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Born Oct 13 , 1911
Ashok Kumar was born in Bhagalpur, India on October 13, 1911. With his classic Bengali good looks he became the face of the Forties and Fifties in Indian cinema. He played leading roles in films like 'Achut Kanya' and 'Bandini', and was the star in the first real Indian film blockbuster - 'Kismet', which ran for over a year. The film provided Ashok Kumar with a then unique anti-hero role in popular cinema.
It was a cigarette-flicking Ashok Kumar in the 40's Kismet who brought into Indian movies the screen persona of the stylish anti hero.
Beginning his career with Jeevan Naiya (1936), he hit big time only with Achut Kanya, where he was a Brahmin lad falling for the charms of an untouchable girl. It was with the same Devika Rani that he began his career. Tinseltown folklore has it that Himanshu Rai, angered with the lead man in the Jeevan Naiya, dumped him and opted for Ashok Kumar, then a laboratory assistant for the movie.
Early in his career, he played second fiddle to Devika Rani, and it was with films like Kangan, Bandhan and Jhoola that he was recognised as a hero in his own right. All the three films had Leela Chitnis playing the female lead.
Born in Bhagalpur in Bihar, and educated in Khandawa, Ashok was the eldest of the Ganguly brothers, the youngest being the versatile Kishore Kumar.
Ashok was elder to Kishore by almost twenty years. He was admired for his subtle style of acting, when most of his peers had a theatrical approach to acting.
Kismet was a rage, running for three years in Calcutta and the anti-hero image stuck with him for a while.
He starred in a series of crime films like Sangram, Inspector, Howrah Bridge and Night Club, all in the fifties, when he had stiff competition in the form of Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor. He charmed the audience with movies like Deedar and Bewafaa where he shared the screen with the leading trio of moviedom.
With the riotous Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, he displayed his flair for comedy. In the mid sixties, he turned to character roles, including the suave villain of Jewel Thief and the caring father of Mili.
By playing the rapist in Jawab (1970), he broke the conventional mould. It was in Khubsoorat, in 1980, that he played one of his memorable roles. With a repertoire of around 300 movies, he quit the scene due to poor health.
Fondly called Dada Moni, he was a doyen in the true sense of the word. He has also tried his hand in playback singing. Some of his songs like Aaj Meri Nao Chali Re were extremely popular. He even sang a rap-like number in a movie. True to the spirit exuded by the effervescent Ganguly brothers
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