
This man became actor due to financial crisis, got stardom from one role, left acting forever, now working as..., his name is...
The actor we are talking about is Sushil Kumar, who is best known for films like 'Dhool Ka Phool', 'Kala Bazaar' and 'Dosti'. The actor's luck became his fortune when he was offered a three-year contract by Rajshri Productions and at that time working with this production house was a dream of many big stars. How Sushil Kumar Started His Career?
Born in a Sindhi family in Karachi, Sushil came to India with his family after Partition. His family did business, but it did not work out well. After this, in 1953, he started living in Mahim area of Bombay (presently known as Mumbai). Later, his grandfather suffered a huge loss in business and went bankrupt. Troubled by financial crisis, the actor's entire family started living in a chawl in Mumbai. His real struggle started when both Sushil Kumar's father and grandfather died.
Due to financial crisis, his mother asked him to work in films. He started this work under compulsion and later became a star with just one role. Sushil Kumar appeared as a child artist in films like 'Phir Subah Hogi', 'Kala Bazaar', 'Dhool Ka Phool', 'Maine Jeena Seekh Liya', 'Shriman Satyawadi', 'Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere', 'Sanjog', 'Ek Ladki Saat Ladke', 'Phool Bane Angare' and 'Saheli'. How One Role Changed The Fate Of Sushil Kumar?
Late Tarachand Barjatya, owner of Rajshri Productions and father of renowned director-producer Sooraj Barjatya, gave role to Sushil Kumar in Hindi remake of the Bengali film 'Lalu-Bhulu', which was named 'Dosti'. Veteran actor Sudhir Kumar also appeared in it along with Sushil Kumar. After the release, 'Dosti' became one of the superhit films of that time. This film gave him tremendous name and fame in the film world.
Dosti ranked among the top ten highest-grossing films of 1964, labeled a 'Super Hit' at the box office, and participated in the 4th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1977, the movie was remade in Malayalam and Telugu under the title 'Sneham.' Dosti received six Filmfare Awards from seven nominations.
Despite earning fame, Sushil gradually bid goodbye to films and completed his studies, after which he got a job as a cabin crew member in Air India.
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Time of India
13 hours ago
- Time of India
From Rajiv Gandhi to MGR: How OTT platforms are uncovering India's lesser-known political and freedom narratives
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Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Exclusive: Stories like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag don't fade, they mature with time, says Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
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One was Milkha Singh's journey, and the other was one of the most seminal point in modern Indian history -- the partition of India. The plot and the character are intertwined in each other. They coexist because of each other. I am glad it's re-releasing in theatres on August 8. Certain films are meant for the big screen. We should develop a culture of revisiting our classics. Not just for business, but legacy. That's more important for me. Why did you want to tell a story that was woven around the Partition? The partition is a seminal point because millions were celebrating the independence of the country, and millions were suffering the partition. I was born in the 60s. I grew up listening to both horrific and beautiful stories of partition. They left an indelible mark on me. When I entered college, we shifted to a colony in Delhi which was given to refugees of partition, and they rebuilt their lives from scratch there. Everybody had come from Pakistan there. I used to hear their stories of how they loved their land. Vatan aur desh mein farak hota hai (sentimentally). A Sindhi will consider Sindh as his land. A Punjabi will consider Punjab as his vatan and three-fourth of Punjab is in Pakistan. Borderline politics is another thing. I see myself through the lens of human beings. I don't see it from the lens of aaj kal kya ho raha hai, log kya soch rahe hain. I am drawn to common man. Ek aam aadmi kya kar raha hai, kya soch raha hai, uske sukh-dukh kya hai. What moves them is very important for me. As a filmmaker, you get to choose your gaze and mine is human. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Farhan Akhtar on set of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag While the story belongs to Milkha Singh, it also resonates with your past. Tell us about that. It is a story of have-nots. Milkha had nothing to lose. When you don't come from privilege and you make it, that resonates with me a lot. I grew up in Delhi. I used to swim and play cricket in the National Stadium. Before my time, Milkha Singh, Dara Singh and Dhyan Chand used to practise there. We grew up on these three names. They were our Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. Milkhaji didn't have shoes at one point and ran barefoot. We all identified with it because our entire generation grew up without having proper facilities. I come from a lower middle-class family. I could relate to characters who were thrilled when they got to wear a Team India blazer like Milkhaji did. He won his first race for a glass of milk and two eggs. He didn't win to make a world record or become a great athlete. I have practiced swimming because at the end of the practice section, we would get a glass of warm milk with Horlicks and two boiled eggs. It was great breakfast and that too for free. This is everybody's story in India. The late Milkha Singh on sets of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag At three hours and six minutes, the film's duration was much talked about. In hindsight, would you make any changes in terms of length or otherwise? It was a difficult story to mount because everyone said where is the romance, hero is just running. Where is the action? Athletics kaun dekhta hai India mein? Saare sawaal sahi thay. But it was important for me to prove the detractors wrong. If I didn't believe in what I made, I wouldn't make it in the first place. Pacing derives its essence from the story and how it is told. A length of the film is the length that works. A two-hour film can feel long and a three-and-a-half-hour film, can seem perfect. Look at the modern-day epics like Avatar, Oppenheimer, Brutalist (3 hours, 34 minutes). Lagaan, was longer than these at 3 hours and 44 minutes. When you're enjoying a movie, you are completely lost in that world and time flies. This whole length concern came from distribution. It never came from the audience or critics. 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The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
Shekhar Kapur interview: On ‘Masoom 2', censorship and AI
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Life and love exist because there is uncertainty. We can explore the uncertainty between does she love me, does she not in myriad ways by putting ourselves on the line, a machine can't.' Discussing his struggles with content and form, Kapur notes that among his three illustrious maternal uncles, he was emotionally closest to Chetan Anand, known for directing classics like Neecha Nagar, the only Indian film to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes, whose basic theme echoes in Kapur's jinxed project, Paani. 'Like him, content comes before style for me. You might say Mr India was an exception, but there again, the style was derived from a strong emotion. I saw the space through the 11-year-old in me. And I followed the same process in Elizabeth.' He firmly faced the detractors who equated his restlessness with laziness. Kapur says he seeks 'to climb a new mountain every time,' and sometimes, when he discovers that he is charting the same path, he is open to cutting short the adventure, as he did with projects like Joshilay and Barsaat. 'I believe art is an intuitive idea, and you can't interfere with your intuition. If you don't have your own intuition, what do you have?' he wonders. What about Kapur's perception of love? A nomad at 79 sounds a bit crazy. 'To me, settling down is a very middle-class idea,' he chuckles. 'For me, love is about dissolving yourself into something. I have felt the strongest bond with my daughter Kaveri. But is the search for home liberating or provoking more and more quests? Elizabeth poses the same question towards he end. Did she become a prisoner of herself, or was she liberated from herself? I am not sure, but I like this idea of not being sure. It drives me to try....'