The actor was admitted to Breach Candy hospital on Monday after suffering from breathing problems. “On his request, we brought him back home on Thursday, where we set up a temporary medical unit. But he breathed his last the next morning,” his wife Jaya Dhawan told TOI over phone.
Born in 1931 in the border city of Peshawar in pre-independence India – birthplace of Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor and from where Shah Rukh Khan draws his lineage – Sudesh’s family relocated to Bombay when he was young. “He graduated in science from Elphinstone College. His father wanted him to become a doctor,” Jaya said.
But Kumar joined Prithviraj Kapoor’s theater group. “They were also distant relatives,” she recalled. One of his early films was ‘Paisa’ (1957) directed by Prithviraj.
His real name was Sudesh Dhawan. But the actor’s screen name kept changing. He was Sudesh in some, Sudesh Kumar in some and Sudesh Kumar in most. The actor initially got roles in low-budget costume dramas and devotional plays before gaining mainstream attention in the role of a doctor in Prasad Productions’ superhit family drama, ‘Chhoti Behen’ (1959). He was paired opposite Nanda who played the hero.
In the sixties, Sudesh regularly established his foothold in the southern society, working with premium directors like K Shankar (‘Bharosa’, 1963), Vasu Menon (‘Grahasti’, 1963), A Bhimsingh (‘Khandaan’, 1965 and ‘Gopi’, 1970) and CV Sridhar (‘Dharti’, 1970). Old-timers will remember him dancing with the step-perfect Mumtaz to the rock and roll track, “Aa Dance Karein, Thoda Romance Karein”. Jaya said, “Khandaan was one of her favorite films.”
Another interesting addition to the critical and commercial success of producer-director Vasant Joglekar was Aaj Aur Kal (1963), set in the princely states of pre-independence India. Sudesh played the role of a young Congress leader, who is also the son of a humble coachman, who wants to attract people to the national movement and thereby attracts Raja’s younger daughter (Tanuja).
He is best remembered for producer-director Dhirubhai Desai’s ‘Saranga’ (1961), where a prince falls in love with a commoner girl with tragic consequences. Two tracks from the film, ‘Saranga Teri Yaad Mein’ (singer: Mukesh, lyrics: Bharat Vyas, music: Sardar Malik) and ‘Ha Deewana Hoon Main’ (same trio) became chartbusters, finishing at number 9 and number 20 on the annual list of the popular countdown show, Binaka Geetmala. The title song has received over 2.5 million views on YouTube which underlines its eternal appeal. A heartbroken Sudesh walking through a thicket of leaves while lip-synching to the song is one of the unforgettable images of old Bollywood.
With dwindling meaningful screen presence, Sudesh began making films prolifically in the 1970s. But before this he had assisted Raj Khosla in ‘Do Badan (1966)’. As a producer, his first venture was Man Mandir (1970), starring the unlikely pairing of Sanjeev Kumar and Waheeda Rehman.
Sudesh formed a successful director-producer combo with Raghunath Jhalani, delivering two smart and moderately successful off-beat thrillers, Uljhan (again with Sanjeev Kumar) and Badalte Rishtey (with Jeetendra, Reena Roy and Rishi Kapoor) and the box-office turkey, Jaan Hatheli Pe (1987).
In 1982, he was married to Mumbai-raised Jaya Naik née Dhawan, who had modeled for Vicco, Complan and Farex, among other products. They were neighbors who first met outside the residence of Sudesh’s close friend, popular lyricist Rajendra Krishna.
“Even a year ago he was full of life and energy,” recalls the lyricist’s son Rajesh Duggal. Jaya said that she had visited the southern temples in February. He said, “Despite his age, he was remarkably fit. He never used a walking stick.”
The last rites were performed at the Shivaji Park crematorium on Friday.
