Ratan Kumar (19 March 1941 – 12 December 2016) was the screen name of the Indian born child artist who later migrated to Pakistan. He acted in
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
& Pakistani movies. He was born as Syed Nazir Ali Rizvi. He is best known for his work in films ''
Boot Polish
A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is cle ...
'' (1954), ''
Do Bigha Zamin
''Do Bigha Zamin'' () is a 1953 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Bimal Roy. Based on Rabindranath Tagore's Bengali poem " Dui Bigha Jomi", the film stars Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy in lead roles. Known for its socialist theme, it is c ...
'' (1953) and ''
Jagriti
''Jagriti'' () is a 1954 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Satyen Bose. It was based on the 1949 Bengali film ''Paribartan'' that Bose had also directed. The film stars Rajkumar Gupta, Abhi Bhattacharya, and Ratan Kumar in the lead roles. T ...
'' (1954).
Early life and career
Ratan Kumar was born as Syed Nazir Ali in 1941 in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
. He became the most-sought-after child-actor in India in the 1950s after his initial success in 1952.
After making the popular
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n movie ''Jagriti'' (1954), Ratan Kumar migrated to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
in 1956, with his family, and remade the movie into ''
Bedari
''Bedari'', a Pakistani Urdu black and white film, was a classic melodious film of 1956.
This film had an identical plot and the songs like Indian film Jagriti (1954), with replacement of some words, and music was taken directly from Jagriti as ...
Neelo
Neelo Begum (born Cynthia Alexander Fernandes; ''née'' Abida Riaz; 30 June 1941 – 30 January 2021) was a Pakistani veteran film actress. She made her film debut in 1956 with Hollywood film ''Bhowani Junction''. She was known as ''The Qu ...
as the lead actress. Ratan Kumar's success, as a lead actor, could not last long because his later films did not do well at the box-office and he eventually faded away.
In 1977, his 4 years old daughter died in an accident in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
, Pakistan. He was so emotionally upset after that accident that he decided to quit the
Pakistani film industry
Cinema of Pakistan, popularly known as Lollywood ( ur, ), refers to the filmmaking industry in Pakistan. Pakistan is home to several film studios centres, primarily located in its three largest cities – Karachi, Lahore, and Faisalabad.
...
. In 1979, Ratan Kumar left Pakistan never to return again.
In the late 1960s, Ratan Kumar also got into the business of selling oriental carpets and had started travelling back and forth from Pakistan to Europe for this business. Eventually he ended up settling down permanently in the United States after 1979.
Death
Ratan Kumar was living in California, in his old age, and was admitted to the hospital for
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
10 days before his death on 12 December 2016. He had a long history of illness, though. In 1996, his lungs had collapsed twice in the same year. When they collapsed the third time in 2000, he was left paralyzed and went into a coma for eight days. Then he recovered in four to five months and became somewhat normal again. His survivors include 2 sons, a daughter and seven grandchildren.
Filmography
In India
* ''
Baiju Bawra
Baiju Bawra (Lit. "Baiju the Insane", born as Baijnath Mishra) was a dhrupad musician from medieval India. Nearly all the information on Baiju Bawra comes from legends, and lacks historical authenticity. According to the most popular legends, he ...
'' (1952)- Ratan Kumar played the role of the child, 'Chote Baiju'
* ''
Do Bigha Zamin
''Do Bigha Zamin'' () is a 1953 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Bimal Roy. Based on Rabindranath Tagore's Bengali poem " Dui Bigha Jomi", the film stars Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy in lead roles. Known for its socialist theme, it is c ...
'' (1953)
* ''
Boot Polish
A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is cle ...
'' (1954)- A film on street kids of Bombay. Ratan Kumar played the role of child
* ''
Angarey
Angarey or Angaaray (translated alternatively as "Embers" or "Burning Coals") is a collection of nine short stories and a one act play in Urdu by Sajjad Zaheer, Rashid Jahan, Mahmud-uz-Zafar and Ahmed Ali first published in 1932 and general ...
'' (1954)
* ''
Jagriti
''Jagriti'' () is a 1954 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Satyen Bose. It was based on the 1949 Bengali film ''Paribartan'' that Bose had also directed. The film stars Rajkumar Gupta, Abhi Bhattacharya, and Ratan Kumar in the lead roles. T ...
'' (1954)
* ''
Bahut Din Huwe
''Bahut Din Huwe'' () is a 1954 Indian Hindi-language film directed by S. S. Vasan, produced by Gemini Studios and starring Madhubala. It is a remake of the Telugu film '' Bala Nagamma'' (1942).
''Bahut Din Huwe'' received lukewarm reviews fro ...
* ''Masoom'' (1957) - Ratan Kumar's first released film in Pakistan
* ''
Bedari
''Bedari'', a Pakistani Urdu black and white film, was a classic melodious film of 1956.
This film had an identical plot and the songs like Indian film Jagriti (1954), with replacement of some words, and music was taken directly from Jagriti as ...
'' (1957)
* ''Wah Re Zamaney'' (1958)
* ''Nagin'' (1959)- as a lead actor for the first time. A successful
Golden Jubilee
A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations.
Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...
film at the box-office
* ''Clerk'' (1960)
* ''Aladdin Ka Beta'' (1960)
* ''Do Ustaad'' (1960)
* ''Sher-e-Islam'' (1961)
* ''Taj Aur Talwar'' (1961)
* ''Aasra'' (1969)
* ''Dastaan'' (1969)