Achi news desk-
Mumbai30 minutes ago
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Yesterday Bollywood star Jeetendra is 82 today. In a career spanning almost four decades, Jeetendra has worked in many popular films including ‘Tohfa’, ‘Himmatwala’, ‘Caravan’, ‘Parichay’, ‘Mawali’.
Because of his unique dancing style people used to call him Jumping Jack. Jeetendra gave about 121 hit films, but despite this he never received the Best Actor Award.
Jeetendra, who once worked in 60 films in 8 years, quit acting around 23 years ago. In 2001, he was seen in the film ‘Kuch To Hai’.
After this, he has only appeared for a few minutes in some TV series and web series. In an interview, Jeetendra had even said that he did not even remember that he was ever an actor.
Well, apart from acting, Jeetendra was also earning a lot from the production house, but while producing films, Jeetendra also went bankrupt twice. Even then Jeetendra did not give up and today his wealth is Rs 1512 crore.
On the occasion of his birthday, let us know some interesting stories from Jeetendra’s life…
Rajesh Khanna was Jeetendra’s classmate
Jeetendra was born on 7 April 1942 in Amritsar (Punjab). His real name is Ravi Kapoor. Jeetendra’s father, Amarnath, worked in the film industry supplying fake jewellery, so the whole family came and settled in Mumbai from Amritsar.
Jeetendra’s early education was at St. John’s High School. Sebastian’s Goan, Mumbai. Rajesh Khanna also studied with him in the same school and both were very good friends. Jeetendra completed his further studies from Siddharth College, Mumbai.
Jeetendra’s family was very poor, living in Shyam Sadam Chawl, Goregaon.
Become a body double while supplying jewelry
When Jeetendra grew up, he started helping his father in his business. In this connection, one day he met filmmaker V Shantaram. Then Jeetendra would often visit Shantaram’s film company in connection with the supply of jewellery.
During this period, the desire to become a hero arose in his mind. He expressed his desire to see a film shot with V Shantaram.
Shantaram said –Just watching the shooting will not be enough. will you work? Jeetendra immediately agreed. During the shooting of the movie ‘Navrang’, Jeetendra used to get minor jobs.
But a day came when Jeetendra’s luck was about to start shining. He himself narrated this story during ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’. When Kapil Sharma asked him if you had become the heroine’s body double during the battle days?
On this Jeetendra had said, Yes, I was a junior artist during the shooting of the film ‘Sehra’. I had to obey Shantaram ji, I was ready to do anything then. So one day during the shooting in Bikaner, the body double of heroine Sandhya ji was not found. Shantaram ji made Sandhya ji’s body double for me and this is how I got into films.
Jeetendra and Rajshri in the movie ‘Geet Gaya Patharon Ne’.
The fee for the first film was Rs 100.
Initially Jeetendra got a job but did not get any fees for six months. V. Shantaram had promised him, as a junior artist, that he would get Rs 105 a month. It will be given but it didn’t happen. Then when V. Shantaram gave Jeetendra a break in the film ‘Geet Gaya Patharon Ne’ in 1964 and then he paid Rs 100 to Jeetendra as the fee for his first film. meet
Jeetendra got a break from ‘Geet Gaya Patharon Ne’, but the film was a flop. In such a situation, Jeetendra had to survive again by doing small roles. However, he still had the desire to become a leading star on his own.
‘Farz’, released in 1967, proved to be the first hit film of Jeetendra’s career, but it was not easy for him to establish himself in the film industry as a leading star.
The director put a condition in front of Jeetendra before making him the solo lead hero.
Filmmaker Subodh Mukherjee told Jeetendra that he wanted to make a solo hero film with him. Jeetendra became happy, but then Subodh gave a condition. He said- I will do the film only when Hema Malini works in the film.
In fact, during that period, Hema Malini’s star was nothing less than a male star. Whatever film Hema was in, her success was guaranteed 100 times over. Jeetendra also realized that if Hema became his heroine, his boat would also sail through and he too would be established as a hero.
But it wasn’t that easy. At that time, Hema’s career decisions were taken by her mother Jaya Chakraborty. When Jeetendra told him about the film, he refused. Jeetendra went behind her and said – If your daughter does a film with me, my career will be done. Finally Jaya agreed. Jeetendra told this to Subodh Mukherjee and immediately signed Hema in the film.
By signing Hema, the director threw Jeetendra out of the film.
There was a further twist in the matter when Subodh Mukherjee signed Shashi Kapoor as the hero instead of Jeetendra in the film.
Knowing this, the ground slipped from under Jeetendra’s feet, when he asked Subodh about this, he said, ‘The producer and financier of the film has said, when Hema Malini is the heroine, then cast the hero in a big way, what for casting Jeetendra? That is why I announced the film with Shashi Kapoor.
When Jeetendra told Subodh that Hema had entered the film because of me, he bluntly said that we are here to do business.
Jeetendra was disappointed by this but during this period LV Prasad offered him the film ‘Jeene Ki Raah’. This film became a huge hit and Jeetendra shone while Hema and Shashi Kapoor starrer ‘Achinetri’ was a flop at the box office.
Jeetendra has done films like ‘Gehri Chaal’, ‘Jyoti’, ‘Samrat’, ‘Khushboo’, ‘Kinara’, ‘Mujrim’ with Hema Malini.
Hema’s mother wanted to marry her daughter to Jeetendra.
When Jeetendra became a big star, Hema’s mother Jaya Chakraborty found him perfect for her daughter. Jaya wanted Hema to marry him. In fact, at that time Hema was having a relationship with Dharmendra and Sanjeev Kumar had also proposed marriage to Hema in front of her family. Hema’s mother did not like Sanjeev Kumar or Dharmendra.
She did not want Hema to marry either of these two stars but she liked Jeetendra for her daughter. Jaya Chakraborty had fixed Hema’s daughter’s marriage to Jeetendra and the two were going to take seven rounds in Chennai. Dharmendra then arrived at the wedding hall with Shobha, Jeetendra’s girlfriend, and broke off his marriage with Hema. A few years later, Jeetendra had a love marriage with his girlfriend Shobha in 1974.
Jeetendra with his wife Shobha, daughter Ekta and son Tushar.
Jeetendra wanted to work with Sridevi in every film
In 1983, Jeetendra worked with Sridevi for the first time in the film Himmatwala. The pairing of the two was liked a lot. This is the reason why there came a time when Jeetendra wanted to work only with Sridevi in every film.
Shakti Kapoor had said in an interview, Jeetendra liked Sridevi’s work in ‘Himmatwala’ so much that he asked director Raghavendra to sign Sridevi only as the heroine opposite him in all his films.
This is the reason why Raghavendra Rao, after ‘Himmatwala’, made ‘Jaani Dost’ (1983), ‘Justice Choudhary’ (1983), ‘Tohfa’ (1984), ‘Suhagan’ (1986), ‘Dharmadhikari’ (1986) ) and When he made the films ‘Dil Lagake Dekho’ (1988), he cast Sridevi in it.
Jeetendra with Sridevi in the film ‘Himmatwala’.
Rekha advised Jeetendra to work with Sridevi
In an interview, Jeetendra had talked about working with Sridevi in the film ‘Himmatwala’. He had said, ‘Rekha advised me to work with Sridevi. One day Rekha and I were watching a Telugu movie starring Sridevi.
Rekha told me, ‘Must work with Sridevi. At that time Rekha had no dates for ‘Himmatwala’. She had refused to work in the film. In such a situation, I suggested Raghavendra Rao to cast Sridevi and he agreed. This is how Sridevi entered ‘Himmatwala’.
Sridevi had no competition in dance. When the dance master used to teach us the steps during the shooting of ‘Himmatwala’, Sridevi used to learn the steps in just two rehearsals and I used to practice many times but she also used to practice with me until I I perfected my dance steps. I can’t do it right.
Jeetendra has worked in the remake of 80 South films, which is a record.
Worked in 60 films in 8 years
Around 1975, when Jeetendra stopped getting films as a hero, his financial condition became very bad. After this, Jeetendra went bankrupt for the second time when he thought of producing a film.
In 1982, he did the film ‘Deedar-e-Yaar’ which proved to be a flop. Jeetendra suffered a lot because of this. To overcome the poor financial condition, Jeetendra worked in 60 films in 8 years.
After doing so many films, people even started calling Jeetendra an insecure actor, but Jeetendra doesn’t find anything wrong in him.
He said in an interview, ‘I did 60 films continuously in eight years because it’s true that I was very insecure in the 1980s. I am a person who was raised from a soup kitchen in Goregaon. I have seen the time when a fan was installed in my house, people from all over came to see it. I’ve seen bad times up close, that’s why I used to work like crazy.
‘I’m unemployed’
Jeetendra has been away from films for 23 years, but despite this he is the owner of properties worth Rs 1512 crore. According to media reports, his annual income through his production houses Balaji Telefilms, Alt Balaji and Balaji Motion Picture is Rs 300 crore. Until then.
Jeetendra had said in an interview a few years ago, ‘It has been more than 20 years, I have been an unemployed actor. I have not earned a single rupee myself. Shobha (wife) and Ekta (daughter) handle all the work. My contribution is that I have invested the money they have earned in the right place and all those investments have been beneficial to me.
Haven’t touched alcohol or cigarettes for 22 years
Jeetendra had said in an interview that he used to smoke a lot of cigarettes and drink alcohol earlier, but he gave up all this 22 years ago. Jeetendra had said –During my younger days, I had done everything I could to mess with my health. But when I turned 60, I left all this. When people praise me for being fit even at this age, I advise them to stop all this. These days, I really like the fitness of Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan.
