The superstar who used to increase his fees irrespective of whether the film was a hit or a flop, who insulted stars like Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan, know who he was

There was an actor with a lion-like gait, a strong voice and a tough temperament who did dozens of films from the 50s to the 90s and left a unique mark. An actor who considered no one else as his equal and would insult any star. The name of that actor is Raj Kumar who lived a life like a prince all his life.

Raj Kumar was such an actor in the industry who used to increase his fees after every film. He was such an actor with whom big stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra were scared of working. It is said that the same voice had gone in his last days and he used to talk in gestures. Let us tell you some unheard stories of Raj Kumar.

Rajkumar’s family background

Raj Kumar was a Kashmiri Pandit but in 1940 he came to Bombay (now Mumbai) to become a successful man. Here he met Anglo-Indian Jennifer, whom he married in 1960. After marriage, Jennifer’s name was changed to Gayatri and Raj Kumar had three children with her. Out of these, Puru Raj Kumar remained active in the film industry but his career was a flop.

Rajkumar’s ‘dominance’ in the film industry

Rajkumar came to Mumbai in 1940 and after working hard he became a sub-inspector in Bombay police. According to media reports, Raj Kumar had told in one of his interviews that since childhood he never listened to anyone. Later when he got a job as a policeman his voice and style became even more imposing. Fate turned Raj Kumar towards films and after leaving the job as a policeman Raj Kumar turned towards Hindi cinema.

His first film Rangeeli was released in 1952 and a few more of his films were released in the same year but he got recognition from the film Mother India released in 1957. After this, Raj Kumar did many back to back films and his specialty was that he used to increase his fees after every film. The makers used to agree to this because Raj Kumar had become a famous actor of that era.

Raj Kumar used to choose his roles himself and he would not only refuse the roles that he did not like but would also insult the maker. This list includes many legends like Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra, Raj Kapoor, Prakash Mehra. Due to Raj Kumar’s same attitude, people of the film industry were scared to work with him and those who did, agreed to his every condition.

The painful death of the prince

Raj Kumar was born on 8 October 1926 in Loralai (now in Pakistan) of British India. His real name was Kulbhushan Pandit. Raj Kumar lived a princely life all his life and kept people scared with his arrogance but his end was very bad. At the age of 69, Raj Kumar got throat cancer and he was treated for many months.

In an interview given to Farhana Farooq, Raj Kumar’s son Puru Raj Kumar told about Raj Kumar’s last days. The powerful voice that you used to hear in films was almost gone in the end. In his last days, he used to talk in gestures and used to be in a lot of pain. Raj Kumar died on 3 July 1996.

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