This article is written by Raja, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in sites like lyricstrans.com and ibollywoodsongs.com etc then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
Today (9 july 2017) is the birth anniversary of Sanjeev Kumar (9 july 1938-6 november 1985), one of the true legendary actors of Hindi cinema.
Today, he would have been 79 – but sadly, he didn’t even get to live to the age of 50. He was just 47 when a heart attack took him away from this world, and from millions of his fans. Just like Guru Dutt (also coincidentally born on the 9th of July and who died way too early), Sanjeev Kumar’s death left a void in Hindi cinema.
Ironically, in many of Sanjeev Kumar’s films he played an elderly man. And he played the roles so convincingly that no one could have thought he was only in his 30s in real life.
That was Sanjeev.
But I’m already getting ahead of myself. Let’s take a step back and remember Sanjeev, the actor and his immense contribution to Hindi cinema.
When you talk about superstars of Hindi cinema, the big names come straightaway to your mind. Early on, Ashok Kumar. Then Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand. Shammi Kapoor. A little later, Rajesh Khanna. Probably Dharmendra. Then Amitabh Bachchan. More recently, the big three Khans.
Fair enough. These big names were commercial superstars, they drew in the crowds, they had many imitators, they probably even had their posters in people’s bedrooms.
And then there was Sanjeev Kumar.
He didn’t get classified into any superstar slot – and yet he was a superstar in his own right, if you consider acting as a primary requirement for an actor.
In my opinion (and I think many will agree with me), Sanjeev was a finer actor than many of those who achieved greater stardom than him.
Sanjeev was a natural – or, at least, he always came across as one. It takes effort to come across as “not acting”, and Sanjeev did this better than most. There have not been many in the industry who I can think of as “naturals” – Ashok Kumar and Balraj Sahni come to mind.
In his early days in the industry, in the 1960s, Sanjeev wasn’t a big name at all. I remember seeing a few of his 60s films – his acting even in those wasn’t bad but the roles often didn’t allow him to portray his potential.
Fact is that the 60s were largely a period of glamour with song-and-dance, something that didn’t allow Sanjeev to stand out. Shammi Kapoor, Joy Mukherjee, Biswajeet were good at this, Sanjeev was a small-budget actor then.
Sanjeev also acted in special appearances in films like Chhoti Si Mulaqat (1967) and Saathi (1968). Uttam Kumar and Rajendra Kumar were the lead actors, Sanjeev’s was a purely supporting role.
Even in Shikar (1968), where I was quite impressed by his acting as Inspector, he wasn’t the lead – it was Dharmendra. As in Satyakam (1969), a fine film where he impresses – but Dharam has the main lead. In Sachai (1969), his role is supporting to Shammi Kapoor. And he has a very small role in Jeene Ki Raah (1969), with Jeetendra as the main lead. In Dharti Kahe Pukaar Ke (1969), he plays Jeetendra’s elder brother – the lead role is still Jeetendra’s.
In some of the films in the 60s where he did play the lead role, he did make a mark.
Anokhi Raat (1968), best-known probably for its music and for being Roshan’s swansong success, gave Sanjeev Kumar reasonably good scope to show his range.
Raja Aur Rank (1968) was a reasonably big hit, with hit songs like “mera naam hai chameli” and “o phirkiwaali”.
And even Oos Raat Ke Baad (1969), a film I happened to see recently, and one I’d heard about in my childhood as beind a really scary film (by Hindi film standards), showcased his acting abilities well.
I think Chanda Aur Bijli (1969) also did well.
And yet, overall, if you’re objective about the 60s, you’d have to say that Sanjeev was largely an also-ran.
But then, like they say, you cannot keep a good man down.
And you cannot keep a good actor down in the industry for long.
Sooner or later, someone will notice – and give you the right script to showcase your talent.
The first time this happened with Sanjeev was probably with Dastak (1970).
A sensitive film, not one of those masala films, that brought out the acting of Sanjeev (and Rehana Sultan) to the fore. Not only were Madan Mohan’s songs highly appreciated, Sanjeev won a Best Actor National Award for this film.
Khilona (1970) followed. It was a remake of a Tamil film (with Sivaji Ganesan, if I remember right). It was a big hit. And Sanjeev had truly arrived as an actor of note.
Thereafter his acting only went from strength to strength. Producers/directors also began realizing that here was an actor with tremendous acting ability which needed to be harnessed.
Anubhav (1971), for example.
Although he had a commercial hit in Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), the film that year that he will be remembered for more is Parichay (1972).
Gulzar’s venture cast Sanjeev Kumar in an older man role – and how he easily fitted the role!
Later Gulzar (and others) would repeatedly cast him in this sort of role – and he’d come out everytime with great credit.
Then Koshish (1973).
This is one of my alltime favourite films. If you haven’t seen it, you must. The end is a bit of a letdown for me, but otherwise, it’s a brilliant film in every sense. Both Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri (also a very “natural” actor) stand out.
There’s a scene in Koshish where Sanjeev thinks his son is deaf, like him. They call the doctor, who reassures them the son is ok. It’s a very touching scene – which is probably one of the best in Hindi cinema, ever, I’d say.
Through the 70s, Sanjeev had a lot of success.
And since the 70s was the decade I grew up in, I have very fond memories of him.
I won’t talk about every film now, otherwise this post will get too long – let’s just say I always enjoyed watching his films. I could watch a film for Sanjeev alone – in fact, I have.
His best-known films of the time are probably Aandhi (1975), Sholay (“Thakur”), Mausam (1975), Trishul (1977) – in all of which, he plays an older man. This, when he was not even 40. There are just too many brilliant scenes from each of these movies, with Sanjeev usually at the centre of them.
But there were many more. He was very much part of the multi-starrer era of the late 70s – and yet always held his own, never compromising on his acting standards.
Sharmila Tagore said that, while Sanjeev could drive you up the wall because he wasn’t the most punctual of actors and would make co-stars and others wait, when he did show up, he’d give such a faultless performance on the first take, that you could only marvel at him – you wouldn’t even be able to be angry with him.
Another of Sanjeev Kumar’s lovely films is the Gulzar-directed Angoor (1982), based on Shakespeare’s A Comedy of Errors. It is a delightful film, full of laughs, with both Sanjeev and Deven Varma in double roles.
Today’s song is from Biwi-O-Biwi (1981), a film I happened to see a few months ago. This is also this film’s first song on the blog, so it makes its debut today.
I remember being in Delhi when this film was released – and there were a lot of radio ads for this film. This song “paise ka khel niraala” was often played in those ads.
I was very pleasantly surprised when I saw this film – though it stars Randhir Kapoor (in fact, I always remembered it as a Randhir film), it is completely dominated by Sanjeev Kumar. It is a fun film – and much of the fun is provided by Sanjeev. He was really just as good at comedy as he was in soft, sensitive roles.
In this song, an older Sanjeev is seen cavorting in a park, drunk, singing praise to the virtues of money. The attached clip starts with a brief conversation between Sanjeev and Bhagwan – even this brief conversation gives us a bit of a glimpse into Sanjeev’s acting.
And then the song itself. It’s a nice, lively song – you feel that Rafisaab is thoroughly enjoying himself. 
As Sanjeev Kumar clearly is. His dance steps are not too bad either.
Am sure you’ll enjoy this song – Sanjeev having a good time, Rafisaab’s lively voice – wonderful to see together. It’s a fun film too, worth a watch, if you haven’t seen it.
As I sign off, I want to thank Sanjeev Kumar for SO many good memories. He remains one of my alltime favourite actors – even today I can watch a film for him alone.
Thank you, Atul, for this opportunity to share my thoughts on this blog today.
Song-Paise ka khel niraala (Biwi O Biwi)(1981) Singers-Rafi, Asha Bhonsle, Lyrics-Nida Fazli, MD-R D Burman
Lyrics
Arrey
paise ka khel niraala
O paise ka khel niraala
Niraala re
Paise ka khel niraala
Sone ka hai ye naati
Chaandi ka hai ye saathi
Sone ka hai ye naati
Chaandi ka hai ye saathi
Ye chaabhi aisi pyaare
Jo khole har taala
Paise ka khel niraala
Niraala re
Paise ka khel niraaala
Yaari karey to hansaaye
O roothe to bhookha sulaaye
Yaari karey to hansaaye
O roothe to bhookha sulaaye
Naam isi ka hai daata
Hai yehi to vidhaata
Naam isi ka hai daata
Hai yehi to vidhaata
Arrey paise bina ghoome nahin
Jogi ki maala
Paise ka khel niraala
Niraala re
Paise ka khel niraala
Sone ka hai ye naati
Chaandi ka hai ye saathi
Ye chaabhi aisi pyaare
Jo khole har taala
Paise ka khel niraala
Niraala re
Paise ka khel niraala
O o o o o o
O o o o
o o o
Lalalalalalalala
Lalala
Daulat se chaahat badi hai
Duniya isi pe khadi hai
ho o
Daulat se chaahat badi hai ae
Duniya isi pe khadi hai
Paisa aata jaata hai
Iska kis se naata hai
Paisa aata jaata hai
Iska kis se naata hai
Arrey pyaar karey sabke jeevan mein ujaala aa
Arrey paise ka khel niraala
Sone ka hai ye naati
Chaandi ka hai ye saathi
Sone ka hai ye naati
Chaandi ka hai ye saathi
Ye chaabhi aisi pyaare
Jo khole har taala
Paise ka khel niraala
Niraala re
Paise ka khel niraala
Aisa ye nuskha hai jaani
O boodhe pe laaye jawaani
Aisa ye nuskha hai jaani
O boodhe pe laaye jawaani
Chhota hai ye jitna
Utna hi hai ye fitna
Chhota hai ye jitna
Utna hi hai ye fitna
Arrey kadki waala mann ko maarey
Naache dhanwaala
Paise ka khel niraala
Niraala re
Paise ka khel niraala
Sone ka hai ye naati
Chaandi ka hai ye saathi
Ye chaabhi aisi pyaare
Jo khole har taala
Paise ka khel niraala
