Raaj Kumar is known to be amongst the top stellar superstars of the Hindi Film Industry. From making his debut in movies with Rangili in the year 1952, the police officer turned actor got his major breakthrough in 1957 with Mehboob Khan’s epic drama film Mother India. Popular for his swanky style and gentleman like personality, the actor has been a part of numerous super-hit films like Waqt, Heer Ranjha, Pakeezah, Saudagar, Tirangaa & many more. Kumar was also twicely honoured with Filmfare’s Best Actor Award – In A Supporting Role Category for his tremendous performances in Dil Ek Mandir & Waqt.
In an exclusive flashback podcast with Lehren, Raaj Kumar got candid about movies, life, interests & philosophy. On being asked about his entry in films by the reporter, Raaj Sahab replied that he was a police officer by profession and an acquaintance of his, Mr. Ali, used to always persuade him to enter films. Ali in turn got Raaj Kumar meet eminent film producer K.B Lall and others including Najam Naqvi, who then approached the Police Officer (Raaj Kumar) for work, which ended up as Raaj’s entry in the cine world.
While talking about life and regrets, Raaj Kumar revealed that he has never known regrets and defeat in his life. He also expressed that no specific role of his in films is special to him as the star has justified each and every role within the given context at the silver screen. The Waqt star also mentioned increasing his fee by a Lakh Rupees despite the movie failing, as in accordance to him his performance as an actor has never failed at the celluloid.
During the chat session, Raaj Sahab expressed that he holds a degree of respect for Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Moti Lal, Jagdish Sethi, Prithviraj Kapoor as cine-artists & also appreciated Aamir Khan amongst the younger bunch of actors. The Pakeezah actor also stated being more inclined towards acting over direction & production due to certain creative aspects.
Raaj Kumar additionally accepted admiring Nature & its Beauty; including open skies, beaches & mountains. He agreed living every moment of his life to the fullest on-screen & off-screen as well.
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