Manoj Kumar Birthday: Manoj Kumar, one of the best Bollywood actors and directors, was born on 24 July 1937 in Abbottabad, Pakistan. After the partition of the country, Manoj Kumar’s family came to India. Later, Manoj Kumar worked in the Bollywood film industry and earned a lot of fame.
Manoj Kumar worked in many patriotic films and also directed many films. Due to this, he also got the name ‘Bharat Kumar’. Today, on the occasion of Manoj Kumar’s birthday, let us tell you some special things related to him which you probably do not know before.
Manoj Kumar’s real name
Very few people know the real name of Manoj Kumar. Manoj Kumar’s real name is Harikrishna Giri Goswami. It is said that Manoj changed his name to Badal because of veteran actor Dilip Kumar. Actually, Dilip Kumar’s character’s name in the 1949 film ‘Shabnam’ was ‘Manoj Kumar’. After this, Manoj Kumar decided to keep the same name.
Made his debut at the age of 20
Manoj Kumar had decided to become an actor in his childhood. At the age of just 20, he debuted in Bollywood with the film ‘Fashion’. This film was released in the year 1957. However, the actor got a big and special recognition from the 1965 film ‘Shaheed’. After this, he never looked back. In this film, he played the role of Shaheed Bhagat Singh.
Manoj Kumar’s best movies
Manoj Kumar directed many films in his career. Many of his films were superhits. He also won the hearts of fans with his brilliant acting in many films. Apart from Shaheed, Manoj’s brilliant films include films like ‘Neel Kamal’, ‘Hariyali Aur Rasta’, ‘Woh Kaun Thi’, ‘Himalay Ki God Mein’, ‘Patthar Ke Sanam’, ‘Upkar’, ‘Gumnaam’, ‘Roti Kapda Aur Makaan’, ‘Purab Aur Paschim’, ‘Do Badan’ and Kranti.
Lal Bahadur Shastri was also a fan of Manoj Kumar
Even former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was a fan of Manoj Kumar. On Shastri’s request, Manoj Kumar made the film ‘Upkar’ in 1967. This film was based on Lal Bahadur Shastri’s slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’.
I quit smoking after being scolded by a girl
Manoj Kumar once went to a restaurant to eat. Then a girl scolded him. In an interview given to Rajya Sabha TV, the actor said, ‘Many years ago I went to a restaurant to eat with my family. I was fond of smoking cigarettes then. I smoked a cigarette… a young girl came and scolded me – ‘You are an Indian and you are smoking cigarettes, are you not ashamed?’ After this, Manoj Kumar decided not to smoke cigarettes in public places.