Karan Dewan yesteryear actor India’s first box office superstar with 20 silver jubilee hits
Karan Dewan yesteryear actor India’s first box office superstar with 20 silver jubilee hits
Karan has turned out to be a forgotten actor but, regarded as the first box office success of Bollywood.
Whereas Rajesh Khanna was India’s first superstar. Dilip Kumar and Ashok Kumar were great box office actors in the 40s and 50s.
However, it was the one and only name to have often been forgotten, someone ruling the box office before any of these people had tasted success. And that man was arguably Bollywood’s first box office king Rajesh Khanna However, he is largely forgotten today because of how tragically his life unfolded.
Karan Dewan was one of the first successful heroes in Indian talkes, alongside Ashok Kumar.
He debuted with Puran Bhagat in 1939, and this Punjabi actor moved to Hindi films in 1942 with Tamanna. But it was with the 1944 film Rattan that Karan truly attained stardom. The film was the highest grossing Indian film at that time and firmly established the 27-year-old as the top hero in the industry.
In the 40s and 50s, Dewan was one of the most popular and successful actors in Bollywood, who had acted in hits like Zeenat, Duniya, Arzoo, Pardes, Bahar, and many others.Amid that time, he had given 20 silver jubilee hits and emerged as a Jubilee Star.
But as Karan entered his 40s, he was unable to adapt to the changing landscape of Hindi cinema. Younger actors like Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, and Dev Anand were the biggest stars. His contemporary Ashok Kumar moved to character roles, but Dewan could not. He played supporting roles in films like Apna Ghar, Shaheed, and Aamne Saamne in the 60s but was largely unnoticed.
Within a span of a decade, Dewan went from box office royalty to just another supporting actor. By 1966, due to absence of steady work, he was reduced to working as a casting agent for films like Maya. Dewan continued to act, appearing in a few films like Ramesh Sippy’s Seeta Aur Geeta and Yash Chopra’s Daag, but in minor roles. His last release was Atmaram in 1979.
In 1979, Dewan breathed his last at 62 at his Mumbai residence. While largely forgotten after his death, Dewan was the first star to be rated based on the jubilees of his film.
This Jubilee star tag was modified and given to Rajendra Kumar in the 60s, when he gave back-to-back silver jubilee hits and came to be known as Jubilee Kumar.
News Edit K.V.Raman
