Happy Birthday, Jeetendra: All you need to know about Bollywood's 'jumping jack'

Veteran actor Jeetendra is known for his impeccable acting skills and iconic dance steps, which earned him the title of Bollywood’s ‘jumping jack’. He is also known for his fondness for white outfits, which he wore in many of his films.

In a previous interview with Bollywood Hungama, the actor was asked about the idea behind his signature style. He revealed there were two reasons behind this - a man looks slimmest in black and since he always gave importance to fitness, he thought that if he could look slim even in white, he was truly healthy. As for the shoes, he thought that the black ones on white would have looked ridiculous.

Jeetendra made his acting debut in 1959 with V. Shantaram’s ‘Navrang’, but he got his major break in the industry with ‘Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne’ which was released in 1964. Having acted in nearly 200 films as the main lead, a feat matched by just a handful of his peers, the actor went on to rule the big screens.

Here is a look at some of the interesting facts about the actor.

The actor was born on April 7, 1942, in Amritsar, Punjab. Jeetendra’s real name is Ravi Kapoor. His parents Amarnath and Krishna Kapoor were into the imitation jewellery business.

Jeetendra and Rajesh Khanna attended the same school - St. Sebastian's Goan High School in Girgaum. Later, Jeetendra went to K.C College in Churchgate.

Wondering how Jeetendra bagged his first role? He was supplying jewellery to director V. Shantaram, who ended up casting him as actress Sandhya's double in ‘Navrang’. It is believed Rajesh Khanna encouraged and tutored Jeetendra during his initial days in the film industry.

Jeetendra worked with Jaya Prada in 24 films and with Sridevi in 16 films.

Did you know Jeetendra almost married actor Hema Malini in the 1970s? Bollywood’s ‘Dream Girl’ Hema Malini in her biography narrated the entire episode. She mentioned how her parents were against her tying the knot with much-married Dharmendra. Jeetendra and she were good friends. Though they weren’t romantically inclined, their families decided to get them married. At the time, Jeetendra was seeing Shobha.

Hema and Jeetendra’s secret wedding was planned in Chennai and a local paper published the story as front-page news. A slightly drunk Dharmendra reached the venue in time to stop their wedding along with Jeetendra's girlfriend and now wife, Shobha.

Jeetendra and Shobha, who was reportedly an air hostess with British Airways, tied the knot in 1974. They have two kids together - daughter Ekta Kapoor and son, Tusshar Kapoor.

Hema married Dharmendra in 1980 and they have two daughters - Esha Deol and Ahana Deol.

Jeetendra is now a film producer and a chairman at Balaji Telefilms, Balaji Motion Pictures and ALT Entertainment.

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