ASHOK KUMAR

Ashok Kumar, born Kumudlal Ganguly in Bhagalpur, made his film debut in 1936 with Franz Osten's Jeevan Naiya. His breakthrough came the same year with Achhut Kannya, a reformist drama that established him as a leading talent in Indian cinema.

He was married to Shobha, a first cousin of actress Chhaya Devi, on 20 April 1938. The couple had four children including one son and three daughters, and maintained a remarkably simple, middle-class lifestyle despite his film stardom. He passed away at his residence in Chembur, Mumbai on 10 December 2001 at the age of 90 due to heart failure.

Kumar achieved superstardom with 1943's Kismet, which became the first Indian film to do nett business of 10 million rupees and is regarded as the first true mega blockbuster in Indian cinema history. He reinvented himself throughout his career as a character actor and worked across multiple decades, earning the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1988, the highest national honour for cinema artists in India.