Ashok Kumar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ashok Kumar

• Did Ashok Kumar smoke?: Yes

  

• Did Ashok Kumar drink alcohol?: Not Known

• This iconic legend was born in a Bengali Family at Bhagalpur, Bihar.

  

• • His father, Kunjlal Ganguly, was a lawyer by profession.

• His mother, Gouri Devi, was a homemaker who belonged to a very rich Bengali family.

  

• He attained his Law degree from Presidency College of the University of Calcutta (now, Kolkata).

  

• He was a law student, but he was not interested to make his career in the judiciary; as he always wanted to work in the film industry as a technician.

• His first stint in the film industry was as a lab assistant at the Bombay Studio where he worked for 5 years.

• His first movie as an actor was Jeevan Naiya. He became an actor in this movie by chance; as he replaced Najm-ul-Hassan (who was the first choice for the role) due to some reasons.

  

• Himanshu Rai was the person who gave him his first break and forced him to enter the cinema world as an actor.

  

• With his superb singing and charismatic performance, he became the first hero in the Indian Film Industry whose film “Kismet, 1943” crossed one crore amount at the box office.

  

• Famous by the name Dadamoni, which means “jewel of an elder brother.”

• He is noted for his tremendous performances in various films such as Achhut Kannya (1936), Bandhan (1940), and Kismet (1943).

• Later, he went on to become a noted film producer and it was Ashok Kumar who had introduced two another iconic personalities to the Indian Cinema: Dev Anand (Ziddi, 1948) and Madhubala (Mahal, 1949).

• His last movie as an actor was “Aankhon Mein Tum Ho” (1997).

  

• In the 1980s, he started hosting Hum Log (India’s 1st soap opera) and became a well-known face on TV screens.

  

• He was also known for his singing, he sang a lot of songs including ‘Choodi Main Laaya Anmol Re’ (Achhut Kanya, 1936), ‘Main Ban Ki Chidiya’ (Achhut Kanya, 1936), ‘Dekh Ke Teri Nazar’ (Howrah Bridge, 1958), ‘Hum Tumhare Hain’ (Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, 1958), and more.

• His song “Rail Gaadi” from movie Aashirwad (1968) is considered as the first rap song of Bollywood.

• The actor never celebrated his birthday after 1987; as his younger brother “Kishore Kumar” died on 13 October 1987 (Ashok Kumar’s birthday).

  

• During the 2005 Mumbai Floods, Dadamoni lost many of his trophies from his godown.

• Apart from his successful acting career, he was a great homeopathy practitioner and a passionate painter.

• He drew a nude picture of his wife, which represents his excellent artistic skills.

  

• He was considered one of the most versatile actors of his time; as he had excelled in every kind of characters, whether it was tragedy, comedy, or romance. 

• Here’s a conversation with this legendary actor: