Ashok Kumar (October 13, 1911 – December 10, 2001) was an Indian actor. Born and brought up as Kumudlal Kanjilal Ganguly in Bhagalpur, Bihar and educated at the prestigious Presidency College, Kolkata; Ashok Kumar stands apart as a cinema icon of the 20th century. He broke apart from the theatrical role playing prevalent then in the Indian Cinema and started a natural style of acting. He received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award 1988, from the Indian Government for his lifetime contribution. He also won two Filmfare awards as well a National award. October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years). ... 1911 was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... December 10 is the 344th day (345th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Actors in priod costume sharing a joke whilst waiting btween takes during location filming. ... Bhagalpur is a district in the state of Bihar in the eastern part of India. ... For other uses, see Bihar (disambiguation). ... (Official website: presidencycollegekolkata. ... India is a major regional center for cinema. ... The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is an annual award given by the Indian government for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema. ... Filmfare Awards are Bollywoods answer to the Oscars. ... National is the Japanese brand under which Matsushita products are sold. ...

Reverently called Dadamoni, he started his career in Bombay (Mumbai), albeit accidentally, with the Bombay Talkies production Jeevan Naiya in 1936. The male lead, Najam-ul-Hussain, ran off with the female lead and director's wife, Devika Rani. When discovered, the leading man was dismissed but the company needed a new hero. The director Himanshu Roy called upon his laboratory assistant Ashok Kumar to take the part and thus began a six decade long acting career.. However, it was his subsequent venture with Devika Rani in Acchut Kanya in the same year that set him up for the big league. The film itself stands out as one of the heralding social dramas from the pre-independence Indian Cinema. It was the story of a Brahmin boy falling in love with a girl from lower caste, the so called untouchables in Indian society. It was a big hit and started the trend of socially committed films. The Bombay Talkies Limited (commonly known as Bombay Talkies), founded in 1934 in Malad, Bombay (now Mumbai), India by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani, was a high-tech movie studio of its time, with sound and echo-proof stages, laboratories and editing rooms, and preview theatre. ... 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Devika Rani Chaudhuri Roerich (Waltair, March 30, 1908 – Bangalore, March 9, 1994) was an early Indian movie star. ... India is a major regional center for cinema. ... A Brahmin is a member of the Hindu priestly caste. ... Untouchable may mean: Dalit (outcaste), formerly or derogatively, populations of India and Nepal outside the caste system The Untouchables, the Treasury agent team led by Eliot Ness Untouchables (album), a KoЯn album Untouchables (band) Untouchable numbers. ... For the song by the California punk band Pennywise, see Society (song). ...

Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar did a string of films after this including Izzat 1937, Savitri 1937 and Nirmala 1938. But she was the bigger star and Ashok Kumar was definitely in her shadow. He came into his own with three films opposite Leela Chitnis: Kangan in 1939, Bandhan in 1940, Jhoola in 1941, singing his own songs as was the custom then. He acquitted himself creditably and came away with several hits including most famously Main Ban ka Panchhi. 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Ashok Kumar challenged the prevailing more traditional theatrical acting style and developed his own more natural style. He was also not afraid to take risks and was one of the first anti-heroes of Indian Cinema with his role in Kismet in 1943. India is a major regional center for cinema. ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ...

He produced several films for Bombay Talkies during the final years of the company including the famous Mahal in 1949 in which he co-starred with Madhubala. In the 1950's, he played the suave cigarette-smoking criminal or police officer in several films of what was the Indian film-noir movement. In the late 1960's he switched to character roles playing the parent, grandparent, dirty old man and suave criminal being careful never to be typecast. 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Madhubala Madhubala (February 14, 1933 - February 23, 1969) is considered one of most beautiful actresses to have graced the screens of Bollywood. ...

He gave up active filming in early eighties, save for the occasional television appearance, most famously anchoring the first Indian soap opera Hum Log and appearing as the title character in the forgettable Bahadur Shah Zafar. His last film role was in Aankhon Mein Tum Ho in 1997. The first TIME cover devoted to soap operas: Dated January 12, 1976, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of Our Lives are featured with the headline Soap Operas: Sex and suffering in the afternoon. A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television... Bahadur Shah II (1775-1862) aka Bahadur Shah Zafar (Zafar was his nom de plume, or takhallus, as an Urdu poet) was the last of the Mughal emperors in India. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

His brothers Kishore Kumar and Anoop Kumar also acted in films. The three brothers worked together in the comedy Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi. Ashok, though the eldest of the three by quite a margin, survived them both. In fact, he stopped celebrating his birthday after the youngest brother, Kishore, died on that day in 1987. Besides acting, he was an avid painter and a practitioner of homeopathy. Kishore Kumar (August 4, 1929 - October 13, 1987), born as Abhas Ganguly, was a Bengali Indian film playback singer (Hindi, Bangla, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Oriya) and actor. ... Homeopathy (also spelled homœopathy or homoeopathy) from the Greek words όμοιος, hómoios (similar) and πάθος, páthos (suffering), is a system of alternative medicine, notable for its controversial practice of prescribing water-based solutions that in many cases do not contain chemically active ingredients. ...

Some of his most remembered films include Parineeta in 1953, Ek Hi Raasta in 1956, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi and Howrah Bridge in 1958, Bandini and Gumrah in 1963, Mamta in 1966, Jewel Thief in 1967, Aashirwad in 1968, Pakeezah and Victoria No. 203 in 1972, Choti Si Baat in 1975, Khubsoorat in 1980 and Shaukeen in 1981. Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyays 1914 novel Parineeta was adapted into a 1953 film by the noted director Bimal Roy. ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1972 was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

He passed away at the age of 90 in Mumbai. Altogether, he starred in over 275 films. Mumbai (Marathi: मुंबई ) (pronounced in Marathi, and in English), formerly known as Bombay is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and is the most populous Indian city with a 2005 estimated population of about 13 million. ...

External Links

• Ashok Kumar on IMDB