After independence, when the era of color films began, patriotic films also made their own place. Among them, Harikishan Giri Goswami (Harikishan Giri Goswami), who got the biggest name as a country lover, is also known by the name of Manoj Kumar, the famous actor of all Hindi movies. Harikishan Giri Goswami, who was a famous Bollywood actor, producer and director, changed his name to Manoj Kumar after seeing a movie by film actor Dilip Kumar. Manoj Kumar, also known as Bharat Kumar, made several films that proved successful in instilling a sense of patriotism in the audience and are considered successful even today. Let us tell you many things about Manoj Kumar, which you hardly know about.
Manoj Kumar’s parents were Brahmins. Manoj Kumar was born on July 24, 1937 in the city of Abbottabad in Pakistan, that is, in the North West Frontier Province, now known as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Before independence, this part was only in India. However, when the country gained independence 10 years after his birth, he had to bear the brunt of partition. Because of this, he was forced to go to Delhi from Jaliala Sher Khan. After this, Manoj Kumar’s family lived as refugees in Vijay Nagar, Kingsway Camp for some time and then these people moved to Rajendra Nagar in the capital Delhi.
Manoj Kumar graduated from the University of Delhi. After graduating, due to his interest in acting, he decided to move to Mayanagari Bombay (now Mumbai) to get into the film industry. Everyone knows about his journey here, but if we talk about his family, then he is married to Shashi Goswami and has three sons named Karma Goswami, Vansh Goswami and Muskaan Goswami.
The name of Manoj Kumar’s first film was Moda. In this 1957 film, Manoj Kumar played the character of an 80-year-old man. After this movie, Manoj Kumar was seen acting in the movie Hariyali and Rasta. The 1962 film was directed by Vijay Bhatt. This was the movie that made Manoj Kumar shine. The pairing of Manoj Kumar and Mala Sinha in the film was very liked by the audience. Then in 1964, Manoj Kumar introduced a blockbuster movie as Woh Kaun Thi, while the following year i.e. 1965, Gumnaam also turned out to be a big hit. This same year, Manoj Kumar was seen acting in the movie Himalaya Ki Laap and this movie directed by Vijay Bhatt did very good business at the box office and the movie was successful.
The year 1965 turned out to be a very good year for Manoj Kumar. In the same year, he had another movie, whose name was Shaheed. In this important film of his career, he played the role of Bhagat Singh. After this, with the movie Upkar released in 1967, he also ventured into film directing. He did a great job in this movie and his character name India became famous and his name was also associated with it. This movie made him famous not only in the film industry but also in the country as Bharat Kumar.
It is said that the then prime minister of the country, Lal Bahadur Shastri himself, had asked him to make this film Upkaar. The reason for this was the slogan ‘Jai Jawan- Jai Kisan Tha’ given to the country by Shastri ji. This movie was based on this catchphrase and its song Mere Desh ki Dharti Sona Ugle, Ugle Hire Moti… Even today, on Independence Day, people’s heads are raised proudly. Manoj Kumar did not stop here and he also directed movies like Purab Aur Paschim, Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, Kranti, Clerk, Jai Hind.
Manoj Kumar received the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for the film Behaan, released in the year 1972. Then, in 1975, he received the Filmfare Award for Best Director for the film Roti Kapda aur Makaan. Not only this, in view of his illustrious cinematic journey, he was also honored with the Padma Shri Award in 1992, while in 2016 he was honored with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
