Sanjeev Kumar's birth anniversary: Actors who can play him on-screen
National Award winning actor Sanjeev Kumar was one of the most expressive actors Indian cinema saw. His popular works include Angoor, Dastak, Aandhi, and Sholay. In April, it was announced a biography on him was going to be published by HarperCollins soon. On his birth anniversary, let's see who would be the perfect candidate to play Kumar if a movie got made on him.
Pankaj Tripathi has the same natural flow that Kumar oozed
Be it Kaleen Bhaiya in Mirzapur or Anup Saxena in Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, Pankaj Tripathi is one of the most natural actors today. He will be a perfect fit to play Kumar, who was known for his comic timing, benevolent smile, natural acting and dramatics. An added plus would be Tripathi being outspoken about his admiration for the Gujarat native.
Fahadh Faasil has proven his acting chops again and again
Fahadh Faasil or simply Fahadh speaks volumes with just his eyes, a quality seen in Kumar's work too. The Malayalam actor has impressed viewers across the country through films like Trance and Joji and even hardcore Kumar fans are sure of his emoting abilities. As he awaits the release of Malik, there are rumors of him debuting in Bollywood soon. So why not this?
Saswata Chatterjee can generate laughs, tears with equal elan
The pan-India audience knows Saswata Chatterjee from his portrayal of the weird serial killer Bob Biswas from Kahaani. He was also Badal Bagchi, Ranbir Kapoor's father in Jagga Jasoos. But the Bengali actor, often regarded as a one-man army, has the experience of playing a detective (Goenda Shabor), detective's assistant (Feluda), and renowned filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak in his biopic (Meghe Dhaka Tara). Promising inclusion?
Mohanlal carries the depth to highlight Kumar's personal life angle
Mohanlal, the 63-year-old superstar, is an appropriate choice. Other than his own acting props, he already has played Kumar's role once. That's right! Mohanlal had essayed Thakur's character in the (horrible) 2007 remake of Sholay, titled Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag. While the movie did not work, the Malayalam superstar's bitter rivalry with Amitabh Bachchan (Gabbar Singh) was a treat to the eyes.
Looking at stars to portray the young Sanjeev Kumar
While prosthetics and CGI can produce desirable results today, for authenticity, we can look at talented young actors to play the young Kumar. Some of promising choices are fellow Gujarati actors Sharman Joshi and Prateek Gandhi. Parambrata Chattopadhyay (Kahaani, Pari) can certainly be brilliant too.
