This is how Sanjeev Kumar got his screen name

Do you know why actor Sanjeev Kumar adopted his screen name? While he himself thought his real name Harihar Jethalal Jariwala was not befitting for an aspiring actor, renowned director Kamal Amrohi suggested he should have a unique and an impressive screen identity.

Actor-playwright Hanif Zaveri and insolvency lawyer Sumant Batra have come out with an authorised biography of the two-time National Award-winning actor titled An Actor’s Actor in which they provide several such interesting anecdotes about him.

During his initial days, Jariwala would often say his name was “not befitting for an aspiring actor” and discuss with his friends the various possible names he could adopt.

“He decided that it should begin with the letter ‘S’, as his mother’s name began with an ‘S’ (Shantaben), and should end with ‘Kumar’ as most actors’ names ended with ‘Kumar’. After a gruelling debate and discussion, the name ‘Sanjay Kumar’ received unanimous approval, and Hari was credited in both ‘Ramat Ramade Ram’ and ‘Aao Pyar Karen’ by this name,” the book, published by Penguin Random House, says.

While Jariwala was shooting for Nishan, he met the versatile writer-producer-director Amrohi, who asked him to come over to Filmistan Studio Goregaon the following day to discuss two new films he was currently working on – Aakhri Din Pehli Raat and Shankar Hussain (1977).