Manoj Kumar's Five Best On-Screen Characters

One of the most patriotic actors of the Indian film industry, Manoj Kumar turned 81 on Tuesday, July 24. Manoj Kumar was born on this day in 1937 in a town named Abbottabad in North-West Frontier Province, which was then a part of India and now a par of Pakistan. Though he made his debut in a movie titled 'Fashion' in 1957 he shot to fame with the film 'Kaanch Ki Gudia' in 1960. From then on he went on to do several films like 'Hariyali Aur Raasta', 'Woh Kaun Thi', 'Himalaya Ki God Mein', 'Anita', to name a few. 

On his 81st birthday, let's take a look at five of his most memorable on-screen characters:

1. Hariyali Aur Rasta (1962): In this film, Manoj Kumar played the role of a young man named Shankar who faces a dilemma when he needs to choose between the girl he fell for and the girl his family has chosen for him. 'Hariyali Aur Rasta' featured Mala Sinha and Shashikala in the lead role.

2. Woh Kaun Thi? (1964): Kumar played the role of a doctor, who sets on the journey to find out about a ghostly woman who looks similar to his love, who has died in an accident. 'Woh Kaun Thi?' featured late actress, Sadhana. The famous song in the movie, 'Lag Ja Gale' has been modernized several times in many films.

3. Upkar (1967): This movie was one of Manoj Kumar's best performance. He played the role of a villager named Bharat, who sacrifices his life for the sake of his country during a war between India and Pakistan. The movie featured Asha Parekh, Kamini Kaushal, Prem Chopra, and Pran. This movie also bagged the National Award for the best feature film in 1968. We still get goosebumps when we hear the song from the movie,'Mere desh ki dharti'.

4. Shaheed (1964): This movie was based on an integral part of the struggle during the Indian Independence and Kumar portrayed the role of the legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. Actress Kamini Kaushal played the role of his mother in the film.

5. Purab Aur Paschim  (1970: The movie is about a patriotic man, which was played by Manoj Kumar yet again and how he changed an ultra modern Indian girl by teaching her morals and ethics, who did not love her country. 'Purab Aur Paschim' starred Saira Banu in the female lead.

Manoj Kumar won the prestigious Padma Shri Award in 1992 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2015. He was given the nickname of 'Bharat Kumar' because, in most of his films, he played the role of a patriotic man.