On Rajendra Kumar's birth anniversary, revisiting late actor's films from Mother India to Sangam

Famously known as Jubilee Kumar, actor Rajendra Kumar was born on 20 July 1927 in Pakistan’s Sialkot. The actor died in 1999 on 20 July due to illness, just eight days before his 72nd birthday. In his career spanning four decades, the actor worked in over 150 films and delivered some memorable performances. He was known as Jubilee Kumar because his films used to run in the theatres for 25 weeks or more. On the occasion of his birth anniversary, let us take a look at some of his most timeless performances: Mother India (1957)

He played the role of Ramu, the elder son of the female protagonist Radha. Kumar worked along with Nargis (Radha) and Sunil Dutt (Birju) in this iconic film. The legendary movie ran in theatres for several years and Kumar was appreciated for his performance. A trivia about the film is that later on, Kumar’s son Kumar Gaurav married Namrata Dutt, daughter of Nargis and Sunil Dutt. Dhool Ka Phool (1959) Released in 1959, this film was the debut film of director Yash Chopra who made several timeless films over the years. It starred Mala Sinha in the leading role along with Kumar. The dramatic story shows a Muslim man raising a Hindu child. The song ‘Tu Hindu Banega Na Musalman’ is from this movie. Mere Mehboob (1963)

Starring Sadhana with Kumar, the movie was directed by HS Rawail who was a mentor of the late actor at one time. The music composer of the film was Naushad. Kumar played the role of Anwar in this film while Sadhana portrayed the character of Husna. Also read on Firstpost - A trip down memory lane: Seema Sonik Alimchand's biography of Rajendra Kumar fills important gaps in the superstar's life story Dil Ek Mandir (1963) [caption id=“attachment_9820871” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Image from Twitter - @filmyguftgu[/caption] Kumar appeared with iconic actors Raaj Kumar, Meena Kumari, and Mehmood in this film. In this movie, Rajendra plays the role of a doctor, Dharmesh. The film is a love triangle and was the remake of Nenjil Or Aalayam, a Tamil film, reports News18. Sangam (1964)

In this love triangle story, Kumar worked with Raj Kapoor and Vyjayanthimala. The actor played the role of Gopal Verma in this romantic drama. The film was successful at the box office and continues to win hearts even today. He received positive response for his performance.