He was called Dadamoni. He was Ashok Kumar. He was an actor in Hindi films since its early years till our times. He was born on 13 October 1911 and died on 10 December 2001.
His acting career started reluctantly in 1936 with Jeevan Naiya, along with Devika Rani. The film was directed by Franz Osten. In the same year, another film Achhut Kanya came by the same director. Then came Kangan (1939), Bandhan (1940), and Jhoola (1941), all opposite Leela Chitnis. With the film Kismat, Ashok Kumar’s Kismat changed in 1943. Ashok became a popular star.
In the early 1950s came three young men, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, and Raj Kapoor. Despite the presence of these three men, Ashok Kumar remained steady. His Mahal (1949) with Madhubala became a hit. Ashok Kumar was an evergreen star. He received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Padma Shri, and Padma Bhushan. Ashok Kumar’s talent was superb and steady. In the film Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, in a scene in which he dissuades Madhubala from making love with Kishore Kumar, Ashok Kumar’s performance was outstanding, and critics said – it is one of the best scenes in Indian films.
In the film Grihasti, in a scene in which he disclosed the reason why he married two sisters without the knowledge of each other, was superb acting. Ashok Kumar’s versatility was well known as well as unpredictable. To Indian cinema, Ashok gave natural acting. He inspired many younger contemporaries like Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Pran, Shammi Kapoor, and Raj Kumar. Ashok Kumar was a law student who loved cinema. He dedicated over 60 years of his life to films in over 350 movies. He was also a singer and a homeopath. Ashok was also an astrologer and chess champion. He had knowledge of many languages, like German, French, English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, Bengali, and Gujarati.
Ashok Kumar was a symbol of longevity. He traversed a long path in the film industry. His sojourn was not only long but illustrious also. He adjusted with every actor and actress in the industry. He knew how to live in human society. He was a perfect gentleman.
“Ban Ki Chidiya Ban Kar Ban Ban Dolun Re” was a famous song with Devika Rani in the film Achhut Kanya. In the film Mahal (1949), who will forget the scene of the song Aayega Aanewala with Madhubala?
Thus, Ashok Kumar was an irreplaceable actor. His younger contemporaries worked with him, respected him, and learned from him. In his films, in the star cast, his name came first. (This was the case with Meena Kumari also.) When Meena Kumari died in 1972, talkies all over India were closed on that day. Both Ashok Kumar and Meena Kumari were at par with each other so far as respect was concerned from cine-goers.
(The views expressed are the writer’s own.)
Radhakanta Seth is a Former Income tax officer in Sambalpur. He is a Freelance writer and his articles have been published in some Oriya dailies like Sambad, Samaj, Dharitri and English dailies like The Telegraph and in a sociological journal ‘Folklore’ published from Kolkata.
(Photo has collected from net )