Anoop Kumar Ganguly Wiki, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

 Last Updated on May 10, 2023

Anoop Kumar (1926-1997) was a Bollywood actor. His real name was Kalyan Kumar Ganguly. From 1950 to 1993, he acted in over 70 films and a few TV serials. He is the brother of legendary Indian actors and singers Ashok Kumar and Kishore Kumar. He lent his voice to a few songs as well. He died in 1997 following a severe cardiac arrest.

Wiki/Biography

Anoop Kumar was born on Saturday, 9 January 1926 (age 71 years; at the time of death) in Khandwa, Central Provinces and Berar, British India (now Madhya Pradesh, India). His zodiac sign is Capricorn. He pursued a Visharad and also learnt the skill of yodelling in singing. His alma mater was Indore Christian College. His other two brothers also studied here. ^[1]Mumbai Mirror

Anoop Kumar

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 9″

Weight (approx.): 70 kg

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family

Anoop belonged to a Bengali Hindu Ganguly family in central India.

Anoop Kumar (first from the right in the third row) with his family

Parents & Siblings

Anoop’s father, Kunjalal (Gangopadhya) Ganguly, was a lawyer. His mother, Gouri Devi, was a homemaker. Anoop had three siblings, two brothers, Ashok Kumar, and Kishore Kumar, and a sister, Sati Devi.

Anoop (first from left) with his mother and brothers, Ashok and Kishore

(From right) Anoop Kumar with his brothers, Ashok Kumar and Kishore Kumar

Wife & Children

Anoop was married and had 5 children. His daughters’ names are Chandra Sanyal, Anjali Lahiri, and Indrani Mukherjee, and his son’s name is Arjun Kumar.

Religion/Religious Views

Anoop belonged to a Bengali Hindu Ganguly family of the Madhya Pradesh region and followed Hinduism.

Career

Film

Anoop came to Mumbai in the late 1940s and settled with his elder brother Ashok Kumar, who was an actor. Anoop debuted in Bollywood in 1950 with the film ‘Khiladi’. He then played a lead role in the film ‘Gauna (1950)’ and ‘Vidyasagar (1950).’ In 1957, he got a breakthrough in ‘Dekh Kabira Roya.’ It was a romantic comedy movie produced by Amiya Chakrabarty in which he played the lead role of Mohan.

Gauna starring Anoop Kumar (1950)

Anoop Kumar became popular after he appeared in the 1958 Bollywood film Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi alongside his brothers, Ashok Kumar and Kishore Kumar. It was directed by Satyen Ghosh. All three brothers, Ashok, Anoop and Kishore played the lead role of Brijmohan, Jagmohan, and Manmohan respectively. It was the second-highest-grossing film of that year and earned around Rs. 2.5 crore. Later, in 2007, its remake came in Marathi as Saade Maade Teen.

Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (Anoop driving the car)

He then worked in several hit films such as ‘Junglee’, ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’, ‘Aansoo Bane Fool’, ‘Prem Pujari’, ‘Chori Mera Kaam’, ‘Chor Ke Ghar Chor’ ‘Chalti Ka Naam Zindagi’ etc. His last film was ‘Rock Dancer,’ which was released in 1995; the film starred Govinda, Shammi Kapoor, and Javed Jaffrey.

Rock Dancer 1995

Television

In 1990, he took to television along with his brother Ashok Kumar in Doordarshan’s Detective Serial ‘Bheem Bhawani’. Apart from this he also worked in ‘Dada Dadi Ki Kahaniya’ and ‘Ek Raja Ek Rani’.

Bheem Bhavani

Singer

Anoop was the only brother among the three who studied music. He lent his voice to the movie ‘Hum Do Daaku’, produced by Kishore Kumar. He sang two songs, ‘Do Dino Ki Hai Kahani’ and ‘Allah Khair Rabba Khair’.

Death

Anoop Kumar died on 20 September 1997 after he suffered a 4th heart attack in Aryogyanidhi Hospital, Juhu, northwest Bombay. He is survived by his 5 children.

Facts/Trivia

• He worked in a Bengali movie, Lukochuri (1957). Kishore Kumar played the lead role in this movie.

• In 1982, he was nominated for the Filmfare Awards for Best Comic Actor for ‘Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi.’

• Anoop Kumar loved Sitar’s recitals. ^[2]The Indian Express Her daughter in an interview said,

Anoop Kumar was very fond of sitar recitals and whenever he could, he would always take her mother to a sitar concert.”

• He was only 20 years old when he came to Mumbai over his brother Ashok’s persuasion.