A powerhouse of acting, legendary actor Ashok Kumar was one of the most well-known actors and was propelled to fame as the first superstar of the Hindi film Industry. In a career spanning over five decades, Dadamoni, as he was popularly called, essayed pivotal roles in more than 275 films and 30 Bengali dramas. But do you know that due to his love for acting, Ashok’s engagement had to be called off? It was because acting was not considered a respected profession at that time. Ashok’s would-be in-laws had seen some of his photos as an actor in newspapers and then decided to call off the engagement.
In an interview with a media portal, Ashok remembered the time and said that acting was considered disreputable those days. He added that according to people in those times, only call girls became heroines and pimps became heroes. According to Ashok, nobody thought of acting and neither did I. “There was quite a furore over it (his acting career). News reached my house in Khandwa; my marriage broke off.”
Despite this unfortunate moment in his personal life, the Karigar actor didn’t remain unmarried for long and went on to tie the nuptial knot with a Bengali girl, Shobha Ganguly. Shobha was 18 and Ashok was 25 when this marriage took place. They stayed together until Sobha died in 1986. There is an interesting incident which led to Ashok’s liking towards Shobha. He recalled this incident in an interview with a media portal. According to the Samadhi actor, he became highly impressed with Shobha after watching her rolling chapatis extremely fast and made a total of 50.
Despite this liking, Ashok didn’t wish to marry her because of his salary, which was Rs 200. Ashok felt that he would think about going for marriage only when his salary increased to Rs 500 but the Prem Kahani actor was reluctant to refuse his father. He went on to marry Shobha.
Ashok’s last film as an actor was the Bengali film Achena Atithi before he left for his heavenly abode on December 10, 2001.
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