Ashok Kumar: Lesser Known Facts

Ashok Kumar, fondly known as Dadamoni, was one of the most versatile and iconic actors of all times. Christened Kumudlal Ganguly, he was born in a traditional Bengali family in Bhagalpur. Even after 15 years of his demise, his roles are still etched in our memories. Ashok Kumar was a man with a magnetic aura and effervescent personality. His name Dadamoni meant jewel of an older brother.

Relationship with Kishore Kumar: Ashok Kumar had two brothers and one sister. His brothers Anoop Kumar and Kishore Kumar were also well known actors. In fact Kishore Kumar still is one of the most loved and popular actor this industry has ever seen. The three of them shared screen space in films like 'Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi' and 'Badhti Ka Naam Dadhi'. Ashok Kumar's sister Sati Devi was married to Sashadhar Mukherjee.

Stopped celebrating birthday: Ashok Kumar stopped celebrating his birthday after his youngest brother, Kishore Kumar passed away on the same date. Kishore Kumar passed away on 13th October, 1987 which also marked Ashok Kumar's 76th birthday. Ashok Kumar was 18 years elder to him. Ashok Kumar loved his brother dearly and never celebrated his birthday after that. Though Ashok Kumar was elder to both his brothers, they both passed away before him.

Practised homeopathy: Apart from being a fabulous actor, Ashok Kumar was also an excellent painter. But his painting skills never got the limelight it deserved. Apart from painting, he also used to practise homeopathy. Ashok Kumar used to solve many cases some of which even doctors could not. It would be an understatement if we call him an over-achiever.

Relationship with Kiara Advani: Remember Fugly fame Kiara Advani? The actress left us spellbound with her fabulous acting and dance skills. But very few know that Kiara is the great grand-daughter of Ashok Kumar. Ashok Kumar married Shobha Devi and they together had two children - Aroop and Preeti Ganguly. Preeti also acted in a number of films and later opened an acting school on her father's name.

Lab assistant: Before becoming a well known actor, Ashok Kumar used to work as a lab assistant. His acting career started accidentally with Jeevan Naiya. The original choice of actor and actress of the film – Najam-ul-Hussain and Devika Rani eloped. It was during this time that the director decided to rope in his good looking lab assistant to take the place of his male lead. Devika Rani came back later to resume shooting. But it was Achhut Kanya with Devika Rani which gave him much awaited recognition and made people take notice of him.

Ashok Kumar was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1988 and the Padma Bhushan in 1998 for his contributions to Indian cinema. He was also awarded with the Filmfare Best Actor award for Rakhi in 1962. In 1969, he bagged the Best Actor award for Aashirwaad. He has also been awarded with the Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award and Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.