During midnight of 2nd July 1996 Raaj Kumar breathed his last, there was no funeral procession and many knew this news after his funeral. Raaj Kumar considered that death is a private affair. The world came to know about his death by newspapers on 4th July.
After more than two decades today also he is remembered due to his famous dialogues. The life of an artist doesn’t depend on the years he lived but the years he is remembered by others. If we consider this definition to be true, he is still alive! Not only his dialogues but his name is also surrounded by the limelight of energy till today. Why Hindi film industry attracts all? One of the main reasons is its variety, of course, about creative expression.
Superstar Amitabh wins the screen with his voice and acting, great Meena Kumari shows the apex height of quality acting. The time, the acting, the music; all varieties always bring something of interest for everyone.
Raaj Kumar is the prominent example of such unique variety. He was whimsical, egoistic but he never cared what people used to talk about him. He lived with his own terms and also worked in industry with same attitude. Every hero needs a heroine, but Raaj Kumar was an exception for this too! The film like Waqt is the good example of this.
His personality was manly and it did not suit with heroes running after heroines behind trees. Soft romantic dialogues were not for him. It would have been a surprise if he would not have been proved to be really different in Hindi films. He was the only to throw the dialogues like ‘Hamko Mita Sake Jamaane Me Dam Nahi…..Jamaana Hamse Hai Ham Jamaane Se Nahi..!’
Dilip Kumar brought a different style of dialogues, Amitabh was appreciated with his own style. Raaj Kumar is one of the actors in that small list whose dialogues became his identity and then he became the king of dialogues. With dramatic action, his dialogues proved to be more effective as his acting skills were unparalleled.
Recall the films like ‘Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi’ or ‘Dil Ek Mandir’ Ramu in ‘Mother India’. He used to dissolve himself in the character. In ‘Dil Ek Mandir’ when he says, ‘Chalo Bulawa Aa Gaya’, we know the meaning after doctor’s reaction, but his face shows the shadow of death. ‘Godan’ was also greatly featured with his acting.
Raaj Kumar was known for his dialogues only and then it would be a topic for debate tat whether it was his growth as an actor or whether he was trapped in typical format. Jaani is the word he made for himself only. His movies like Paigam, Lal Patthar, Karmyogi, Bulandi, Saudagar etc. became very popular.
The list of his movies goes on with Pakizaa, Kajal, Hamraj, Neelkamal, Heer Ranjha, etc. in Tiranga Raaj Kumar and Nana Patekar just ruled the screen. The whimsical brigadier played by Raj Kumar was appreciated by people very much. The movies like Marte Dam Tak, Police Public were the reflected images of Raaj Kumar. But then his roles started becoming monotonous as he fell in love with his own image.
Then also he is favourite of many generations and became a legend. It is the evidence of his greatness that till today his name is surrounded by that limelight.