Ashok Kumar's life in pics

Born on 13 October 1911 in Bhagalpur, Ashok Kumar stands in the league of iconic actors of Indian cinema.

Oct 13, 2010 02:48 IST

Born on October 13, 1911 in Bhagalpur, Ashok Kumar became one of the earliest icons of Indian cinema. He would have been 99 today. Let's look at moments from his life

The Grand Old Man of Indian cinema was lovingly called Dadamoni
Ashok Kumar was the elder brother of legendary singer Kishore and actor Anoop
After graduating from Presidency College in Kolkata he came to Mumbai to work as a lab assistant under Bengali filmmaker Himanshu Rai

Destiny had other plans for him – in 1936, Himanshu Rai was directing Jeevan Naiyya when the lead actor fell ill and Ashok Kumar was called on to step in
And that's how Ashok Kumar's six-decade-long acting career began.
In the same year he made Achhut Kanya with well known actress Devika Rani. He won accolades for his performance and the offers came pouring in

He then made Izzat (1937), Savitri (1937) and Nirmala (1938), all with Devika Rani. The movies were successful but it was Devika Rani who received most of the applause

But his next three films opposite actress Leela Chitnis Kangan in 1939, Bandhan in 1940, Jhoola in 1941, left a lasting impression on people about his acting skills.

Ashok Kumar broke the mould with roles in movies like Main Ban Ka Panchhi and Kismet

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He played a negative role in Kismet, the first Indian hero to do so

Kismet set a new record by running for 3 years in Mumbai and Kolkata. Ashok Kumar's charismatic performance made the movie a runaway success and brought in more praise for his dramatic skills

His other remarkable performances were in the movie Parineeta in 1953, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi in 1958 and Aashirwad in 1968.

In 1962 Ashok Kumar acted in Rakhi with Waheeda Rehman and the movie won him Filmfare Best Actor Award.

Ashok Kumar appeared in many films with tragedy queen Meena Kumari, notably – Parineeta, Bahu Begum, Pakeezah, Ek Hi Rasta, Bandish, Aarti

Ashok Kumar was one of the early actors to cross over to television

He is known for anchoring the first Indian soap opera Hum Log. He also appeared as the title character in the unforgettable Bahadur Shah Zafar.

Ashok Kumar's last film was Aankhon Mein Tum Ho in 1997.

In a career spanning 6 decades he earned many awards and plaudits. He won Filmfare Best Actor twice, the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995 and the Padma Bhushan in 1998

He died on 10th December, 2001at the age of 90 in Mumbai.