Jeevan

Some Lesser Known Facts About Jeevan

• Did Jeevan drink alcohol?: Yes ^[5]Cineplot

• Did Jeevan smoke?: Yes

  

• Jeevan was a legendary Indian actor who is known for playing the role of villain in films.

• His mother died soon after he was born, and his father passed away when he was 3 years old. Due to the absence of his parents, he had a very unhappy childhood.

• As a child, he was fond of photography and thought of opening a new photography studio in Kashmir. Since he was born in a noble family, joining films wasn’t accepted and considered taboo. So, at the age of 18, Jeevan ran from his house with only Rs. 26 in his pocket and went to Bombay.

• He started working as a reflector boy in the studios of the Indian director Mohan Sinha. He had to stick silver papers on the reflectors.

• His talent got discovered when Mohan Sinha asked him to audition for a film. He recited few lines from Pandit Narayan Parshad Betab’s Mahabharat as Duryodhana and got selected for the movie Fashionable India (1935). His career took off from there.

• Though he knew only three languages (Urdu, English, and Hindi), he still worked in many Punjabi, Bhojpuri, and Gujarati films. His most memorable movies are Kanoon (1960), Tarana, Ghar Ki Izzat, Mela (1948), Anuradha (1940), Nagin Taj, Nau Do Gyarah (1957); the list is endless. He did all sorts of roles and worked nearly 50 years in the film industry.

  

• He is the only actor who has played the same role in 60 films, i.e, of Narad Muni.
  

  

  

• Jeevan used to give up non-veg food while playing the role of Narada, as he preferred not to eat non-veg while voicing the dialogue “Narayan, Narayan.” ^[6]Dainik Bhaskar

• He did a lot of charity. Many children have been supported in education by him.

• Jeevan married Kiran & named their house Jeevan-Kiran.

• Once, while hunting in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, Jeevan was with a person who shot a female deer. Jeevan never fired at female animals. However, when the person fired at the female deer, her stomach was cut open and the fetus came out. From then onwards, Jeevan gave up hunting.

•  In 1974, a blockbuster movie, Roti, was released for which he received much appreciation for his remarkable acting. He was given an invitation for a public show to be held out of Bombay. Being a down-to-earth person, instead of going by plane, he chose to travel via train, along with his co-workers. When he reached the station he was greeted with much love and respect. Suddenly, a woman threw a shoe on his face. Police caught that woman. Even after being insulted by that woman, Jeevan politely asked her the reason for her misbehaviour, and she replied,
  

  You are a very cruel person.”

  With the same politeness (hiding his anger), he asked her again,

  What is the reason for your disappointment, I came to your city for the first time and I did nothing wrong with you.”

  The woman accused him of being very cruel and killing many people, and molesting women. Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked, as the woman considered his acting so true that she thought it really happened. Then Jeevan told the police to let the woman go with respect. When Jeevan was asked whether he felt bad for what the woman did to him, Jeevan smiled and said,

  I considered that chappal(shoe) an award for my natural acting.”

  The next day, Jeevan went to the woman’s house and cleared all her misconceptions.

• Jeevan took his profession very seriously and dedicated his whole life to it, as he always believed in the saying,
  

  Work is Worship.”

• He had a long prolific career and did impressionist acting, whether its a villain role in the Bollywood blockbuster movie Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) or a comic role in the Hindi movie Teen Chor (1973) or a lecherous wretch role in Dilip Kumar‘s movie Mela (1948).
  

  

  

  

• Jeevan once appeared with his younger son, Bhushan Jeevan, in the film Laparwah (1981).

• In an interview, while talking about his father, Kiran Kumar said,
  

  My dad taught me two things. One, if you are seated and two persons walk in, you should always offer your chair first to your director and second to the cameraman. Because these are the two people who are your friends on the floor. I have seen my father offer his chair to younger directors during his time. And second, no matter whether the hero is five-feet two-inches or six-feet-eight-inches, it is always the villain’s job to make him look like superman. The villain has to convince the audience that the hero is capable of taking on so many goons and vanquishing them.”

• In an interview, while talking about father, Bhushan Jeevan, in 1992, said,
  

  Dad never forced us to do anything. He always asked us what we would like to do. When I returned from boarding school, I was like a wild kid. He once saw me smoking a cigarette. So in front of the family, he very casually asked me, ‘Which brand do you smoke’? When I told him, he brought out a 555 from inside and said, ‘Why don’t you try this’? Then he advised me, ‘Always smoke the best, drink the best and eat the best. And if you don’t have it then earn it’. Really, he was the best dad anyone could ever ask for. Once, while I was in school, I was caught with a girl. The authorities told me that after the holidays, there was no need for me to come back. When my dad asked me about this, I told him that I was holding a girl’s hand and chaffing with her. When school re-opened, he came back with me and told the Principal off. He said, ‘It is a very normal thing for a boy to hold hands with a girl. If you had caught him with a boy, then I would have agreed. But what is wrong with holding hands? It is a very normal action’. He also told the Principal that if he insisted on throwing me out, he would go to the Board of Directors. But that was not necessary. That day, I was so proud of my father I felt 10 feet tall.”

• On 7 June 1987, he went into a coma. Though he opened his eyes later, he couldn’t survive for long and died on 10 June 1987.

• He liked travelling, and London was his favourite travel destination. He often went to London on his vacations.