Happy Birthday Sanjeev Kumar: A sneak peak into the life of 'the unconventional performer'

Veteran actor Sanjeev Kumar is probably the best actor of Indian cinema. After conquering Indian cinema with his powerful roles, he passed away at the age of 47.

On the legend’s birth anniversary, here are some of his interesting facts about his life:

1. Born in a Gujarati family, Sanjeev Kumar spent his early days in Surat and later moved to Mumbai with his family.
2. He lost his father at a very young age, he shouldered family responsibility by switching his career from a rugular job to working as an extra in films to earn his living.
3. He was variably laughed at by his school mates and family when he shared his dream of becoming an actor.
4. He Started his career playing an old man.
5. He broke all the rules of stardom yet nothing stopped him from becoming a star.
6. When no one wanted to sign him as a lead, he enrolled himself in to IPTA (Indian People's Theatre Association).
7. On stage, he played the role of a 75 year old man when he was only 22 but his ultimate dream was to work in film, so he became a part of the Filmalaya Acting School and debuted on a screen with a small role in Filmalaya's ''Hum Hidustani'.
8. Sanjeev Kumar got a break as the lead 'Nishan' where he played a swashbuckling hero and there was no looking back after that.
9. Perpetual rejections at the start of his career never held him back from his dream.
10. The most interesting part of his career is that he didn't mind playing a role of father to actors of his age, all that bothered him was the integrity and intensity of his role.
11. He was an unpretentious man whose charity went unreported as he wanted people to call him 'kanjus'.
12. He won his first Filmfare award for a supporting role in 'Shikar' and then he hit the big league with his success in 1970 with 'Khilona'.
13. Interestigly, in Filmfare's review of the all time classic 'Sholay', it was only Sanjeev Kumar who got his appraisal for his role of 'Thakur Baldev Singh'.