In an era of superstars like Rajesh Khanna, Shashi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar had his own fan base. The caress in his voice, untailored demeanour and dimpled smile stirred the right hormones. In contrast to this celebrated image, Sanjeev in person was both sensitive and sentimental. The shadow of past tragedies had made him just as sentimental about his family. Grandfather Shivalal Jariwala and father Jethalal Jariwala both succumbed to heart attacks before reaching 50. Sanjeev, beset by these misgivings, was once quoted saying, “I play older roles to live that life which I’m not fated to otherwise.” The foreboding did play itself out when younger brother Nikul Jariwala passed away in 1984, Sanjeev in 1985 and middle brother Kishore Jariwala in 1986. But Sanjeev Kumar’s legacy, given his genius, has defied death and the decades. Here, nephew and co-author of the biography, Sanjeev Kumar: The Actor We All Loved (co-written by Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta) handpicks fond memories of his late uncle. In Uday Jariwala’s own words:

Humble beginnings
Uncle-nephew bond
The man behind the mask
Shades of romance
Age no bar
Class act

Humble beginnings

My uncle, Sanjeev Kumar, was Jethalal Jariwala and Shantaben’s oldest son. Kishore Jariwala who was a musician and actor, was their second son. My father Nikul Jariwala, who co-produced Do Waqt Ki Roti was their youngest son. Sanjeev Kumar was born in Surat, Gujarat on July 9, 1938 as Harihar Jethalal Jariwala and was known as Haribhai in the industry. He shared a close bond with his mother, Shantaben, whom he called Baa. My grandfather Jethalal ran a zari embroidery business in Surat. He was number one in the field. But his partners cheated him. Suddenly, they were left with nothing. After my grandfather passed away, Baa struggled to bring up the children. They later shifted to Bhuleshwar in Mumbai. It was Baa’s support that helped my uncle pursue his dreams of becoming an actor. That’s why he  would say, ‘I haven’t seen God. For me, my mother is God.’ In Mumbai, he began his career in theatre by doing ‘prompting’ with IPTA. One day, the actor who was to play the father’s role in Damru, the Hindi adaptation of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, didn’t turn up. So at 22, he played a 60-year-old in the play directed by AK Hangal.

Uncle-nephew bond

I was his oldest nephew, his younger brother Nikul’s son. He loved all kids (including my siblings Prithvi and Ekta) in the family but he doted on me. I was a spoiled brat. We all lived together at Perrin Villa in Bandra. My early memories are that of accompanying him for dubbing, shooting and outdoors during the vacations. He enjoyed homemade Gujarati food. Non-vegetarian food was never prepared at home. So, when Sanjeevji was free on a Sunday, we’d visit the Gazebo restaurant for Chinese fare. He also loved paya, khichda… I learnt to savour these with him.We had around five cars. He’d ask me which one he should drive. One day I got out of the car saying I wanted to travel in an auto. Without a thought, he took me in one. He didn’t have the money to pay the auto-wallah. So he borrowed money from the restaurant staff and paid the auto driver. The guy kept waiting outside till we finished eating to drop us back. Usually, after lunch he’d drive through Hill Road, Mount Mary Church, Bandstand… and sing songs from his films. Sometimes, for the sake of fun he’d drive dangerously close to a passerby before turning away. He’d shower me with gifts on my birthday. We celebrated two birthdays in a year. One was his on July 9 and the other was mine. I was not good in studies and would just about pass. He wanted me to shift to the prestigious Bombay Scottish School. For that he went out of this way and met the principal. he had the biggest collection of video cassettes. It included his Hindi films and many Hollywood films. I’d keep them all arranged in order. I’ve watched several Hollywood classics with him. He had bought a sea facing bungalow in Juhu. But due to a legal problem, the court case went on for years. Baa loved the house in Bandra. So Sanjeevji continued living in it because of her memories.

The man behind the mask

Sanjeevji was mild mannered and never lost his temper – except for once. My father, Nikul, had suffered a heart attack and was admitted to Nanavati Hospital. There was tension at home and I was being naughty and misbehaving. So he hit me. I fell down and saw stars in daylight. I wet my pants. On the way to the hospital to see my father, Sanjeevji couldn’t hide his tears. The helplessness towards his brother and the guilt towards me… it was a mix of both. After my father Nikul passed away (1984), Sanjeevji was shattered. I was around 12-13 then. That was the age Sanjeevji had also lost his father. Before my father’s demise, he never cared about his health. But now he wanted to. Ironically, it was my father, who was supposed to undergo the surgery in Houston, US. But Sanjeevji went for it instead in 1984. He returned the signing amounts of many films before going to the US. Post the surgery, he shed the excess weight. He gave up drinking. Worried about his producers, he was keen to finish the incomplete projects. But I believe he should have taken it slow for six months at least. Looking back at t,he last days of his life, it was the Diwali season. My mother, Jyotiben, and the rest of the family had gone to Kolkata where my Nani lived. I was asked to stay behind with Sanjeevji. I spent around 10 days with him, accompanying him for dubbing and shooting. At night we watched films together. On November 3, I left for Kolkata to accompany my mother to the Jagannath temple in Puri to fulfill a vow, which she’d taken for Sanjeevji’s health. When we returned to Kolkata from Puri, we were informed that his health had suddenly deteriorated. Sadly, on our flight back to Mumbai, we read the report of his passing away on November 6, 1985. It was also his mother’s death anniversary. My other uncle, Kishoreji, passed away in 1986.  It was alleged that Sanjeevji was a miser. But he was not. After his death, his secretary Jamnadasji revealed a list of well-known names from the industry whom he’d lent money to. Few returned it. The Sanjeev Kumar Auditorium built by the Surat Municipal Corporation was inaugurated on February 14, 2014 by PM Narendra Modi. Soon, we launched the NGO, The Sanjeev Kumar Foundation. We’ve adopted a government school where we take care of the students’ needs. We organise drama competitions, film festivals and health care camps… to keep his legacy alive and give a platform to new talent. He was an easygoing person – no hang-ups, no star tantrums. He will always be remembered as a caring person, standing by his family and friends. Loving, smiling and living life to the fullest.

Shades of romance

Women were crazy about him. He received a lot of female attention. One lady kept calling on the landline with different names. She believed she was married to him. She’d blame my grandmother saying, ‘You don’t want us to live together.’ Sanjeevji did come close to marriage twice. But it didn’t work out. Baa could be one reason. She didn’t want an inter-caste alliance. Also, he didn’t want a working woman. He wished for a wife who stayed at home. Someone, who’d take care of his mother, the house and the family. Apart from the famous ‘tiffins’ sent to him, there were also gifts and love letters coming in from his co-stars. After Baa was no more, an actress told him, ‘I’ll live-in with you but I don’t want your family around. It will be just us.’ Sanjeevji didn’t like it. He was old-world in his values and attached to his family. We were his younger brother’s kids. He could have asked us to live in another house but he didn’t. He cared for us as his own. After Baa passed away, he lost interest in getting married.

Age no bar

His first film as lead was Aspi Irani’s Nishan (1965), which had him in a double role. It was a black and white film with horse riding and sword fighting. His breakthrough came with Khilona (1970) inspired by the Gujarati film Mare Javun Pele Par (1968). He played a deranged man with conviction.

Gulzar saab cast him as an older man in four films Parichay (1972), Koshish (1972), Aandhi (1975) and Mausam (1975) and as a young man in the comedy Angoor (1981) and Namkeen (1982). Sanjeevji was proud of Koshish. He won the National Award for it. Since he played a deaf and dumb character, there was no dialogue. He had to rely on his facial expressions and hands. Jaya Bachchan and Sanjeevji attended workshops to learn sign language. Once Gulzar saab happened to make a film with another actor and it flopped. Sanjeevji told Gulzar saab in jest, “Yaar teri picture toh mere saath hi hit hoti hai. Baaki sab ke saath flop hoti hai.

Tu doosron ke saath mat banaya kar!” After that Gulzar saab only worked with Sanjeevji. A. Bhimsingh’s Naya Din Nai Raat (1974), a remake of the Tamil movie Navarathri (1964), had him in nine avatars, symbolic of the navras in human emotions. He played lover, hunter, a transvestite, an alcoholic… ably supported by Jayaji. He shared amazing chemistry with Jayaji. He played her lover (Anamika), father (Parichay), father-in-law (Sholay), a well-wisher (Silsila)… Jayaji and he were close friends. I saw her during the shoot of Nauker (1979). The bungalow where they shot was at Pali Hill, close to our house. I’d visit the set on weekends.

See Also: Best films of Sanjeev Kumar

Class act

Sanjeevji’s strength was subtlety. He was confident about his talent. In multi-starrers, where some actors excelled in dance and action, he’d concentrate on elevating his character by his performance. He never bothered about exercise or fitness. For him it was about being an actor, not a star. My favourites include the breezy comedy Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), Manchali (1973) and Aap Ki Kasam (1974). Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Arjun Pandit (1976) won him the Filmfare Best Actor Award. His character Mirza Sajjad Ali, a chess-obsessed nawab in Satyajit Ray’s classic Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977) remains a milestone.  

I remember going to Bangalore with him for the shooting of the iconic film Sholay (1975). The schedule was a long one. So instead of a hotel, we stayed in a bungalow. As Thakur Baldev Singh in Sholay, Sanjeevji had to express silent pain. Thakur had to emote only through his eyes because his hands were cut. In Trishul (1978), his character Raj Kumar Gupta was about subtle power. Sanjeevji had to complete the film’s shoot before he could travel for shows. On the last day, after completing his work he changed into his regular kurta lungi when Yashji (Chopra) asked for a certain shot. So, he put on the waistcoat and shirt as part of his character once again. But he didn’t change the lungi. He asked Yashji to shoot the scene with him sitting on the desk. He was that practical. Subhash Ghai’s Hero (1983) had him play a Pathan, a pandit and an Australian guy.

He enjoyed getting in and out of costumes, playing with his voice and expressions and delivered all these in single takes. After Sunghursh (1968), he did Ghai’s Vidhaata (1982) with Dilip saab. Ramanathan’s Devata (1978) is another special film. I love the quirky song Chand churake laya hoon written by Gulzar saab and composed by RD Burman. In Rajkumar Kohli’s Jaani Dushman (1979), there was no heroine paired opposite him, no song featured him but still he was the main character, the ghost of Thakur Jwala Prasad.

As is known, K Asif saab began Love And God with Guru Dutt and Nimmi. But it was shelved due to Guru Dutt’s death in 1964. Asif saab resumed the film in 1970 with Sanjeevji. As Majnu, Sanjeevji had to appear young. Asif saab put him up in a hotel near his house. 

He got him enrolled in a gym close by so that he could monitor him. He was also kept on a strict diet. But the film took too long to make. So his physicality kept changing. K. Asif passed away in 1971. His wife Akhtar Asif released the incomplete film in 1986 a year after Sanjeevji passed away. Nevertheless, Sanjeevji always looked up to Asif saab and hung his frame in the living room. 

He’d point towards it and say, ‘He’s my guru.’

See Also: Deepak Tijori creates a heartfelt tribute for Sanjeev Kumar’s birthday