Rajendra Nath Malhotra (8 June 1931 − 13 February 2008) was an Indian actor and comedian in Hindi and Punjabi films.
Early life and family Rajendra Nath was born on 8 June 1931 in Tikamgarh, which is now in Madhya Pradesh. His family was from the Karimpura locality of Peshawar but settled in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. His father Rai Bahadur Kartar Nath Malhotra was a police officer of high cadre during British Raj whose frequent transfers led to his service tenure across different Indian states. Rajendra Nath studied at Darbar College, Rewa, where Arjun Singh (a Congress politician) and R.P. Agarwal were his classmates.
Rajendra's elder brother Prem Nath went to Mumbai to became an actor and Rajendra joined him in 1949 upon completing his schooling and on being called upon by Prem Nath who already had started working in films by then. They were good friends of Raj Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor. Rajendra and Prem's sister Krishna married actor-director Raj Kapoor.Farewell Rajendra Nath : Laughter has left the building passionforcinema, 13 February 2008. He had also another brother Narendra Nath who also became an actor who usually played some villain's role in the movies. While Bina Rai became his sister-in-law after her marriage to Prem Nath in 1952, Prem Chopra became his brother-in-law after his marriage to his younger sister Uma in 1969. Also Rajendra Nath became particularly close to Shammi Kapoor when they used to go for horse-riding at Rewa after Krishna Malhotra married Raj Kapoor in 1946 and used to stay at her father's home for some point of time. The duo later did several films together.
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 namely Deewar, Pathan, Shakuntala and Ahuti and worked there for ten years during which he befriended Shammi Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor and even Shankar-Jaikishan duo who all were yet to make their mark in Hindi Cinema.
Career Apart from acting on plays, Rajendra Nath occasionally did brief roles in films which were insignificant to the extent that no one would notice his screen presence as such. Besides, he used to live a somewhat carefree life, least bothered about his career. It was only when an annoyed Prem Nath ousted him from home that he started thinking of his career deeply. However, Prem Nath did give Rajendra Nath another house to live (which he used to share with Yash Johar who later became a successful film producer) besides giving him significant roles in films Shagufa in 1953 and Golconda Ka Qaidi in 1954 in which he was the side hero. Both these films were produced by Prem Nath himself under his production banner P. N. Films which starred himself opposite his wife Bina Rai. However, these films flopped. The latter one was also directed by Prem Nath himself; it was also dubbed in English under the title Prisoner of Golconda completed in 1954 but remained unreleased until Prem Nath's younger son Kailash "Monty" Nath released the English version in YouTube in his channel Major Mood Entertainment excluding the songs (which will be in Hindi). Rajendra Nath got recognition in a small comic role in the film Hum Sab Chor Hain in 1956. This recognition was strengthened with his role in Shararat in 1959 and then the same year 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 villainous role in Hamrahi opposite Shashikala whose character he kills. 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 lauded 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. His career was badly affected following a car accident in 1969 as a result of which, he had to spend many months in hospital. Then in 1974, he started shooting for his home production The Gate Crasher starring Randhir Kapoor and Neetu Singh in main leads. However, his lack of experience in filmmaking led to him being betrayed by his associates and after falling in a huge debt owing to this, he had to stall the film after ten days of shoot.
He starred in a number of Punjabi films such as Jatt Punjabi and Do Posti. His last film was Laash.
As per the data provided by Surat (Gujarat) based senior film historian Harish Raghuvanshi, Rajendra Nath acted in 9 films of 1950s, 70 in 1960s, 67 in 1970s, 84 in 1980s and 23 in 1990s, thus in total 253 films in his entire acting career. Most of the information above was shared by Rajendra Nath himself to film historian Shishir Krishna Sharma of his column Kya Bhooloon Kya Yaad Karoon in the Hindi weekly paper Sahara Samay during the 2000s. He died on 13 February 2008 from cardiac arrest at the age of 76. He is survived by his wife, a son who used to work for Qatar Airlines and a daughter.
Partial Filmography YearTitleRoleNotes1953ShagufaOne of his earliest roles, the first significant one1954Golconda Ka Qaidi (Hindi) alias Prisoner of Golconda (English)ChandanThe English version remained unreleased until it was finally released on 16 January 2021 in YouTube by Prem Nath's son Kailash "Monty" Nath in his channel Major Mood Entertainment excluding the songs (which will be in Hindi)1956Hum Sab Chor Hain1959Shararat Dil Deke Dekho Kailash 1960Usne Kaha ThaRandheera1961 Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai Popat Lal alias Charlie 1962Prem PatraKedarAartiJeevan1963Tere Ghar Ke SamneCaptain Ranjit "Ronnie"HamrahiHanuman SharmaNegative RoleMujhe Jeene DoDara Khan Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon Deepu Yeh Rastey Hain Pyar KeKewal Kapoor1964 Beti Bete Shankar Rajkumar Kapil alias Jagatram 1965 Mere Sanam Pyarelal Janwar Chintu 1966 Maitighar Nepali film; Special AppearanceAaye Din Bahar Ke1967Aamne Samne Shubodh Mukherjee Baharon Ke Sapne Pandu Parivar Sitaram An Evening in Paris Makhan Singh Chhoti Si MulaqatSam KapoorHare Kanch Ki ChooriyanJimmy1968 Teen Bahuraniyan Kanhaiya Jhuk Gaya Aasman Hanuman Singh 1969Pyar Ka Mausam Jhatpat Singh Beti Deepak Raja Saab Pratap Singh Prince Valiyatiram Aya Sawan Jhoom KeSadhuram Sood1970 Maharaja Kishen Jeevan Mrityu Prem Prakash Purab Aur Paschim Shankar Aan Milo Sajna Manmauji The Train Pyarelal Tum Haseen Main Jawaan Romeo 1971Hare Rama Hare Krishna Toofan MelaBansilalAap Aye Bahar AyeeWhiskyMaryadaMain Sunder Hoon Director1972 Dharkan Inspector Darshan K. Lal Ek Bar Mooskura Do1973 Kahani Kismat Ki Gopuchand 1974Hamrahi Hanuman Sharma Patthar Aur Payal Shankar Dayak1975Julie Rahim 1976Chhoti Si BaatMauni Baba Chadi Jawani Budhe Nu Policeman Punjabi Film1978Giddha 1979Badmashon Ka Badmaash Dada Alibhai Motorwala 1980The Burning Train Shambhunath 1980Guest House Bawara1981Hotel Popatlal Mangalsutra Munim Biwi-O-Biwi Veer Singh 1982Taaqat Prem Rog Radha's Husband 1983Main Awara Hoon Sardar Trilochan 1984 Ghar Ek Mandi Announcer during Bidding Mera Faisla Jaleel Yaadgar Chhote Lal Phulwari Dr. Gupta 1985Baadal SharbatiHaveliHavildar Hingorani1986 Sasti Dulhan Mahenga Dulha Fauja Singh Ghar Sansar Police Inspector Sharma1987Dak Bangla Gareebdas Daulat Ram Hukumat Charlie 1988Pyaar Ka Mandir Astrologer Parmeshwar Shivaramakrishna Veerana Manager (Thakela Guest House) 1989Main Tera Dushman Police Constable DukhiramElaan-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 appearance1992Tahalka Lifeguard At Swimming Pool Bol Radha Bol Blind Man 1994Ekka Raja Rani John Eena Meena Deeka Cashier in Bank Guest appearance1995Taaqat Rajendranath, host in Cookery program seen on television1995SaudaReal estate agent Deendayal "Deenu"1998LaashLast film1995-2006 Hum Paanch Jeetendra Bharadwajas Popatlal, Anand's boss TV series
References
External links
Rajendra Nath Profile on Rediff Rajendra Nath Filmography