Who Has The Longest Film Career In Bollywood?

P Jairaj or also known as Paidi Jairaj, made his debut in the year 1929. He had a career spanning 70 years. During his career in the film industry, he acted in more than 300 films.P. Jairaj holds the Guinness World Record for the longest film career in Indian films, a feat recognized in 2000, in addition to being well-known for his character roles.

Born in 1909 on 28th September 1909 in Sircilla, a small town in Hyderabad State during British India, now called Telangana.

He starred in over 170 films, essaying the roles of various characters. P. Jairaj also directed a lot of films such as Mohar, Mala in 1943, Pratima, Rajghar and Saagar in the year 1951. He produced a film in 1980 and was then awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, one of the most prestigious awards in India, for his contribution towards Indian Longest Film Career cinema.

Bollywood’s Longest-Running Stars

While veteran actor Ashok Kumar was still struggling in his career in films, P. Jairaj was already an established actor and a star. Jairaj literally started his life in the film industry. He not only worked with the silent era, to the black and white films and to the rise of Technicolour films.

Known for his impressive physique, he landed lead roles in historical films between 1950 and 1960. His filmography includes notable roles opposite Anita Guha and Nirupa Roy, showcasing his versatility as an actor. One can distinctly remember the song ‘O Pawan Veg Se Udne Waale Ghode’ sung by the late Lata Mangeshkar from the film ‘Jai Chittaur’ wherein P. Jairaj as Rana Pratap looks absolutely majestic on the horseback.

Paidipati Jairaj, the veteran in the Indian film industry, an actor, director and producer, started his acting career in 1929 with a silent movie. He later directed Pratima in 1945, Shahjehan in 1946, and the cult film Sholay in 1975.

P. Jairaj had developed an interest in theatres and film while he was graduating at Nizam College, and he had left for Mumbai in 1929. The film that he debuted was Star Kling Youth, a silent movie,e and subsequently he continued with his acting in 11 silent movies thereafter. They included Triangle of Love, Mathru Bhoomi, All for Love, Mahasagar Mothi, Flight into Death, My Hero, to name a few of his well-known films.

Decades of Drama: Bollywood’s Longest Film Careers

He is also better known for his character of Amar Singh Rathore in 1957, Prithviraj Chauhan in 1959 and Maharana Pratap in the year 1960. These were his notable films. He also gained popularity for his role of Shah Jahan in 1947, followed by Tipu Sultan in 1959 and Haider Ali in 1962. He portrayed in films such as Sassi Punnu in 1947, Hatimtai in 1956 and Chandrashekar Azad in 1963, and Durga Das in 1964, among many other prominent films.

A one-hour documentary film was made on the Life Journey of P. Jairaj, the prominent and famous film actor of Indian Cinema. The Government of Telangana honoured him in 2018 and celebrated his life.

P Jairaj teamed opposite to actress Suraiya for six films between 1940 and 1950, five of which were Humari Baat in 1943, Singaar in 1949, Amar Kahani in 1949, Rajput in 1951, Resham in 1952 as the lead actor and her hero followed by Lal Kunwar in 1952. He produced and directed his own film, Sagar, which was not received well by the audiences, but he continued his commitment towards cinema.

A Lifetime of Lights, Camera, Action

From the era of silent movies to the talkie era, from being a hero to playing the role of character artist, Jairaj has essayed all kinds of roles throughout his film career. His sheer hard work, dedication and passion for cinema continued despite a life full of ups and downs, twists and turns.

Jairaj was popular for his effective dialogue delivery, and his experience in Telugu theatre made him instantly a star in the Bollywood film industry. Due to his personality and experience, he was the most suitable for an instant choice to play the role of sword-wielding Rajputs.

His biography of a humble beginning and Jairaj’s life, his films is a pictorial book containing about 400 photos. An inspiration to the new and future generations.

A feast for the eyes for all film lovers as well as for film researchers. Writer, publisher, and graphic designer, T. Sreekanth, did extensive research on P. Jairaj and his illustrious life in the film industry. Sreekanth is known for his biographies of veteran film personalities. His keen interest in the films inspired him to do research on many of the stalwarts of Indian Cinema

Born in the year 1909, the legendary actor with more than 270 films to his credit spanning across 70 years.

He married a Punjabi woman from Delhi. Savitri and he had an arranged marriage. Prithviraj Kapoor’s father had chosen the bride for P.Jairaj.

The Evergreen Heroes of Bollywood

Rajan Shahi, the TV producer and director his grandson and the sole person to P. Jairaj’s extended family.

Jairaj belonged to an aristocratic family . Therefore, his family were not in favor of him joining films . Due to this family never spoke to him for over a quarter of a century. But that did not stop him to move ahead and pursue his dream of making it big in the film industry.

He never tried to impress people, even though Sarojini Naidu was his aunt and Harindranath Chattopadhyaya was his uncle. The acting bug had hit him at the tender age of six.Sarojini Naidu would stage Shakespearean plays at her Hyderabad home. Jairaj was often part of the star cast as a child. This led him to his liking for theatre and films.

In the film, Hero Jairaj had kissed the heroine Madhuri, who happens to be the sister of actress Meena Kumari.

The advent of talkies in 1931 posed a challenge for many actors who didn’t know Hindi. Muslim artists had an advantage due to their fluency in Urdu. However, Jairaj’s background in Hyderabad made the transition smooth, thanks to his knowledge of Urdu.

Jairaj even made an attempt with music, and his first and last attempt, which was embarrassing, was his singing before the camera for the film ‘’Patit Pawan’ opposite Durga Khote and Noor Jahan. He had even hired a teacher but had finally give up in despair. His singing was a few steps ahead of the octave together, and hence it was not received well much to his embarrassment. The makers finally deleted the song from the film.

From Silver Screen to Golden Years

P. Jairaj also acted with Nargis in many films and later she had also starred in the film produced and directed by him and he had acted opposite her, which was ‘Sagar’ in 1952. However the film didn’t do well and had flopped.

Among his recently known films was Khoonn Bhari Maang with Rekha as the lead.

P. Jairaj is a respected name in Bollywood. On his birth anniversary, film actors, producers, and directors gather at his residence to pay homage. This ritual has been a long-standing tradition in the film industry.

Jairaj was also instrumental in organizing the Filmfare Awards, and he had won the Lifetime Achievement Award in the fifties.

P. Jairaj had passed away on August 11, 2000, just a day before his biography, ‘Jeevanachi Bharati Ohoti’, which was written by Shashikant Kinikar, was to be released.