Actor, filmmaker Manoj Kumar started as a romantic hero and gradually moved to family and social dramas, eventually recognized as a patriotic hero. On 24 July Kumar will turn 86and it is time to revisit his illustrious career.
Born in 1937 Kumar was named Harikishen Girr Goswami by his parents. In the film fraternity he was referred to as Panditji and the media addressed him as Mr Bharat. Kumar. He is his parents’ oldest child and it is said that when his mother visited the hospital with her two-month -old baby, ten-year-old Manoj Kumar accompanied her to look after her and his kid sibling. The year was 1947 and when the riots broke out suddenly, the hospital staff deserted the patients and fled to save their lives. It was a traumatic moment for Manoj Kumar as he watched his baby brother collapse in his mother’s arms.
She was frail and inconsolable but there was no time to mourn the loss because they had to flee to save their lives. The family migrated immediately and for the longest time parked in Delhi’s refugee camp. It was from here that his younger siblings went to school and Manoj Kumar completed his graduation.
To be continued