Anoop Kumar (1926-1997) was an Indian Bollywood actor. His real name was Kalyan Kumar Ganguly. From 1950 to 1993 he acted in over 70 films and a few TV serials. He was the brother of legendary artists, Ashok Kumar and Kishore Kumar. He lent voice to a few songs as well. He died in 1997 following a severe cardiac arrest.
Wiki/Biography
Anoop Kumar was born on Saturday, 9 January 1926 (age 71 years; at the time of death) in Khandwa, Central Provinces and Berar, British India (now Madhya Pradesh, India). His zodiac sign is Capricorn. He pursued a Visharad and also learnt the skill of yodelling in singing. His alma mater was Indore Christian College where his other two brothers also studied.
Anoop Kumar
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″
Weight (approx.): 70 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Anoop belonged to a Bengali Hindu Ganguly family in central India.
Anoop Kumar (First from the right in the third row) with His Family
Parents & Siblings
Anoop’s father, Kunjalal (Gangopadhya) Ganguly, was a lawyer. His mother’s name was Gouri Devi and she was a homemaker. Anoop had three siblings, 2 brothers, Ashok Kumar, and Kishore Kumar, and a sister Sati Devi.
Anoop (First from left) with his mother and brothers Ashok and Kishore
(From right) Anoop Kumar with his brother Ashok Kumar and Kishore Kumar
Wife & Children
Anoop was married and he had 5 children. His daughter’s name is, Chandra Sanyal, Anjali Lahiri, and Indrani Mukherjee, and his son’s name is Arjun Kumar.
Religion/Religious Views
Anoop belonged to a Bengali Hindu Ganguly family of the Madhya Pradesh region.
Career
Film
Anoop came to Mumbai in the late 1940s and settled with his elder brother Ashok Kumar, who was an actor. Anoop debuted in Bollywood in 1950 with the movie ‘Khiladi’. He then played a lead actor role in the movies ‘Gauna’ and ‘Vidyasagar’. In 1957, he got a breakthrough in ‘Dekh Kabira Roya’. It was a romantic comedy movie produced by Amiya Chakrabarty, and he played the role of Mohan, the lead actor.
Gauna starring Anoop Kumar (1950)
Anoop Kumar got hit after ‘Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi’. It was produced by his younger brother Kishore Kumar and directed by Satyen Ghosh. All three brothers, Ashok, Anoop and Kishore played the lead role of Brijmohan, Jagmohan, and Manmohan respectively. It was the second-highest-grossing film of that year and earned around Rs. 2.5 crore. Later, in 2007, its remake came in Marathi as Saade Maade Teen.
Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (Anoop driving the car)
He then worked in several hit films such as ‘Junglee’, ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’, ‘Aansoo Bane Fool’, ‘Prem Pujari’, ‘Chori Mera Kaam’, ‘Chor Ke Ghar Chor’ ‘Chalti Ka Naam Zindagi’ etc. His last movie was ‘Rock Dancer’ released in 1995 starring Govinda, Shammi Kapoor, and Javed Jaffrey.
Rock Dancer 1995
Television
In 1990, he took to television along with his brother Ashok Kumar in Doordarshan’s Detective Serial ‘Bheem Bhawani’. Apart from this he also worked in ‘Dada Dadi Ki Kahaniya’ and ‘Ek Raja Ek Rani’.
Bheem Bhavani
Singer
Anoop was the only brother among the three who studied music. He lent his voice to the movie ‘Hum Do Daaku’, produced by Kishore Kumar. He sang two songs, ‘Do Dino Ki Hai Kahani’ and ‘Allah Khair Rabba Khair’.
Death
Anoop Kumar died on 20 September 1997 after he suffered a 4th heart attack in Aryogyanidhi Hospital, Juhu, northwest Bombay. He is survived by his 5 children.
Facts/Trivia
- He worked in a Bengali movie, Lukochuri (1957). Kishore Kumar played the lead role in this movie.
- In 1982, he was nominated for the Filmfare Awards for Best Comic Actor in ‘Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi’.
- Anoop Kumar loved Sitar’s recitals. Her daughter in an interview said,
Anoop Kumar was very fond of sitar recitals and whenever he could, he would always take her mother to a sitar concert.”
- He was only 20 years old when he came to Mumbai over his brother Ashok’s persuasion.
