संजीव कुमार बर्थ एनिवर्सरी: शर्त रखी तो हेमामालिनी ने शादी नहीं की; गर्लफ्रेंड्स को नंबर से बुलाते थे, सुलक्षणा पंडित ने मांग भरने को कहा

Apart from Hindi, Sanjeev Kumar also worked in his mother tongue Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu films.

It was around 1933. A woman reached a temple of Mata Rani located near the border of Maharashtra and Gujarat. It was believed that any wish made here with a true heart never goes unfulfilled. The woman had only one wish – for a son.

She bowed her head at the feet of Mata Rani and made a vow, ‘If I get a son, I will make him wear only the clothes I have borrowed for ten years.’

Time passed and Mata Rani heard his call. A son was born in his house. This child later became a star of Indian cinema, whose acting is still considered an example. He immortalized the character of Thakur Baldev Singh in the film Sholay.

We are talking about Sanjeev Kumar and today on his 88th birth anniversary, let us know some unheard stories related to his life….

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Sanjeev Kumar’s father had married three times. Sanjeev Kumar’s father Jethalal Shivlal Jariwala was a prosperous brocade merchant from Surat, Gujarat. His family had a luxurious mansion, horse-cart and all the luxuries of that time, but despite having so much wealth, there were many sorrows in his personal life.

According to the book Sanjeev Kumar: The Actor We All Loved by Sanjeev Kumar’s nephew Uday Jariwala, Jethalal had two daughters, Lakshmi and Jasu, from his first marriage. After some time his first wife died due to illness. After this he married for the second time. The second wife gave birth to a daughter, Bhagwati, but she also died during childbirth.

After this, Jethalal’s third marriage took place with Shanta Ben. Shanta Ben’s biggest wish was that the family get a son. For this, she used to go to the Mata temple of Charoti situated on the Maharashtra-Gujarat border and pray for her. She took a vow that if she had a son, she would wear donated clothes for 10 years and would also get him tonsured in the same temple. After about five years, his wish was fulfilled and on 9 July 1938, Harihar Jariwala was born. This Harihar later became known as Sanjeev Kumar, the famous actor of Hindi cinema.

Sanjeev Kumar’s mother even sold her jewelery to fulfill his acting dream.

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How Harihar Jariwala became Sanjeev Kumar The credit for giving Sanjeev Kumar his name goes to filmmaker Sawan Kumar Tak. In the early 1960s, Sawan Kumar saw a play by IPTA at the Tejpal Theatre, Mumbai. Sanjeev Kumar’s strong acting in that play impressed him so much that he decided right then and there that he would give him a chance in his film.

After the play was over, he called Sanjeev Kumar for tea and started narrating the story of his film ‘Naunihaal’. While listening to the story, Sanjeev Kumar asked with surprise, “Why are you telling me this story?”

Saavan Kumar smiled and replied, “Because I want to cast you in my film.”

However, Sawan Kumar had a condition. He said that the name Harihar Jariwala does not seem that impressive for films. At that time, the names of artists like Raj Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Manoj Kumar and Rajendra Kumar were very popular. That’s why he first suggested the name Sanjay Kumar, but at the same time actor Sanjay Khan had also entered the industry. In such a situation, both of them together chose a new name – Sanjeev Kumar.

Sanjeev Kumar was born in Surat, Gujarat. After spending the first 7 years in Surat, his family shifted to Mumbai.

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Nutan slapped me in front of everyone on the set of the film

Sanjeev Kumar’s name was also linked to actress Nutan. Sanjeev Kumar and Nutan met on the sets of the film ‘Gauri’ in 1968 and later their friendship deepened during the shooting of ‘Devi’.

Journalist Hanif Zaveri had told in an interview to Vicky Lalwani that one day there was a fight between Nutan and her husband Rajneesh Bahl over some issue. Sanjeev Kumar had called Rajneesh Bahl with the intention of handling the situation, but it had the opposite effect and her husband’s anger increased further.

The next day, to assure her husband that she had no relation with Sanjeev Kumar, Nutan reached the shooting set and slapped Sanjeev Kumar. Due to this incident, the shooting of the film ‘Devi’ was stopped and both the actors went separately.

Sanjeev Kumar and Nutan had worked together in films like ‘Gauri’ and ‘Devi’.

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Couldn’t marry Hema Malini due to one condition

The most popular name among Sanjeev Kumar’s incomplete love stories is that of Hema Malini. There was a possibility of their relationship reaching the point of marriage. However, one condition ended this relationship forever. Sanjeev Kumar and Hema Malini grew close during the shooting of the film ‘Sita Aur Geeta’ in 1972. According to journalist Hanif Zaveri, Sanjeev Kumar was very serious about Hema Malini. There was talk of marriage between the families of both, but one condition broke the relationship. According to Hanif Zaveri, Hema Malini’s mother Jaya Chakraborty wanted her daughter to continue working in films even after marriage. At the same time, Sanjeev Kumar clearly said that after marriage, his wife should give priority to home and family.

There was no consensus between the two on this issue and the relationship broke down. At that time Hema Malini was the number-1 actress of Bollywood and was at the peak of her career. Hanif Zaveri says that Hema Malini hoped that with time Sanjeev Kumar would change his decision and allow her to work, but it did not happen. Eventually their paths parted forever. Sanjeev Kumar was heartbroken after breaking up with Hema Malini.

Sanjeev Kumar and Hema Malini had worked together in many films like ‘Sita Aur Geeta’, ‘Sholay’ and ‘Dhoop Chhaon’.

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Sulakshana Pandit took the temple to the temple and asked her to fill it with vermilion.

One of the most incomplete love stories of Bollywood is considered to be that of Sanjeev Kumar and Sulakshana Pandit. During the shooting of the film ‘Uljhan’, Sulakshana Pandit fell deeply in love with Sanjeev Kumar.

According to Hanif Zaveri, once Sulakshana took Pandit Sanjeev Kumar to the temple and said, ‘Please fill vermilion in my maang.’ But Sanjeev Kumar refused to do so. Sanjeev Kumar was aware of his heart disease. He believed that he would not be able to live a long life, hence he did not want to hurt any girl by connecting her life with his.

After Sanjeev Kumar’s refusal, Sulakshana Pandit did not marry for the rest of her life. At the same time, the death of Sanjeev Kumar in 1985 deeply shocked him. Coincidentally, Sulakshana Pandit died on 6 November 2025. Whereas, on November 6 (1985), Sanjeev Kumar said goodbye to this world.

Sanjeev Kumar and Sulakshana Pandit had worked together in many films like ‘Uljhan’, ‘Zindagi’ and ‘Apnapan’.

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Dharmendra wanted to play Sanjeev Kumar’s famous Thakur character.

In the film ‘Sholay’, director Ramesh Sippy had chosen Sanjeev Kumar for the role of Thakur Baldev Singh, because he was adept in playing every type of character very effectively.

In an interview given to Dainik Bhaskar, Ramesh Sippy had told that initially Dharmendra was confused about his character in the film. He wanted to play the role of Thakur. He told Ramesh Sippy, ‘The main character of the film is Thakur, so I should play this role.’

On this, Ramesh Sippy said jokingly, ‘If you become Thakur, then Sanjeev Kumar will play the character of Veeru and then he will also get a chance to romance with Hema Malini.’

After hearing this, Dharmendra changed his mind and agreed to play the role of Veeru in the film.

When Sanjeev Kumar played the role of Thakur in ‘Sholay’, he was only 37 years old.

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Sanjeev Kumar convinces Jaya Bachchan to work in ‘Silsila’ ‘Silsila’, released in 1981, was one of the most popular films of that era. The reason for this was not only the story, but also the discussions related to the alleged love triangle of Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan and Rekha.

Hanif Zaveri had told that initially Jaya Bachchan did not want to be a part of the film. In such a situation, the film’s director Yash Chopra sought help from Sanjeev Kumar. Since Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bachchan had a brother-sister like relationship, Yash Chopra asked him to convince Jaya to do the film.

Sanjeev Kumar talked to Jaya Bachchan, after which she agreed to the film. However, he put forward a condition. Jaya said that whether she has any scene that day or not, she will be present on the set every day during the shooting of the film. He had taken this decision considering the presence of Rekha.

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Sanjeev Kumar used to call his girlfriends by number and not by name.

In Uday Jariwala’s book, Anju Mahendru had told an interesting incident related to Sanjeev Kumar. According to her, whenever Sanjeev Kumar was not serious about a woman, he used to call her by ‘number’ instead of taking her name. He used to jokingly give names like No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 to his female friends.

Anju Mahendru had told, ‘Hari used to call me and say, ‘Number 1 called today’ or ‘Number 8 said this today.’ It had become a joke between the two of us.

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10% were living on the basis of heart, still did not give up alcohol After 1976, the Jariwala family suffered a total of 9 heart attacks in the next ten years. Sanjeev Kumar suffered his first heart attack in 1976. He was at a party when suddenly his health deteriorated. He was immediately taken to Breach Candy Hospital.

At the same time, in 1978, he suffered a second heart attack in Houston, America. He was staying at his sister Gayatri Patel’s house after the shooting of the film ‘Surag’. The coincidence was such that on the day his niece Aarti was born, he suffered a heart attack. The family kept this thing hidden from Gayatri for a few days. After treatment, he recovered and returned to India. After this incident he almost decided that he would not marry again.

Meanwhile, in 1978 and 1979, his mother suffered two heart attacks, the second of which proved fatal. In 1982, brother Nikul Jariwala suffered his first heart attack. Then in 1983, Sanjeev Kumar suffered a heart attack for the third time. This time he was admitted to Nanavati Hospital. Doctors clearly warned that if you want a long life, you will have to completely give up alcohol, cigarettes and spicy food, but Sanjeev Kumar could not do so.

In 1984, Nikul Jariwala suffered a second heart attack and died. At the same time, when Sanjeev Kumar went to America, famous cardiologist Dr. Denton Cooley had said that his heart was working at only 10 percent capacity. However, his bypass surgery was successful and his weight also reduced significantly, but after returning to India, Sanjeev Kumar again got fully involved in work. Despite the advice of doctors, he could not give up cigarettes, alcohol or his busy daily routine. Then on November 6, 1985, he suffered his fourth and most severe heart attack. This time he could not be saved. He died at the age of just 47. Brother Kishore Jariwala also died of a heart attack in 1986, just six months after his departure.

After the death of Sanjeev Kumar, about 10 of his films were released at the box office, including ‘Professor Ki Padosan’.

A look at Sanjeev Kumar’s career

Sanjeev Kumar started his acting career from theatre. Later he was associated with the Indian People’s Theater Association (IPTA) and the Indian National Theatre. In 1960, he stepped into Bollywood with the film ‘Hum Hindustani’, but he got his real recognition from ‘Khilona’ released in 1970.

Sanjeev Kumar worked in more than 100 films in his career. His acting in films like ‘Koshish’, ‘Aandhi’, ‘Mausam’, ‘Angoor’, ‘Naya Din Nai Raat’, ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’, ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’, ‘Trishul’ and ‘Sholay’ are still remembered. Especially Thakur Baldev Singh in ‘Sholay’ and his double role in ‘Angoor’ are counted among his most memorable characters.

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