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Raaj Kumar Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 6, 2026 • 3 min read

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Quick Info

Date of birth8 October 1926

Age69 Years (at death)

BirthplaceLoralai, Baluchistan Agency, British India (now in Balochistan, Pakistan)

ProfessionActor

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpouseJennifer (Gayatri)

FamilyChildren: Puru Raaj Kumar, Panini Raajkumar, Vastavikta Pandit

Raaj Kumar Biography

Raaj Kumar (born Kulbhushan Pandit) was an Indian film actor known for his distinctive dialogue delivery and measured screen presence. Over a career thatsp

Early life and background

Raaj Kumar was born Kulbhushan Pandit on 8 October 1926 in Loralai, then part of the Baluchistan Agency in British India (now in Pakistan). He belonged to a middle-class Kashmiri Pandit family. After the partition of India he moved to Bombay, where he initially worked as a police sub-inspector attached to the Mahim Police Station.

At some point after joining the police force he left that service and adopted the screen name Raaj Kumar. He began appearing in Hindi films in the early 1950s; contemporary accounts note Neeli (1950) and Rangeeli (1952) among his earliest screen appearances.

Career

Raaj Kumar built a film career that spanned more than four decades, acting in over 70 films between 1950 and 1995. He was recognized for a flamboyant, poised style and an unmistakable way with dialogue that made several of his lines part of popular memory.

He first drew wide attention in the mid-1950s with roles in period and costume dramas, and his brief but notable turn as the husband of Nargis in Mother India (1957) helped establish him in the industry. Over the 1960s and 1970s he took on a mix of supporting and leading roles. His performances in Dil Ek Mandir (1963), Waqt (1965), Neel Kamal (1968) and Pakeezah (1972) are among those most frequently associated with his craft.

Kumar received multiple Filmfare recognitions: he won Best Supporting Actor for Dil Ek Mandir (1963) and Waqt (1965) and was nominated on several other occasions, including for Paigham (1959), Kaajal (1965) and Neel Kamal (1968). He was selective about his projects, rarely working on more than one film at a time and preferring roles that matched his own standards.

Later in his career he continued to deliver memorable roles, including parts in Saudagar (1991) and Tirangaa (1993). His last screen appearance came in the 1995 film God and Gun, in which he played Saheb Bahadur Rathore.

Public profile

Raaj Kumar cultivated an image of self-possession and discipline. Colleagues described him as punctual and professional on set; he was known to protect his public image and to keep a considerable distance from needless publicity. He enjoyed activities such as horse riding and golf, and had a noted fondness for dogs.

He lived for many years at a Juhu bungalow that he kept private and maintained long-term personal staff and associates, including a tailor, hairdresser and driver he used for decades. Personal habits noted in contemporary profiles included smoking and alcohol consumption; he was often photographed with a pipe and a glass of scotch.

Raaj Kumar was married during the 1960s to Jennifer, an Anglo-Indian air hostess who took the name Gayatri after marriage. The couple had three children: two sons, Puru Raaj Kumar and Panini Raajkumar, and a daughter, Vastavikta Pandit, who have been associated with the film world.

He was known for a few public controversies and legal challenges earlier in his life, and he occasionally spoke candidly about the film industry and his standards for how cinema should depict serious subjects.

Personal details and style

Physically tall and striking, his height is listed around 178 cm (about 5 ft 10 in). He developed an unmistakable on-screen persona and maintained distinctive grooming and dress preferences; later in life he often wore wigs after losing his hair in youth. He enjoyed Kashmir and Switzerland as travel destinations and counted Mehboob Khan among his preferred filmmakers.

Death

Raaj Kumar died on 3 July 1996 in Mumbai at the age of 69. Reports indicate he had been suffering from Hodgkin’s disease and died of throat cancer.

Latest updates

Posthumously Raaj Kumar remains widely remembered for his dialogue delivery and select body of work. Films such as Mother India, Pakeezah, Waqt, Saudagar and Tirangaa continue to be cited when discussing his legacy, and several of his lines remain well known among audiences and within the film community.

Editorial Review and Sources

This F4U profile is written from publicly available career and profile information, then reviewed for clarity before publication. If you spot an outdated detail about Raaj Kumar, send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded

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Recent Work

God and Gun

Played Saheb Bahadur Rathore

1995
✦

Career Highlights

  1. Acted in over 70 films across a 42-year career (1952–1995)
  2. Won Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for Dil Ek Mandir (1963)
  3. Won Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for Waqt (1965)
  4. Memorable roles in Mother India (1957), Pakeezah (1972), Saudagar (1991) and Tirangaa (1993)
Reviewed by F4U Editorial Desk

F4U profile pages are prepared from public career information, checked for readability, and updated when reliable correction sources are shared with the editorial team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Raaj Kumar born?

Raaj Kumar was born on 8 October 1926.

What is Raaj Kumar known for?

Raaj Kumar is known for actor.

What is Raaj Kumar’s marital status?

Raaj Kumar's marital status is listed as Married.

Who is Raaj Kumar married to?

Raaj Kumar is publicly listed as married to Jennifer (Gayatri).