Forcibly cast as the leading man in Bombay Talkies’ Jeevan Naiya (1936) (where he worked as a lab assistant) by the legendary Himanshu Rai, Kumudlal Kunjlal Ganguly — a graduate from Presidency College, Calcutta — (rechristened Ashok Kumar) was born in Bhagalpur, grew up in Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh) and worked in the film industry for close to six decades — first as a leading man and then as a character actor — notwithstanding enacting negative characters. He was the richest and the highest paid actor of his time, towering above everyone else once he came onto his own. At the peak of his career, he owned 17 expensive cars.
Varied roles
Landing up in Bombay, he stayed with his brother-in-law, Sashadhar Mukherjee (later a towering producer), who then worked as a sound engineer with Famous Recording Studios. Mukherjee took him to meet Himanshu Rai of Bombay Talkies.
The studio boss instantly made him face the camera to disastrous results but he was hired as a camera assistant on a princely salary of Rs 150 a month. Kumudlal Kunjlal Ganguly was barely 22 years old. But soon, there was a crisis in the studio.
The next film was ready to go on floors when Rai’s wife, Devika Rani, eloped with the hero. She was forced to come back, but the actor was given the marching orders, and replaced, despite an unimpressive screen test, by Ashok Kumar.
The success of Jeevan Naiya set a chain reaction and a series of hits — Achhut Kanya, Izzat, Savitri (1937) amd Nirmala (1938) — starring Ashok Kumar and Devika Rani took the nation by storm. Playing almost a second fiddle in these films, Ashok Kumar came into his own with Kangan, where he worked opposite Leela Chitnis, Bandhan and Jhoola. But it was Kismet (1943) that proved to be the turning point of his career. There was no looking back until he switched over to character roles. But he made sure he was never typecast.
Kumar also became a producer with Bombay Talkies’s Mahal (1949) which featured Madhubala. Husanlal Bhagat Ram’s music made it a success — the song Aye ga aye, aye ga aanewala aye ga was the highlight of the soundtrack. The film also helped establish struggling writer Kamal Amrohi, though as a director his output remained limited.
Ashok Kumar acted in nearly 300 films and was mostly paired with, both in lead and otherwise, with Meena Kumari (14 films). And though his earliest heroines were Devika Rani (8) and Leela Chitnis (4), it was only with the latter that he forged a successful on-screen alliance. Amongst his earlier heroines who, though married, fell head over heels in love with him, was Nalini Jaywant with whom beginning with Sangram (1950), he went on to star in as many as ten films, mostly during 1950-55, the last being Nanabhai Bhatt’s fantasy Mr X with which the romance also seemingly disappeared. Interestingly, the story of Mr X continues to inspire film makers even today. His last film with Bombay Talkies was Baadbaan where he worked with Dev Anand and Meena Kumari.
Dadamoni was an extremist, a dependable friend and a gentleman. A romantic idol, he was not unduly romantic, though later, he went on to become one of the greatest womanizers in the game. It was a case of the sublime; the ridiculous — a transformation from a gentleman hero to a lecherous villain.
A conservative and cautious guy to begin with, he once told writer Nabendu Ghosh: “Life is an unquenchable thirst, and I want to savour it all.” According to his authorised biographer, Kishore Valicha: “There were women, sophisticated and ambitious, on the one hand, and glamour-struck or even love-struck, on the other… they approached him willingly… more ambitious ones sought favours…quite a few wanted something bigger, more powerful. A few sold for money… felt safe as long as he was dealing with money and with pleasure.”
The change in his personality and behaviour was largely due to an upsetting and oppressive atmosphere at home for which he was himself largely responsible. To quote Valicha again: “Ashok Kumar generally went in the company of his wife to these occasions (parties)… Gradually…Shobha’s rigid moral code began to loosen. She too felt drawn to pleasure; in her case it took the form of a drink…. Ashok Kumar often rebuked her openly… Each time he admonished her, he called her a dipsomaniac… alcoholism was perhaps the only escape she knew… Ashok Kumar tried everything except see her as a person who was sick and who was in need of treatment.”
As a consequence of this frustration, he sought the company of women, yet cautious not to break the family. Unable to cope up with life’s pressures, much to the dismay of the family, Ashok Kumar eventually decided to live alone, and shifted into a bungalow in Chembur, which he had bought during the shooting of Kalpana, directed by Rakhan, co-starring the Travancore sisters, Ragini and Padmini, and produced by him. The remake of a Marathi flop, it was only a moderate success in Hindi. Unfortunately, almost all his forays as a producer at different times in his distinguished career, except the early Bombay Talkies production, proved turtle at the box office.
Ashok Kumar died at the age of 90 in Mumbai. He worked opposite almost every leading lady during his six-decade-long innings, the last being Ankhon Mein Tum Ho (1997). Apart from the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award (1995), he only lifted two best actor trophies — Rakhi (1962) and Aashirwad (1969), which also won him the National Award — and a Best Supporting Actor award for Afsana (1966). He was also conferred the Padma Bhushan and then the Dadasaheb Phalke Award by the Indian government.
In his later years, he turned an avid painter, astrologer, chess player and a practitioner of homeopathic medicine.