New Delhi, Oct 8 : Urdu poet Jigar Moradabadi could have never conceived that the opening couplet of his ghazal placing man at the centre of the cosmos would achieve such fame -- but as an iconic Bollywood dialogue performed by a rather unlikely hero whose spare frame, unconventional looks, and signature diction were, however, offset by an evident aura of over-the-top superiority.

"Hamko mita sake ye zamaane mein dam nahi/Hamse zamana khud hai zamaane se ham nahi," declaimed Raaj Kumar, playing an idealistic professor in the academic crime thriller 'Bulundi' (1981), making the sher his own. It would be added to the list of his trademark, crowd-pleasing, one-liners he regularly delivered over his nearly half-a-century film stint.

In an industry known for idiosyncracies, Raaj Kumar, born Kulbhushan Pandit to a Kashmiri Pandit family on this day (October 8) in Balochistan in 1926 and a Sub-Inspector of police in Bombay's Colaba or Mahim before joining films, was in a league of his own.

Added to his grating and drawn-out but by no means unpleasant style of speaking, prefixed with 'Jaani', was a penchant for his flamboyant outfit, especially white shoes, the way the camera introduced him on screen, and clear choices with whom he would work -- or not. There was a story that he was offered the role Amitabh Bachchan would go on to make famous in 'Zanjeer', but turned it down because he could not abide the smell of the oil that the director (Prakash Mehra) used in his hair, or alternatively, he did not like his face!

However, ace filmmaker B. R. Chopra, who brought Raaj Kumar to prominence with his lost-and-found epic 'Waqt' (1965) and 'Hamraaz' (1967), termed him an "an absolute delight to work with."

"He was totally a director's actor who put in that extra little something which only belongs to the greats. The only little difficulty that takes place is right at the beginning. He needed exactly 48 hours to discuss the script with the writers. If he was satisfied with the role, he would sign on immediately. He always needed to be approached properly. He always arrived well prepared and was most punctual. When I heard about his problems with other directors, I used to chuckle to myself. They must have allowed themselves to be taken for granted," he wrote in a piece for a film magazine after the actor's demise in 1996.

And that was borne out by his performances over the years, whether he played a hapless peasant or a debauched nawab or zamindar with skeletons in his closet, a dedicated police officer or a canny gangster, a committed doctor or a resigned patient.

During his stint as a Bombay cop in the 1940s, Raaj Kumar was reportedly urged by his friends to take the plunge into films and he finally agreed. However, sometime in the late 1940s, he is said to have point-blank refused an offer made by the legendary Sohrab Modi, who spotted him among the audience at a cinema, was impressed, and approached him. Raaj Kumar debuted with 'Rangeeli' (1952) but that and his next three bombed badly.

He finally came to prominence as the hapless handicapped husband of Nargis in Mehboob Khan's 'Mother India' (1957), the rebellious elder son of the unswervingly righteous Sultan of Iran in Sohrab Modi's 'Naushervan-e-Adil' (1957) -- which showed that the filmmaker had forgiven him his earlier refusal, and then, the elder brother of Dilip Kumar in 'Paigham' (1959).

Raaj Kumar went on to solidify his prowess with tear-jerker 'Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai' (1960) -- the first of a quartet of hit films with the talented Meena Kumari till 'Pakeezah' (1972) where his observation on the heroine's feet became legendary too, romantic drama 'Dil Ek Mandir' (1963) -- which fetched him a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor, and 'Godaan' (1963), based on Munshi Premchand's story.

However, it was 'Waqt' that propelled him to fame with dialogues like "Chinoy seth, jinke apne ghar sheeshe ke hote hain, woh doosron pe patthar nahin phenka karte" and "Ye bachchon ki khelne ki cheez nahin, haath kat jaaye to khoon nikalne lagta hai" and earned him his second Filmfare -- in the same category as the first.

'Mere Huzoor' and 'Neel Kamal' (both 1968), 'Heer Raanjha' (1970), where he shone as the entire dialogue was in verse, the dark 'Lal Patthar' (1971), war drama 'Hindustan Ki Kasam' (1973), where he vows revenge on the enemy in the opening scenes, and reincarnation drama 'Kudrat' (1982) were other highlights of his career.

These overshadow the rest of Raaj Kumar's work across the 1980s and the mid-1990s, even as he delivered bombastic dialogues one after the other, most notably on the intention, place, and timing of revenge in 'Saudagar' (1991).

(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)

/IANS