Sangam	Magistrate Gopal Verma	Nominated - Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
	Ayee Milan Ki Bela	Shyam	Nominated - Filmfare Award for Best Actor
	Zindagi	Rajendra 'Rajan'
1965	Arzoo	Gopal / Sarju	Nominated - Filmfare Award for Best Actor
1966	Suraj	Suraj Singh
1967	Palki	Naseem Baig
	Aman	Dr. Gautamdas
1968	Saathi	Ravi
	Jhuk Gaya Aasman	Sanjay / Tarun Kumar 'Battu' 'Pappu' Saxena
1969	Anjaana	Raju
	Shatranj	Jai/Vijay/Shinranz
	Talash	Raj Kumar 'Raju'
1970	Mera Naam Joker	Rajendra Kumar
	Geet	Suraj 'Sarju' Kumar
	Ganwaar	Gopal Rai / Garibdas
	Dharti	Bharat
1971	Aap Aye Bahaar Ayee	Kumar Verma
1972	Tangewala	Raju / Rai Bahadur Kishandas / Dilbahadur Khan
	Gora Aur Kala	Karan Singh / Kali Singh (Kalua)	Double Role
	Gaon Hamara Shaher Tumhara	Brij "Birju" Bhushan
	Aan Baan	Suraj
	Lalkaar	Wing Commander Rajan Kapoor
1974	Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam	Boatsman
	Do Sher	Shera	Punjabi film
1975	Do Jasoos	Karamchand Jasoos
	Rani Aur Lalpari	Rani's Father
	Sunehra Sansar	Chandrashekhar
	Teri Meri Ik Jindri	Jaggar Singh Fauji	Special Appearance
1976	Mazdoor Zindabaad	Ram Singh
1977	Daku Aur Mahatma
	Do Sholay		Punjabi Movie Do Sher (1974) dubbed in Hindi
	Shirdi Ke Sai Baba	Doctor (Pooja's Husband)
1978	Sone Ka Dil Lohe Ke Haath	Shankar
	Aahuti	CID Inspector Ram Prasad / Rocky
	Saajan Bina Suhagan	Raj Kumar
1979	Bin Phere Hum Tere	Jagdish Sharma
1980	Gunehgaar	Madan
	Badla Aur Balidan	Barrister Avinash Kumar
	Dhan Daulat	Raj Saxena
	Oh Bewafa	R K
	Saajan Ki Saheli	Barrister Avinash Kumar
1981	Yeh Rishta Na Tootay	Police Inspector Vijay Kumar
	Love Story	Vijay Mehra
1982	Rustom	J. D. Mehta
1983	Lovers	Christian Priest
1988	Main Tere Liye	Shiva
1989	Clerk	Rahim U. Khan
1991	Insaaf Ka Khoon	Judge Kumar
1993	Phool	Dharamraaj	Also Producer

TV show
Year	Film	Role	Channel	Notes
1995	Andaz		Zee TV	one episode
	Vansh		Zee TV

Producer

Films as producer
Year	Film	Director	Notes
1970	The Train	Ravikant Nagaich
1981	Love Story	Rahul Rawail	To launch son Kumar Gaurav
1983	Lovers	Bharathiraja
1986	Naam	Mahesh Bhatt
1991	Jurrat	David Dhawan	Also editor of the film
1993	Phool	Singeetam Srinivasa Rao
1994	The Jungle Book		(co-executive producer) (co-producer)[13]

Presenter

• The Train (1970)
• Ganwaar (1970)
• Talash (1969)
• Phool Aur Patthar (1966)

Soundtrack

• Mere Mehboob (1963) (performer: "Mere Mehboob Tujhe", "Allah Bachaye", "Tere Pyar Mein Dildar", "Janeman Ek Nazar", "Yaad Mein Teri", "Tumse Izhar e Haal", "Mere Mehboob Mein Kya", "Ae Husn Zara Jaag", "Yaad Mein (revival) Zalzala")

Thanks

• Mera Naam Joker (1970) (acknowledgment) (as Rajender Kumar)

Self

• Raj Kapoor (1987) as Himself (during funeral)
• Star (1982) as Himself (Guest Appearance)
• Shrimanji (1968) as Himself
• Kala Bazar (1960) as Himself

Archive footage

• Film Hi Film (1983) (uncredited)

References

External links

• Rajendra Kumar at IMDb
• Rajendra Kumar profile at Rediff.com

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