Legendary actor director producer Manoj Kumar passed away on 4th April due to age related issues which had been going on for some time. Manoj Kumar was one of the greatest directors ever seen in India and also had a pretty impeccable record as an actor. He was known for his patriotic films due to the huge success of them but was also very successful in other genres.

Manoj Kumar (born Harikishan Goswami in 1937) started his journey in the late 50's and was on the payroll of producer/director Lekhraj Bhatia appearing in practically all his films. But the turnaround came in HARIYALI AUR RASTA in 1962 which put Manoj Kumar on the road to stardom and this was consolidated with the blockbuster HIMALAY KI GOD MEIN which made Manoj Kumar a bonafide star.

He only worked in 53 films (not counting guest roles) which is very less for a career spanning 20 years as hero for that era. From HIMALAY KI GOD MEIN till 1981, the track record was such as hero that his flops can be counted on one hand. The stardom was not like say the blind following of a Dharmendra but the audience knew a film which had Manoj Kumar's name attached to it meant its a worth a watch and flocked to see them.

Manoj Kumar was super successful as an actor but even more successful as a director and only comparable to the great Raj Kapoor as an actor director. But as Manoj Kumar made patriotic films, they were probably not seen in the same way in the English media in India as they saw patriotism as jingoism but that cant take away the insane success.

As a director, it was blockbuster after blockbuster which culminated in KRANTI in 1981 which is among the top ten blockbusters ever seen in India. The directing career started with SHAHEED in 1965. It was ghost directed by him and was not credited to him. Nevertheless, it was a huge hit. It was followed by UPKAR, PURAB AUR PASCHIM, SHOR, ROTI KAPADA AUR MAKAAN followed by KRANTI and all of them were huge hits. Health problems took over post KRANTI and it was never the same as a hugely delayed CLERK released in 1989 and could not do well.

The directed films listed above featured Manoj Kumar in the lead roles and were huge hits and the other big films were HIMALAY KI GOD MEIN, NEEL KAMAL, BEIMAAN, SANYASI and DUS NUMBRI. His films also always had blockbuster music be it as director or actor and he also had a part in this with the lyrics. The legacy left behind will always reverberate on Republic Day and Independence Day for years and decades to come.