Veteran Bollywood Actor Sudesh Kumar Passes Away at 95 in Mumbai

Veteran Bollywood actor Sudesh Kumar, who played the protagonist of the tragic love story 'Saranga' (1961), still remembered for its melancholic title track, became a familiar face as supporting lead in money-spinning Southern productions like 'Chhoti Bahen' (1959), 'Bharosa' (1963) and 'Khandan' (1965), and went on to produce absorbing thrillers like Uljhan (1975), passed away at his residence in Mumbai on Friday. He was 95.

The actor was admitted to Breach Candy hospital following breathing issues on Monday. "At his request, we brought him back home on Thursday where we had set up a makeshift medical unit. But he breathed his last the next morning," his wife Jaya Dhawan told TOI over phone.

Born in 1931 in pre-independence India in frontier town Peshawar -- also the birthplace of Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor and where Shah Rukh Khan gets his ancestry from -- Sudesh's family shifted to Bombay when he was young. "He graduated in science from Elphinstone College. His father wanted him to be a doctor," Jaya said. But Kumar joined Prithviraj Kapoor’s theatre group. "They were also distant relatives," she recalled.

Among his early films was Prithviraj-directed, 'Paisa' (1957). His real name was Sudesh Dhawan. But the actor's screen name kept changing. He was Sudesh in some, Soodesh Kumar in others and Sudesh Kumar in most.

The actor initially got parts in low-budget costume dramas and devotionals before catching mainstream attention in the cameo of a doctor in Prasad Production’s superhit family drama, 'Chhoti Bahen' (1959). He was paired opposite Nanda playing the protagonist.

In the Sixties, Sudesh found his feet becoming a regular in southern socials working with premium directors such as K Shankar ('Bharosa', 1963), Vasu Menon ('Grahasti', 1963), A Bhimsingh ('Khandan', 1965 and 'Gopi', 1970) and CV Sridhar ('Dharti', 1970).

Old-timers would remember him twisting and turning with a step-perfect Mumtaz for the rock and roll track, “Aa dance karein, thoda romance karein.” "Khandan was one of his favourite films," said Jaya.

A more interesting role came in producer-director Vasant Joglekar’s critical and commercial success, 'Aaj aur Kal' (1963), set in princely state, pre-independence India. Sudesh enacted the role of a youthful Congress leader, also a humble coachman’s son, who seeks to draw people into the national movement and to whom the king’s younger daughter (Tanuja) is attracted to.

He is remembered more for producer-director Dhirubhai Desai’s 'Saranga' (1961), where a prince falls in love with a commoner to a tragic outcome. Two of the film’s tracks, 'Saranga teri yaad mein' (singer: Mukesh, lyrics: Bharat Vyas, music: Sardar Malik) and 'Haan deewana hoon main' (same trio) became chartbusters finishing at No 9 and No 20 in the popular countdown show, Binaca Geetmala’s annual list. The title song has a combined view of over 2.5 million on YouTube underlining its timeless appeal. A heart-broken Sudesh walking through a leafless grove while lip syncing the number is part of old Bollywood’s unforgettable images.

With dwindling meaningful screen presence, Sudesh adroitly shifted to producing movies in the 1970s. But before that he assisted Raj Khosla in 'Do Badan (1966). As producer, his first venture was Man Mandir (1970), which had the unlikely pair of Sanjeev Kumar and Waheeda Rehman.

Sudesh formed a fruitful director-producer combo with Raghunath Jhalani delivering two smart and modestly successful off-beat thrillers, Uljhan (again with Sanjeev Kumar) and Badalte Rishtey (with Jeetendra, Reena Roy and Rishi Kapoor) and box-office turkey, Jaan Hatheli Pe (1987).

In 1982, he was married to Mumbai-bred Jaya Naik nee Dhawan, who had modelled for Vicco, Complan and Farex, among other products. They were neighbours who had first met outside the residence of popular lyricist Rajendra Krishan, a close friend of Sudesh. "He was full of life and energy even a year ago," recalled Rajesh Duggal, the lyricist's son.

Jaya said that they had visited Southern temples in February. "Despite his age, he was remarkably fit. He never used a walking stick," she said.

The funeral was held at Shivaji Park crematorium on Friday.