New Delhi:
Padma Shri award winning actor and director Manoj Kumar celebrates his 75th birthday today (July 24, 2012). Manoj Kumar started his career as a romantic hero in the 1957 movie Fashion, but later on became widely recognised for his patriotic roles, earning the nickname "Mr Bharat". He appeared in some of the biggest hits of the 1960s like Shaheed, Upkaar, Patthar Ke Sanam, Roti Kapra Aur Makaan and Gumnaam.
Mr Kumar won his first Filmfare Award for Best Director and a National Award for his magnum opus Upkaar (1967), which also marked his directorial debut. It became the highest grosser that year and gave impetus to the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's popular slogan, 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisaan'.
Born in 1937 in Abbotabad, the same town in which Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden would be killed decades later, Mr Kumar was a big admirer of veteran actor Dilip Kumar and changed his name from Harikishan Giri Goswami after watching 1949 film, Shabnam in which Dilip Kumar's character name was Manoj.
We wish the veteran actor a very happy birthday.
Mr Kumar won his first Filmfare Award for Best Director and a National Award for his magnum opus Upkaar (1967), which also marked his directorial debut. It became the highest grosser that year and gave impetus to the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's popular slogan, 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisaan'.
Born in 1937 in Abbotabad, the same town in which Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden would be killed decades later, Mr Kumar was a big admirer of veteran actor Dilip Kumar and changed his name from Harikishan Giri Goswami after watching 1949 film, Shabnam in which Dilip Kumar's character name was Manoj.
We wish the veteran actor a very happy birthday.
