5 things Nabendu Ghosh’s Dadamoni: The Life and Times of Ashok Kumar reveals about the actor

In 1995, writer Nabendu Ghosh wrote Dadamoni: The Life and Times of Ashok Kumar on the life and career of Kumudlal Ganguly, known to the world as Ashok Kumar. The famous actor and the screenwriter first met in 1951 through filmmaker Bimal Roy and would go on to work together on the films Parineeta (1953), Baadbaan (1954), Bandini (1963) and Sharafat (1970).

Over time, Ghosh got to know the man and his dedication to Hindi cinema, despite his initial reluctance at being roped into acting by Bombay Talkies head Himanshu Rai. The biography Dadamoni marks his journey with several personal insights on how he got there.

The revised edition of the 1995 biography, published by Speaking Tiger Books, also contains a foreword by the veteran actor’s daughter Bharti Jaffrey and an afterword by Ghosh’s daughter Ratnottama Sengupta.

Here are a few tidbits about the actor that Ghosh reveals in the biography that everyone might not be aware of.

1. Ashok Kumar’s family is descended from the famous dacoit Raghunath, who was wanted by the British police and known as ‘Rogho of Kurulgachhi’ in West Bengal. He was the grandfather of Ashok’s grandfather.

2. His moniker ‘Dadamoni’ (also the name of this book) was given to him by his younger sister Sati. The affectionate nickname soon spread in the film industry as well.

3. After his departure from Bombay Talkies, Ashok worked with many different studios and provided hit films for them too. In 1946, he directed the film Eight Days for them. However, once the film was completed, he removed his directing credit from the film and instead gave it to editor Dattaram Pie. No print of the film exists as the negatives were destroyed in a fire.

4. Besides acting, Ashok Kumar was a man of many talents. He had many hobbies such as chess, astrology, homoeopathy, painting and vintage cars and spoke eight languages, including Sanskrit, Persian, German and French.

5. In the foreword, written by his daughter Bharti Jaffrey, it is revealed that after the success of Achhut Kanya (1936), he received many congratulatory letters and telegrams. One of them was none other than Adolf Hitler. The actor tore it up and threw it away. Asked why, he had replied, ‘Laurels can never be more important than principles and human values’.

Dadamoni: The Life and Times of Ashok Kumar is published by Speaking Tiger Books. Click here to buy a copy of the book.