అశోక్ కుమార్ (హిందీ నటుడు): కూర్పుల మధ్య తేడాలు

ఇతడు చదువుకునే సమయంలోనే శోభ అనే అమ్మాయితో తల్లిదండ్రులు కుదిర్చిన వివాహాన్ని సంప్రదాయబద్ధంగా చేసుకున్నాడు.<ref>{{cite web|title=Home alone: Ashok Kumar |url=http://downloads.movies.indiatimes.com/site/feb2001/tunen2.html |work=Home alone: Ashok Kumar |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080205232633/http://downloads.movies.indiatimes.com/site/feb2001/tunen2.html |archivedate=5 February 2008 }}</ref> వీరి దాంపత్యం అన్యోన్యంగా సాగింది. వీరికి అరూప్ గంగూలీ అనే కుమారుడు, భారతీ పటేల్, రూపావర్మ, ప్రీతి గంగూలీ అనే ముగ్గురు కుమార్తెలు కలిగారు.

 

Kumudlal's sister Sati Devi was married at a very young age to [[Sashadhar Mukherjee]], who lived in Mumbai and worked as a technician in the film industry. This connection resulted in Kumudlal becoming somewhat interested in the technical aspects of film-making (not of acting). He failed his law exams and, to escape acrimony at home, came to live with his sister for a few months, until the exams were held again. In order to earn some livelihood, he requested his brother-in-law to find him a job. Sashadhar Mukherjee was working in a fairly senior position in the technical department of [[Bombay Talkies]], a pioneering Indian film studio, and he used his influence to get Kumudlal a job there. He started off as a laboratory assistant in Bombay Talkies and lived with his sister's family in [[Chembur]], not far from the studio. This was in the early 1930s. The salary was fairly decent; furthermore, he was successful at his job and enthusiastic about it, which had not been the case with law college. He managed to convince his father that he would not become successful as a lawyer and would be able to earn a living as lab assistant. His father finally reconciled himself to the situation and granted permission to abandon his law studies. Thus began his film career, albeit as laboratory assistant in a film studio.

 

He started emerging from Devika Rani's shadow owing to pairing opposite [[Leela Chitnis]], another actress who was senior to him in age as well as stature. Back-to-back successes with ''Kangan'' (1939), ''Bandhan'' (1940) and ''Azad'' (1940) saw Ashok Kumar emerge as a popular actor in his own right. The success of ''[[Jhoola (1941 film)|Jhoola]]'' (1941), in which he starred opposite [[Leela Chitnis]], established him as one of the most bankable actors of the era.

 

The Gyan Mukherjee directed 1943 movie ''[[Kismet (1943 film)|Kismet]]'', featuring Ashok Kumar as the first anti-hero in [[Cinema of India|Indian Cinema]] smashed all existing box office records, becoming the first Hindi movie to gross 1 crore at the box office. The success of ''Kismet'' made Ashok Kumar the first superstar of Indian cinema. Such was his popularity at the time that, in the words of Manto, "Ashok's popularity grew each passing day. He seldom ventured out, but wherever he was spotted, he was mobbed. Traffic would come to a stop and often the police would have to use lathis to disperse his fans."<ref>Stars from Another Sky by Saadat Hassan Manto</ref>

 

He produced several films for Bombay Talkies during the final years of the company including ''[[Ziddi (1948 film)|Ziddi]]'' (1948), which established the careers of [[Dev Anand]] and [[Pran (actor)|Pran]], ''[[Neel Kamal (1947 film)|Neelkamal]]'' (1947), which marked the debut of [[Raj Kapoor]], and the famous ''[[Mahal (1949 film)|Mahal]]'' in 1949 in which he co-starred with [[Madhubala]].

 

With the advent of the 1950s, Ashok Kumar switched over to more mature roles, with the exception of the 1958 classic [[Howrah Bridge (film)|Howrah Bridge]]. Despite the arrival of a younger crop of stars like Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor, Ashok Kumar remained one of the stars of the era with hits like ''Afsana'' (1951), ''Nau Bahar'' (1952), ''Parineeta'' (1953), ''Bandish'' (1955) and ''EK Hi Raasta'' (1956). His most successful film of that era was ''Deedar'' (1951), in which he played second lead to Dilip Kumar.

 

Ashok Kumar appeared frequently opposite [[Nalini Jaywant]] in several movies of the 1950s. He did around 17 films with [[Meena Kumari]] in a span of twenty years ranging from [[Tamasha (1952 film)|Tamasha]] in 1952 to 1972 magnum opus, [[Pakeezah]]. He played the suave cigarette-smoking criminal or police officer in several films in the mid to late 1950s, in what was the Indian film-noir movement.

 

By the 1960s, Ashok Kumar switched over to character roles, variously playing the parent, uncle or grandparent, being careful never to be typecast.

From a judge in ''[[Kanoon]]'' (1960), an aging freedom fighter in ''[[Bandini (1963 film)|Bandini]]'' (1963), an aging priest in ''[[Chitralekha (1964 film)|Chitralekha]]'' (1964), a vicious zamindar in ''Jawaab'' (1970) and a criminal in ''Victoria 203'' (1971), he played a wide variety of roles.