Anoop Kumar

Anoop Kumar (born Kalyan Kumar Ganguly; 24 March 1926 – 20 September 1997), was an Indian actor who appeared in over sixty-five Bollywood films.

Kalyan was born om 24 March 1926 into a Hindu Bengali family in Khandwa, Central Provinces and Berar (now in Madhya Pradesh). His father, Kunjalal Ganguly, was a lawyer, and his mother, Gauri Devi, came from a wealthy family. He was the second-youngest of four siblings, the other three being Ashok Kumar (the eldest), Sati Devi (wife of Sashadhar Mukherjee), and Kishore Kumar (the youngest). He married Manjula Banerjee alias Dheera, daughter of Mohit Kumar Banerjee, the diwan to the Maharaja of Murshidabad, and Kunjabala Mukherjee, on 18 November 1948. They had a daughter Chandra Ganguly Sanyal and a son Arjun Kumar Ganguly (born 5 March 1957).

After marriage, Kalyan arrived in Bombay (now Mumbai) with his newly wedded wife for his honeymoon when suddenly he was asked to stand in as double for his elder brother Ashok Kumar in Nishana (1950). He soon got a role alongside his elder brother in Khilari (1950). His performances eventually got the eyes of Amiya Chakraborty who cast him in the lead role in his film Gauna (1950) opposite Usha Kiran and Purnima Das Verma, alongside giving him his screen name Anoop Kumar. He then played both side and lead roles in several films but did not attain much success like his brothers Ashok Kumar or Kishore Kumar. Throughout his career, he collaborated with his brothers multiple times. He also produced the film Aasoo Ban Gaye Phool (1969). Kumar is best remembered for his role in the movie Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi. He and his brother Ashok Kumar acted in the 1986 Doordarshan detective serial Bheem Bhawani.

Kumar died on Saturday, 20 September 1997 following a cardiac arrest. He was 71 and survived by four daughters and a son. At 4:15 AM that day, he died of his fourth heart attack in the Aryogyanidhi hospital, Juhu, North West Bombay, where he was admitted the previous Saturday (13 September). The last rites were performed by his son Arjun on Saturday afternoon at the Juhu crematorium. Amit Kumar, Leena Ganguly and Asha Parekh were among those present. However, 85-year-old Ashok Kumar could not attend the funeral due to illness.