Born as Harihar Jethalal Jariwala, the actor had changed his name to Sanjeev Kumar and had transformed the art of method acting in Indian cinema. The legendary actor had portrayed the role of 'Thakur', in the film, Sholay. Winner of two National Film Awards for his performance in countless movies, Sanjeev Kumar made his debut with the 1960 film, Hum Hindustani. After that, he acted in hundreds of Hindi films like, Dastak, Koshish, Trishul, Arjun Pandit, to name a few. But, despite being a heartthrob, he never got married.
Author and journalist, Hanif Zaveri and Sumant Batra, who is a renowned insolvency lawyer, have a common love for the late actor, Sanjeev Kumar. And with their experience and expertise, the two have come up with Sanjeev Kumar's biography titled as An Actor’s Actor: The Authorised Biography of Sanjeev Kumar.
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In an interview with Pinkvilla, Hanif Zaveri was asked to share one of the most interesting episodes from Sanjeev Kumar's life that had shocked him. Talking about the same, he shared:
"Sanjeev Kumar had got engaged to a girl named Hansuya or Hansa in 1954. The engagement broke after three years, as Sanjeev didn’t want to get married. It took me two-three years to trace Hansa in Surat, who’s been married twice. Years later, when Hansa’s family was undergoing a financial crisis, Sanjeev, who was then a superstar, got to know of it. He told his mother that he wanted to help the family. Somewhere, he believed he’d broken Hansa’s heart."
Hanif Zaveri threw some light on the unlucky love life of Sanjeev Kumar and also talked about the slapping incident between Sanjeev and Nutan on the sets of the film, Devi. He shared:
"After joining films there were two important relationships in his life. One was with the late Nutan and the other with Hema Malini. There are dedicated chapters on them. Nutan was a married woman with a child. Her husband, Rajnish Bahl, was a naval officer. And no way would he have tolerated an affair. We have mentioned the ‘slapping incident’ (allegedly Nutan slapped Sanjeev on the set of the film to squash rumours of their proximity) on the set of Devi (1970). What happened prior to that, what happened that day… everything is covered in detail."
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He further added that after his break-up with Hema Malini, Sanjeev was unyielding and didn't want to marry anyone. Talking about the same, Hanif stated:
"Well, there were many reasons given for Sanjeev’s break-up with Hema Malini. But the truth is that a top actor was somewhere responsible for the fallout. On her part, Hema did try her best to explain things to Sanjeev and help him see reason. But Sanjeev was unyielding. After his break-up with Hema Malini, Sanjeev didn’t want to marry. He’d stopped considering marriage. He also feared that his wife would not be able to adapt to his late nights and erratic lifestyle."
Hanif Zaveri also stated that Sanjeev had begun drinking in his theatre days and didn't dedicate himself to alcohol, after the breakup. Pointing out the same, he said:
"Sanjeev began drinking right from his theatre days. Those days, he visited a place at CP Tank, which served cold drinks during the day and liquor at night. He would drink with his theatre peers. He got into the habit since then - much before the Hema Malini episode. But he never drank during the day or on the set. He adhered to a timetable for drinking."
Then he was asked if Sanjeev was upset when rumours of Hema’s closeness to Dharmendra had started doing the rounds. Denying the fact, Hanif revealed:
"In fact, Jeetendra, who’d also proposed to Hema Malini, was Sanjeev’s friend. Sanjeev even featured in Jeetendra’s productions. Sanjeev’s stance was, “After the break-up, what happens is not my concern.” During the shooting of Sholay (1975), Sanjeev and Hema lived in separate hotels. They were not seen together in any frame. Same was the case in Trishul (1978). Supposedly, Sanjeev was to play Shakaal in Shaan (1980). He left the film when he came to know Hema was to be part of it. Eventually, Hema too left the film and Bindiya Goswami came in."
At the end of the interview, Hanif was asked if Sanjeev Kumar feared dying like the men in his family who didn’t live beyond 50. To which, he concluded:
"He was not afraid of death. In an interview, Tabassum asked him why he accepted ‘old man’ roles when he was so young. Sanjeev replied in jest, “I’m not going to turn old as I will not live beyond 50 much like the men in my family. So, I might as well experience old age on screen.” For the record, his grandfather, Shivalal Jariwala, his father Jethalal Jariwala, his brother Kishore Jariwala, his younger brother Nikul Jariwala… all died before reaching 50. Sanjeev also died at 47 (on 6 November 1985). They all died of heart attack."
For the uninitiated, Sanjeev Kumar remained unmarried throughout his life, and died at the age of 47, on November 06, 1985, due to a heart attack.
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