MEarly this morning, Friday, 4 April, 2025, around 3.30 AM, a veteran Bollywood actor and director Manoj Kumar, popularly referred to as 'Bharat Kumar' for his classic patriotic films, passed away at the age of 87 at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, very close to a place where I stay in Mumbai. He leaves behind a legacy of cinema steeped in nationalism and social issues.
Manoj Kumar, known to millions, particularly to people of my generation, as "Bharat Kumar," he was more than an actor, director, or filmmaker—he was a beacon of patriotism, a storyteller of social causes, and a mirror to a nation finding its footing in the wake of independence. His passing marks the end of an era, but his legacy, woven into the fabric of Indian cinema, will endure forever.
While paying homage to Manoj Kumar in our class group, “Tigers 77”, group of class buddies of Sainik School Bijapur who passed out of the school in 1977, one nostalgic memory of how Manoj Kumar had become an icon for most of us was remembered by Krishnamurthy Thakur, our buddy. He reminded us of how the most innocent of us all, a Gandhian of a sort, Pramod Deshpande ( Pammya to all of us) had bunked the Puri NCC Camp to see “Roti Kapada or Makan” film and that too in a alien place in Orissa in 1973. Such was the impact that Manoj Kumar had on most of us at that impressionable age. Other friends too spoke of their bunking experience in school to see his films, the most famous being Upkar.
Manoj Kumar was born on July 24, 1937, in Abbottabad, in undivided India. This place is now famous as a hideout of Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of September 11, 2001, terrorist attack, which is now in Pakistan. The notorious, 54-year-old leader of Al Qaeda, the terrorist network of Islamic extremists, had been in hiding in Abbottabad, Pakistan before he was killed during a raid in two Black Hawk helicopters by US Navy SEALs on May 1, 2011.
Manoj Kumar was born as Harikrishna Giri Goswami and was one of those millions of people who became victim of the partition, and his life was therefore shaped by the horrific experience of the partition and the scar that left behind on his young mind. At the age of 10, the young Harikrishna had to leave his home empty handed to arrive in Delhi as a refugee, carrying with him the resilience and spirit that would later define his cinematic journey. Inspired by the legendary Dilip Kumar, he adopted the name "Manoj" and stepped into Bollywood with dreams that would soon transcend the screen. From humble beginnings in films like Fashion (1957), where he played a 90-year-old beggar, to his rise as a leading man in Hariyali Aur Raasta (1962) and Woh Kaun Thi (1964), Manoj Kumar showcased his versatility. But it was his patriotic fervor that truly set him apart.
Manoj Kumar’s defining moment came with Upkar (1967), a film born from a personal request by then-Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. Shatri ji had taken the mantle of the Prime Minister post in trying circumstances when the nation was passing through a period of a humiliating defeat against the Chinese in the 1962 war and was passing through a period of food scarcity and our hostile neighbours, Pakistan had chosen this tumultuous period to wage a war against us. Shastri ji excelled in raising to the occasion and made a clarion call to the nation coining a slogan “ Jai Jawan Jai Kisan “ which reverberated across nation hailing the Jawans and Kisans who rose up to the occasion to combat the situation. Shastri ji’s Jai Jawan Jai Kisan slogan was immortalised in Manoj Kumar’s film Upkar.
Moved by Kumar’s portrayal of Bhagat Singh in Shaheed (1965), Shastri ji appealed to Manoj Kumar to create a cinematic tribute to the slogan "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan." And the result was Upkar. In Upkar, Manoj Kumar became Bharat—a farmer and soldier embodying the soul of a newly independent India. The film’s iconic song, "Mere Desh Ki Dharti," still echoes through our schools and hearts, a timeless anthem of pride and unity. Manoj Kumar poured his soul into this project, even selling his own property to fund the film, earning him the National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film and his first Filmfare Best Director Award. It was here that "Bharat Kumar" was born—not just a nickname, but a mantle he carried with grace and responsibility all through his cinematic life and beyond.
This was no fleeting role. Manoj Kumar embraced the name Bharat in multiple films—Purab Aur Paschim (1970), Roti Kapda Aur Makaan (1974), and beyond—each time portraying a man of unwavering principles, standing tall amid cultural clashes, economic struggles, and the fight for dignity. In Purab Aur Paschim, Bharat bridged East and West, championing Indian values in a rapidly globalizing world. Today when we celebrate the sociocultural uniqueness of India, and its identity globally, we must credit Manoj Kumar who instilled the spirit of the nation, Bharat.
In Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, he tackled unemployment and corruption, reflecting the hardships of a nation reliant on foreign aid like the USA’s PL 480 scheme—a program that provided wheat to feed India’s citizens during the food crises of the 1960s. Through these films, Manoj Kumar and his contemporaries, like Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor, harnessed cinema’s soft power to inspire a country awakening to its freedom while grappling with poverty and dependence.
Yet, Manoj Kumar’s genius wasn’t limited to patriotism. His 1972 film Shor revealed a tender side—a father’s anguished quest to restore his mute son’s voice, brought to life with the haunting melody "Ek Pyar Ka Nagma Hai." It was a masterpiece of emotion, proving that his artistry could touch the personal as profoundly as the national. This film resonates so well with yours truly even today, reminding of the challenges that parents of differently abled children face, which I have faced and continuing to face. Then there are other films of grand spectacle, a quintessential attribute of Bollywood, like Kranti (1981), where he brought in Dilip Kumar, Hema Malini, and Shashi Kapoor to depict India’s fight for independence, he balanced scale and grandeur with soul, reportedly selling his Juhu bungalow to realize his vision. Such was his commitment—to art, to nation and to the cause of Bharat which he truly believed and lived all his life.
In an India navigating its post-independence identity, Manoj Kumar and his ilk—filmmakers of grit and conscience—used cinema to reflect social causes and instill patriotism. The 1960s and 70s were tough times: wars with China and Pakistan, food shortages, and a reliance on foreign aid tested the nation’s spirit. Yet, through films like Shaheed, Upkar, and Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, Manoj Kumar reminded us of our strength, our values, and our unity. His characters weren’t just heroes; they were us, the common people - farmers, soldiers, fathers—striving for a better tomorrow.
His contributions earned him the Padma Shri in 1992 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2015, honours that pale beside the love of generations who grew up watching his films at school, singing his songs on Independence Day, and feeling the swell of pride he so effortlessly evoked. Today, as we mourn his passing at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital due to cardiogenic shock and liver cirrhosis, we also celebrate a life that gave us purpose. Manoj Kumar once said, "Patriotism is in my blood," and he lived that truth, leaving behind a legacy that will inspire filmmakers, actors, and citizens alike.
To us at school, his films were more than entertainment—they were lessons in courage, identity, and love for our country, which is deeply etched in all our lives. As we say goodbye to Bharat Kumar, we know he doesn’t truly leave us. He lives on in every note of "Mere Desh Ki Dharti," in every frame of Shor’s quiet beauty, and in the enduring spirit of a nation he helped shape.
Om Shanti. Rest in peace, Manoj Kumar—your Bharat will forever stand tall.
