Baharon Phool Barsao....

Rajendra Kumar gave a spate of hits in his lustrous career in Bollywood and it’s not easy per se to select his best which is why I decided to go with my favourite movies. Kumar became a household name with his string of hits and his melodramatic sentimental roles, the audience wept with him, for him and after him. Sacrifice was a byword with Rajendra Kumar and his audience empathised with him strongly. So, we traverse a journey of Rajendra Kumar in Sangam, Mere Mehboob, Aarzoo, Dil ek Mandir and Suraj.

Yeh mera prem patra padhkar … Sangam is my all-time favourite with Vijayanthimala who was breathtakingly beautiful in this heart-breaking romance where all the lead characters are superbly flawed. Rajendra Kumar was suave, understated and sophisticated, the perfect foil to Raj Kapoor’s loud character. Rajendra Kumar won the hearts of the audience in Sangam and you either are in tears over his heartbreak or want to throttle him for giving up the love of his life for his insensitive friend.

Mere Mehboob tujhe meri mohabbat ki kasam … Mere Mehboob is like a river of Lucknowi culture meandering with amazing songs, cherish-able dialogues in perfect Urdu, a heart-stopping beautiful Sadhana in Lucknowi attire and much much more; the young Kumar immortalised the role of Anwar Hussain, the young shayar and was held his own in the many scenes with senior actor Ashok Kumar.

Bedardi balma tujhko mera mann yaad karta hai.... Aarzoo holds its place in my list possibly more due to Sadhana than Rajendra Kumar. Naturally melodramatic, as Rajendra Kumar loses his leg in an accident and so decides to forgo his love but fortunately Sadhana has more sense and I liked the strong positive message of the movie that a physical deformity cannot change love.

Baharon phool barsao … Suraj makes it to the list purely on two counts. One, of course, this song which I really like and secondly is that finally we have Rajendra Kumar in a role which has a lighter side and he actually plays a swashbuckling hero with a sword and an outlandish costume who marries the heroine. Phew!

Yaad na jaaye, beetein dinon ki… Dil Ek Mandir makes it to the list because I adore all the songs of this movie with no exceptions and though very heavy on melodrama, the movie with Meena Kumari and Raj Kumar is a must watch though as usual Rajendra Kumar does not get the heroine in the end.