K.K. Raj

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.

Till the late ‘90s, Bollywood cinema relied heavily on big villains like Amrish Puri, Prem Chopra, Ajit, Danny Denzongpa, Kader Khan, Shakti Kapoor, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Gulshan Grover and Ranjeet. Invariably, these baddies would have huge gangs and henchmen to carry out their nefarious activities like smuggling, extortion, prostitution and other illegal businesses. Some of the popular names playing such henchman roles would be Shetty, Macmohan, Sudhir, Mahesh Anand, Dan Dhanoa, Tej Sapru, Sudhir, Gavin, Yusuf Khan (Zebisko), Manek Irani, etc. Most of these actors are easily recognized faces but not much is known about their personal lives.

KK Raj is one such actor known for his supporting roles mostly as villain’s sidekick who left his mark in Hindi cinema of ’80s and ’90s. He was mostly seen as the main villain’s accomplice playing the smuggler, fighter, molester or a corrupt cop.

KK Raj was born in 1960 as Abdul Kadar Adamji Dhanani in a Muslim family in Mumbai. Later, he changed his name to KK Raj for films. The inspiration behind this name change was veteran actor and Guinness Book record holder Jagdish Raj (father of ’80s heroine Anita Raj). Inspired by his work, Abdul Kadar decided to keep his name as KK Raj.

KK Raj had completed his education till SSC (Standard X). His family was based in Parel and would supply paints to film studios; that’s how he got acquainted with Bollywood and started appearing as a part of the crowd. In one film, he got to appear as police inspector but that movie never released.

After being part of few films as an extra, KK Raj got his first major break in Nasir Hussain’s Manzil Manzil (1984) where he played the character of the villain’s henchman. Though Manzil Manzil wasn’t a box office success, Raj got noticed and thus began his journey in Bollywood where he was often seen playing various negative characters. Gautam Sharma, secretary of noted actor Suresh Oberoi, was his close friend who helped him in getting roles.

aj’s filmography includes Zabardast (1985), Marte Dum Tak (1987), Karamdaata (1986), Avinash (1986), Dak Bangla (1987), Parivaar (1987), Veerana (1988), Ilaaka (1989), Lashkar (1989), Ram Lakhan (1989), Awwal Number 1990), Agneekaal (1990), Pyar Ke Naam Qurban 1990), Saugandh (1991), Laal Paree (1991), Shankra (1991), Tirangaa (1993), Gurudev (1993), Dhartiputra (1993), Aadmi (1993), Krantiveer (1994), Aatish (1994), Juaari (1994), Mr. Azaad (1994), Teesra Kaun (1994), Veergati (1995), Jurmana (1996) and many more.

Apart from his negative roles, KK Raj also played positive character in some films like Mithun Chakraborty’s colleague in Commando (1988), Anil Kapoor’s friend who is an unemployed youth in Kala Bazaar (1989) and Anupam Kher’s secretary in Nyay Anyay (1990). He also acted in quite a few Gujarati films of Abbas Mastan and few Bhojpuri films and South Indian movies as well. Some of his well-known Gujarati films include Saugandh Tari Rakhadina (1986), Kanya Viday (1986) and Lohibhini Choondani (1986). KK Raj also appeared in few episodes of Ramsay’s popular TV series – The Zee Horror Show.

KK Raj’s friend circle included successful directors Harry Baweja, Mehul Kumar and Abbas Mastan and he would invariably feature in their movies. Things were going right for Raj with many Hindi as well as Gujarati films in his kitty. But fate had some other plan in store for him.

In 1996 while shooting in Rajkot for the Gujarati film Raj Ratan, KK Raj suffered a massive heart attack and passed away at an early age of thirty five. A day prior to his death, he was shooting with Akshay Kumar at JW Marriott, Juhu for Sapoot (1997) and appeared hale and hearty. His sudden death left everyone in deep shock. He was survived by his wife and children.

Over the next few years, his posthumous films were released which showed his name in credits as late KK Raj. In 1997 itself, he had around seven releases. These were Lahoo Ke Do Rang, Agnee Morcha, Mrityudaata, Mahaanta, Taraazu, Qahar and Judge Mujrim. The following years had Aunty no 1 (1998), Mohabbhat Aur Jung (1998), Hote Hote Pyar Ho Gaya (1999) and Kaala Samrajya (1999).

His last movie release was in 2003; an action film called Tada which was started around 1996 and was in making for seven years. Coincidentally, KK Raj’s debut film was Manzil Manzil with Sunny Deol and last movie was Tada with Sunny’s dad Dharmendra.

In his final days, Raj was working on a TV serial called Golmaal for a reputed channel. He was directing it himself and shot four episodes. But after he passed away, the serial went in limbo and never went on air.

KK Raj enjoyed a decade long career with around hundred films to his credit and made his presence felt in each one of them. Unfortunately, he went away too soon…