Rajendra Nath

Rajendra Nath Malhotra (8 June 1931 − 13 February 2008) was an Indian actor and comedian in Hindi and Punjabi films.

Rajendra Nath
Born	(1931-06-08)8 June 1931 Tikamgarh, Orchha State, British India (present-day Madhya Pradesh, India)
Died	13 February 2008(2008-02-13) (aged 76) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1938–1998
Known for	Comedy
Relatives	Prem Nath (brother) Narendra Nath (brother) Raj Kapoor (brother-in-law) Prem Chopra (brother-in-law)

Early life and family

Rajendra Nath was born on 8 June 1931 in Tikamgarh, which is now in Madhya Pradesh.^[1][2] His family was from the Karimpura locality of Peshawar but settled in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. He studied at Darbar College, Rewa, where Arjun Singh (a Congress politician) and R.P. Agarwal were his classmates.^[2]

Rajendra's elder brother Prem Nath went to Mumbai and became an actor, so Rajendra joined him in 1949. They were good friends of Raj Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor. Rajendra and Prem's sister Krishna married actor-director Raj Kapoor.^[3] He had also another brother Narendra Nath who also became an actor who usually played some villain's role in the movies.

Rajendra, who was little interested in studies, quit college and landed in Bombay to work in films like his brother. He did some plays at Prithvi theatre like Pathan and Shakuntala. It was here that he became close to Shammi Kapoor.

Career

Initially Rajendra struggled to get roles till Sashadhar Mukherjee offered him a comedian's role in Dil Deke Dekho, a film directed by Nasir Hussain, starring Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh. Rajendra Nath along with Asha Parekh were a regular feature in many Nasir Hussain films like Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon, Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, Baharon Ke Sapne and Pyar Ka Mausam. He also played a villain's role in Hamrahi opposite Shashikala whose character he kills. He has done 187 movies. He was one of the most famous comedians. His best role as comedian was in Mere Sanam and Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon. He also played the role of Hero/Second Lead in "Vachan" and "Teen Bahuraniyan". He played supporting roles in films like Dharkan by Devendra Goel and Jeevan Mrityu by Rajshri Productions. He played a buffoon called Popatlal in Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, and since then the name became synonymous with Rajendra Nath. He used this name in the famous TV series Hum Paanch.

He then did many films, mostly in comic roles, such as in An Evening in Paris and Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon. One of his most applauded performances was in Manoj Kumar's Purab Aur Paschim though it was not a full-fledged comedy role. He also contributed to Nepal's first movie Maitighar which was shot in Kathmandu, Nepal.

He starred in a number of Punjabi films such as Jatt Punjabi and "Do Posti".

He died on 13 February 2008 from cardiac arrest.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	Dil Deke Dekho	Kailash
1961	Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai	Popat Lal / Charlie
1963	Tere Ghar Ke Samne	Ranjit (Ronnie)
1963	Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon	Difu
1964	Rajkumar	Kapil
1965	Mere Sanam	Pyare
1965	Janwar	Chintu
1966	Maitighar	Nepali film special appearance
1967	Aamne Samne	Shubodh Mukherjee
	Baharon Ke Sapne	Pandu		Parivar (1967 film)	Sitaram
	An Evening in Paris	Makhan Singh
1968	Teen Bahuraniyan	Kanhaiya
	Jhuk Gaya Aasman	Hanuman Singh
1969	Pyar Ka Mausam	Jhatpat Singh
	Beti	Deepak
	Raja Saab	Pratap Singh
	Prince	Valiyatiram
1970	Maharaja	Kishen
	Jeevan Mrityu	Prem Prakash
	Purab Aur Paschim	Shankar
	Aan Milo Sajna	Manmauji
	The Train	Pyarelal
	Tum Haseen Main Jawaan	Romeo
1971	Hare Rama Hare Krishna	Toofan
	Main Sunder Hoon	Director
1972	Dharkan	Inspector Darshan K. Lal
1973	Kahani Kismat Ki	Gopuchand
1974	Hamrahi	Hanuman Sharma
	Patthar Aur Payal	Shankar Dayak
1975	Julie	Rahim, Store Owner
1976	Chhoti Si Baat	Mauni Baba
1976	Chadi Jawani Budhe Nu (Punjabi movie)	Police man
1978	Giddha (Punjabi movie)
1979	Badmashon Ka Badmaash
	Dada	Alibhai Motorwala
1980	The Burning Train	Shambhunath- The Pandit in Train
1980	Guest House	Bawara
1981	Hotel	popat lal
Mangalsutra	Munim
Biwi-O-Biwi	Veer Singh
1982	Taaqat
	Prem Rog	Radha's Husband
1983	Main Awara Hoon	Sardar Trilochan
1984	Ghar Ek Mandi	Announcer during Bidding
	Mera Faisla	Jaleel Miya, Hostel Cook
	Yaadgar	Chotelal
	Phulwari	Dr. Gupta
1985	Baadal	Sharbati
1986	Sasti Dulhan Mahenga Dulha	Fauja Singh, Taxi Driver
	Ghar Sansar	Police Inspector Sharma
1987	Dak Bangla	Gareebdas Daulat Ram
	Hukumat	Charlie
1988	Pyaar Ka Mandir	Astrologer Parmeshwar Shivaramakrishna
	Veerana	Manager (Thakela Guest House)
1989	Main Tera Dushman	Police Constable Dukhiram
	Elaan-E-Jung	Manager of Massage Parlour
	Sindoor Aur Bandook
	Doosra Keval	Chowkidar	(TV Series)
1990	Naag Nagin	Sarpat
	Pyar Ka Karz	Doctor
1991	Farishtay	Mohanlal
	Ajooba	Spectator in Public (Special Appearance)
1992	Tahalka	Lifeguard At Swimming Pool
	Bol Radha Bol	Blind Man
1994	Ekka Raja Rani	John
	Eena Meena Deeka	Cashier in Bank	Guest Role
1995	Taaqat	Rajendranath, host in Cookery program seen on Television
1995-2006	Hum Paanch	Jeetendra Bharadwaj as Popatlal, Aanand's boss	TV series

References

1. "Rajendranath – Memories". Cineplot.com. Retrieved 11 July 2021. I was born on June 8, 1931, in Tikamgarh state, which is now in Madhya Pradesh. My father, Kartarnath, was the I.G. of Police in Riva state.
2. ""Meri Lottery Lag Jaane Waali Hai" : Rajendra Nath". Cinemaazi. Retrieved 11 July 2021. Rajendra Nath Malhotra's family was originally from Peshawar. His father was a higher cadre police officer during British Raj who spent most of his service time in different Indian states. Rajendra Nath Malhotra was born on 8th June 1931 in the town of Tikamgarh in Madhya Prant (now Madhya Pradesh). He completed his schooling in Rewa. Congress leader Arjun Singh was Rajendra Nath's classmate and close friend.
3. Farewell Rajendra Nath : Laughter has left the building Archived 8 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine passionforcinema, 13 February 2008.

External links

• Rajendra Nath at IMDb
• Rajendra Nath Profile on Rediff
• Rajendra Nath Filmography