Happy Birthday Mr Bharat: Manoj Kumar is 77

Legendary Indian actor and director Manoj Kumar, inventor of the facepalm and champion of celluloid patriotism, is 77 today. Here's a pictorial journey through the life and times of the man India calls Mr Bharat.

Manoj Kumar, real name Harikrishna Giri Goswami, was born in Abbottabad, now situated in Pakistan, on July 24, 1937. He was 10 when the Partition forced his family across the border and into a refugee camp in Delhi. The Goswamis later settled in the capital's Patel Nagar neighbourhood and the actor-to-be graduated from Hindu College.

Manoj Kumar and wife Shashi have two sons named Vishal and Kunal, both of whom tried to build showbiz careers with little success, as did the actor's brother Rajiv Goswami.

Harikrishna Goswami became Manoj Kumar in the year 1949, in honour of the name of the character his favourite actor Dilip Kumar played in the movie Shabnam.

Manoj Kumar made an almost unnoticed debut in 1957's Fashion and bagged his first lead role in 1960's Kaanch Ki Gudia. His early films - Piya Milan Ki Aas and Reshmi Roomal from 1961 - are now little remembered.

The actor's first notable film was the Vijay Bhatt-directed Hariyali Aur Raasta in 1962, opposite actress Mala Sinha. He then appeared in Raj Khosla's Woh Kaun Thi in 1964, opposite Sadhana. In 1965, he reunited with Vijay Bhatt and Mala Sinha for Himalaya Ki God Mein.

1966's Do Badan was directed by Raj Khosla and co-starred Asha Parekh. Both Manoj Kumar and Ms Parekh received critical praise for their performances.

The year before, Manoj Kumar began his journey as India's favourite patriotic hero with Shaheed, a biopic of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. The film co-starred Pran, Kamini Kaushal, Prem Chopra, Madan Puri and Nirupa Roy. Shaheed won the National Award for Best Hindi Feature Film and also the Nargis Dutt Award for Film on National Integration.

At the end of the Indo-Pak War of 1965, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri commissioned a film based on the slogan Jai Jawan Jai Kisaan. The end product was 1967's Upkar, written, directed by and starring Manoj Kumar. Many Shaheed actors co-starred - Pran, Kamini Kaushal, Prem Chopra, Madan Puri - as did Asha Parekh, and the song Mere Desh Ki Dharti became a superhit. The movie was welcomed with open arms at the box office and won a slew of awards, among them the Filmfare Awared for Best Director.

Even as his career-within-a-career as Mr Bharat soared, Manoj Kumar also featured in films like 1967's Patthar Ke Sanam with Waheeda Rehman and Mumtaz, and 1968's Neel Kamal and Aadmi, both with Whaeedaji.

In 1970, Mr Kumar returned as the patriotic hero in Purab Aur Paschim, directed by and starring him. Usual suspects Pran, Prem Chopra, Kamini Kaushal, Nirupa Roy and Madan Puri also returned with Saira Banu, Ashok Kumar, Rajendranath and a very young Vinod Khanna making up the rest of the cast. The film, based on the cultural conflict between the East and West, is the inspiration for 2007 Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif hit Namastey London.

In 1972, Manoj Kumar featured in Be-Imaan which bagged him the Filmfare Best Actor Award. He also starred in the box office hit Shor, opposite Nanda, in the same year. The movie is best remembered for the song Ek Pyar Ka Nagma Hai, sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh.

The ‘70s were the golden decade in Manoj Kumar's career. The 1974, he directed and starred in Roti Kapda Aur Makaan with Zeenat Aman, Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan. The film fetched him his second Filmfare Award for Best Director. He also notched up hits like 1975 comedy Sanyasi and 1976's Dus Numbri, both opposite actress Hema Malini.

In 1981, a movie moment happened with Kranti, the film that finally allowed Manoj Kumar to appear on screen with Dilip Kumar. The film, yet another riff on the theme of patriotism, was directed by Manoj Kumar and co-starred a cast of greats, including Hema Malini, Shatrughan Sinha, Shashi Kapoor, Parveen Babi, Sarika, Pradeep Kumar and Tom Alter as well as old collaborators Prem Chopra and Madan Puri.

Kranti proved something of a swan song for Manoj Kumar whose career slumped as Amitabh Bachchan's Angry Young Man replaced his Mr Bharat persona as India's favourite hero. Forgettable films like Clerk and Santosh in 1989 finally gave way to 1995's Maidan-E-Jung, Manoj Kumar's final film.

In 1992, Manoj Kumar received the Padma Shri from the Indian government. In 1999, he was honoured with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.

There was trouble in 2007, when Manoj Kumar filed a lawsuit against Shah Rukh Khan for copying his signature facepalm in the movie Om Shanti Om. The case was later settled out of court.

Like many actors, Manoj Kumar made a foray into political life and was reported to have joined the Shiv Sena ahead of the general election in 2004.

Manoj Kumar was last spotted at the launch of the autobiography of old friend and co-star Prem Chopra in Mumbai.

Here's wishing Mr Bharat a very happy birthday.