Ashok Kumar was one of India's most famous actors from before to after its independence from the UK. As a young assistant to Bengali film-maker 'Himanshu Rai' , he got his start in acting by accident when he volunteered to substitute for the lead actor, 'Jeevan Naiyya' , who fell ill before production on the film _Acchut Kanya (1936)_ was to start. Kumar was terrifed of acting in the first place, especially opposite lead actress Devika Rani, known as 'the dragon lady' for her smoking, drinking, cursing and legendary hot temper. After finishing shooting, Kumar continued with overseeing the process of the film with editing, mixing and processing. His unexpected aclaim to his role had him in demand for more acting roles, which he pursued in a few more 'Bombay Talkies' with Devika Rani.His breakthrough performance was in Kismet (1943) which ran for three years in Bombay and Calcutta and was one of the first Hindi language mega-hits of Inida and gained him national fame through his charamastic performances and his talented singing. From then onwards, Kumar became a sought-after actor who appeared in over 200 Hindi and a few other Indian language films, playing romantic leads or threatening villains and making Rs.300-400 a month during the 1940s and 1950s.Although his roles gradually decreased to supporting and minor parts as he got older and suffered more ill health, his popularity in India never diminished and he was often in demand for cameos and live convention appearances. From the 1990s to his death, he lived in a comfortable retirement in Bombay with a slew of Indian films to show for his work.

Father of Preeti Ganguli

Brother of Kishore Kumar and Anoop Kumar.

He became the first-ever actor to play a negative role in a Bollywood movie in the 1943 movie Kismat.

He never celebrated his birthday after his brother died in 1987 on his birthday.

His daughter runs an acting school in his name.

Besides acting, he was a fine painter and also an active practitioner of homeopathy, often solving cases even regular doctors couldn't solve.

His nickname, Dadamoni, means "jewel of an older brother."

Was best friends with Saadat Hassan Manto.

Was a lab assistant before joining films.

According to Saadat Hassan Manto, he had a tough time directing "8 days" because V.H. Desai had a problem in memorizing lines. After doing 12 retakes of a scene Ashok ended up hitting his head with his fists.

Uncle of Bappi Lahri