Jeetendra at 75 !
Jeetendra, popular as ‘Jumping Jack of Bollywood’ completed 75 years of age on 7 April 2017, and is still active as Chairman of Balaji Telefilms. He has entertained two generations of Indian cine-goers and now various films and TV serials of his production house still attract the viewers. Jeetendra was born as Ravi Kapoor on 7 April 1942 in Amritsar, Punjab, India. His father Amarnath had imitation jewellery business which he supplied to film studios. When he was supplying jewellery to director V. Shantaram, Jeetendra was cast as actress Sandhya's character's double in movie 'Navrang' in 1959. Later, he got his first break of his film career in 1964 with V. Shantaram's film ‘Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne’ His career spanned from 1960s to the 1990s. His first superhit film was ‘Farz' in 1967. His dance in ‘Mast Baharon Ka Main Aashiq’ song took the nation by storm.His white shoes since then became his trademark. This was followed by equally popular musicals including ‘Caravan’ and ‘Humjoli’. Further, he acted in about 200 films as a hero. Very few of his contemporary actors could match this feat. Jeetendra’s speciality was, he remained popular in face of various superstars and enjoyed a loyal fan following. His career got a new lease of life in South remake films including Aulad, Sanjog, Majaal, Mawaali, Justice Chaudhry, Jaani Dushman, Tohfa and Himmatwala (1983). He was paired with almost all top actresses of his time including Hema Malini, Babita, Asha Parekh, Lina Chandawarkar as also Sridevi, Jaya Prada. Reena Roy, Neetu Singh, Sulakshana Pandit, Bindiya Goswami, Moushumi Chatterjee, and Rekha. His films with writer/lyricist Gulzar like Parichay, Kinara and Khushboo are fresh even today in the minds of the film buffs. These films featured nice songs like 'O Majhi Re,' ' Musafir Hoon Yaaron' and 'Naam Gum Jaayega.' These songs were composed by music director Rahul Dev Burman and sung by singer Kishore Kumar. Jeetendra’s was awarded a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003, Screen Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award in 2007' as also several other prestigious awards. Jeetendra is married to Shobha. They have two children. Their daughter, Ekta Kapoor, looks after Balaji Telefilms and their son Tusshar Kapoor is an actor. Jeetendra and the Late superstar Rajesh Khanna were close friends since college days. Jeetendra has maintained a cordial and professional relationship with his co-stars, producers and directors, keeping himself free from any controversies in his career spanning more than half a century in Bollywood. Wish him a healthy and fulfilling life!