Jatin Kanakia

QAMYAB – THE FORGOTTEN GEMS OF BOLLYWOOD

Qamyab is our humble tribute to all those lesser-known actors, one hit wonders and junior artists who we see umpteen times but don’t know about; beyond their faces. These actors have been an integral part of Bollywood but didn’t get their due. This series is our sincere attempt to put a name to these faces, familiarize them to our readers and celebrate their achievements in life – however big or small. We believe that every artist contributes in his/her own way to the cinema’s success. Qamyab will explore the unknown lives of such actors and artists as we believe even these forgotten gems of Bollywood deserve their due recognition today.

There are quite a few actors in Bollywood, who left for their heavenly abode early at the peak of their career…stalwarts like Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Guru Dutt, Laxmikant Berde and of course who can forget the controversial demise of Divya Bharti and Sushant Singh Rajput!! Apart from Laxmikant Berde, all of these stars passed away below the age of forty years and are still fondly remembered by Hindi movie buffs.

One more actor, who is often called as the prince of comedy of the small screen, also passed away young and at his career peak. He was Jatin Kanakia. After reading this name, our readers would instantly remember his ever-smiling face.

Comparable to veterans like Dr. Shreeram Lagoo, Boman Irani and Amrish Puri, Jatin started his acting career only when he was in his 40s. Though he became a professional actor after reaching middle age, Jatin became famous within a short time frame. Actually, his acting stint lasted just six years in which he achieved a lot of fame and recognition.

Jatin Kanakia was born on 28th June, 1953 in Porbandar, Saurashtra in a Gujarati family. There isn’t much details available about his personal life except that he had a son named Drupad.

Starting his career on Gujarati stage at a very young age, Jatin went on to work in many hit plays alongside top Hindi film actors like Paresh Rawal, Tiku Talsania, Shubha Khote, Rasik Dave, Swaroop Sampat and many others.

After his successful stint on Gujarati stage, Jatin Kanakia finally got his big break on Indian television. This was in the early ’90s when Doordarshan offered good quality content and public would eagerly await their favourite shows every week. During this time, a comedy sitcom Shrimaan Shrimati (1993) was aired on Doordarshan Metro channel, which had talented actors like the late Reema Lagoo, Rakesh Bedi, Archana Puran Singh, Vijay Gokhale, etc. Jatin Kanakia, a total newcomer to the medium, was cast in the lead role along with Reema as his onscreen wife and emerged to be the winner.

Jatin played the character of Keshav Kulkarni (Keshu) living in a middle-class society with his wife Kokila (Reema Lagoo) and son Chintu (Ajay Nagrath). Keshav is attracted to his actress neighbour Prema Shalini (Archana Puran Singh) and hates her effeminate husband Dilruba (Rakesh Bedi), who has a soft spot for Kokila.

Jatin Kanakia’s comic timing in Shrimaan Shrimati was so perfect that he became an instant sensation and got his share of stardom at the age of forty-one years. His character became a household name and people started calling him Keshav Kulkarni. Most people didn’t even know his real name right until his death and would just refer him as Keshav Kulkarni.

Balaji Telefilms, one of the biggest production houses today, were trying their hand in TV serials in mid ’90s. After two failed ventures, they launched the comedy drama Hum Paanch, which became one of their first major success. The cast included Ashok Saraf, Shoma Anand, Priya Tendulkar and their five daughters comprising the Mathur family, who always landed their father (Ashok Saraf) in trouble. Their neighbours were played by Aruna Sangal (Pooja Aunty) and her husband Jatin Kanakia (Suni uncle). Though the serial ran for about five long years, Jatin’s character was not regular and would be seen in some episodes. Nevertheless, his character got noticed and garnered tremendous appreciation.

Within a span of just two years, Jatin Kanakia had become a big name and was called the prince of comedy of television industry. Between 1995-1997, he was part of various comedy shows aired on Doordarshan or Zee TV, which were the only prominent entertainment channels those days.

His shows like Kabhi Yeh Kabhi Woh, Zara Hatke, All The Best, Hi Zindagi Bye Zindagi, Mrs. Madhuri Dixit, Do Aur Do Paanch, Gudgudee, Tere Ghar Ke Saamne, Chashme Baddoor, etc were all successful.

Balaji Telefilms’ Padosan aired on Doordarshan, was another success, which was directed by the Hum Paanch director Kapil Kapoor. Jatin Kanakia played lead character of Ajay Tripathi, who hilariously talks to furniture in the house.

While enjoying a successful stint on television, Jatin started getting movie offers as well. He made his Bollywood debut with Vishwavidhaata (1997). The film had Jackie Shroff, Sharad Kapoor, Ayesha Jhulka and Pooja Batra in the lead but despite the multi star cast, didn’t work at the box office.

After Vishwavidhaata, Jatin had no film releases for next two years as he concentrated on television serials. In 1999, Jatin had not one but three Bollywood releases- Trishakti, Khoobsurat and Hum Saath Saath Hain.

Sadly Jatin Kanakia could not see any of these films’ release as he left for his heavenly abode. Trishakti was a box office washout as it didn’t have a bankable star and the audience couldn’t accept a smiling face Jatin as the villain. Hum Saath Saath Hain, released on the eve of Diwali, was one of the biggest hits of Jatin’s career. But he had a very small role in the movie as the family doctor. Khoobsurat remained his last release and it turned out to be an average grosser. Jatin’s absentminded character in it was appreciated by the audience.

Khoobsurat was the last time when audience were able to see the prince of comedy Jatin Kanakia entertaining them. He passed away on 26th July, 1999 in Mumbai due to pancreatic cancer. Throughout his career, he kept a low profile and never spoke about his personal life. In 2001, two years after his death, Jatin Kanakia was posthumously honoured at the Indian Telly Awards for his significant contribution towards Indian Television.

In his final days, Jatin was shooting for the serial Hum Sab Ek Hain and had about six to seven other serials on air. In Hum Sab Ek Hain, he played a retired Brigadier KK Kachroo, the lead patriarch of the family whose three sons have wives from different caste. Whenever he would get angry in the serial, he would famously utter a punchline “Johnny meri riffle lao”.

During the shooting of Hum Sab Ek Hain, Jatin Kanakia would often get abdominal pain and the subsequent tests revealed that the was suffering from pancreatic cancer. Though he was in pain, Jatin never let anyone know about his disease and continued his shoots nonstop until his untimely death.

His character of Brigadier Kachroo had made such a deep impact on the audience that a talented actor like Sudhir Pandey, who replaced Jatin after his death, found it difficult to carry his legacy forward. Many viewers lost interest in the show after Kanakia’s death.

This might come as a surprise to many that today’s biggest successful comedy series running since last fifteen years – Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma- was the brain child of Jatin Kanakia. While working on Hum Sab Ek Hain with Asit Modi, Jatin expressed a desire to make a comedy serial and came up with the idea of Duniya Ne Undha Chashma and wanted to play the lead character of Jethalal.

Unfortunately, Jatin passed away shortly afterwards. Asit Modi got the rights of the show in 2002 and the superhit show went on air in 2008. It would have truly been a treat to watch Jatin Kanakia play Jethalal but as they say, it’s all destined!!

It has been twenty years since Jatin Kanakia passed away but his ever-smiling face still remains alive…