#GoldenFrames: Daya Kishan Sapru, a gifted and talented actor

Daya Kishan Sapru is most remembered for his roles as a villain and character actor in movies like 'Jhansi Ki Rani' (1953), 'Kala Pani' (1958), 'Shaheed' (1965), 'Jewel Thief' (1967) and many more. He appeared in more than 350 movies.

Born on March 16, 1916, to Kashmiri Pandit parents, Sapru belonged to an influential family from Kashmir. His father was in a high position in the court of the Maharaja Hari Singh of the Dogra kingdom, Jammu.

Sapru completed his Bachelor's degree and started working in the Public Works Department. Sapru moved to Mumbai on the advice of his cousin Jeevan. Jeevan was already an established actor in the film industry. With his help, Sapru met filmmaker V.Shantaram at Prabhat Film Company's studio.

He made his way into the film industry through Prabhat Film Company. He debuted in Gajanan Jagirdar’s ‘Ramshastri’ (1944) as Shreeman Madhaorao Peshwa.

(Movie still: Bahadur Shah Zafar)

There was a time when Sapru lodged together in a room with Dev Anand, Rehman, Guru Dutt and Ram Singh.

(Movie still: Ramu Dada, 1961)

It was love at first sight for Sapru and Hemavathi. The two got married and have three children—Reema Rakesh Nath, Tej Sapru and Preeti Sapru. Their eldest daughter Reema Rakesh Nath is a scriptwriter, while Tej Sapru and Preeti Sapru are renowned actors.

Sapru ventured into film production with 'Patit Pawan' (1955). His first production did reasonably well, but the second production, 'Bahadur Shah Zafar', where he cast himself in the lead role, brought colossal loss.

(Movie poster: Romeo And Juliet, 1947)

Sapru owned a bungalow, Daya Bhavan, in Bandra right next to the bungalow of his first cousin, actor Jeevan, called Jeevan Kiran. After the losses from Bahadur Shah Zaffar, the entire Sapru family relocated to a one-bedroom flat in Juhu, where his children grew up there.

(Movie poster: Romeo And Juliet, 1947)

Sapru accepted whatever roles came his way. He also acted in a few Punjabi and Gujurati movies.

Sapru had risen to prominence as a villain in crime thrillers by the early 1970s. Sadly, it was short-lived.

(D.K Sapru played judge's role in Hum Hindustani, Prem Shastra, Adalat and Vishwanath)