Ashok Kumar's daughter Bharti makes big plans for his birth centenary

Actress Bharti Jaffrey, firstborn child to actor Ashok Kumar, has big plans afoot ahead of her father's birth centenary. The date to watch out for is October 13, 2011.

This is the Ganguly clan's way of expressing their love for the legendary actor. Kumar enjoyed a successful six-decade long career, during which he went from being a young romantic star of blockbusters such as Kismet to an avuncular figure on film and TV who become "Dada Moni", not just to his family but to the audience as well.

Bharti, who is married to Hamid Jaffrey and was last seen on TV as Neena Gupta's liberal but anxious mother in 'Saans', says, "My father was a renaissance man; his work needs to be documented and remembered so that it can be shared with future generations."

The Ashok Kumar Foundation -- Bharti's brainchild, has been in existence since 2003. Bharti's plans for the centenary celebrations include a book on Ashok Kumar. She says, "I want everyone who has known him -- family, friends, co-actors, directors, producers and even his critics to write at least two lines about him in the book."

She adds, "I am also working on a play on his life which has already been commissioned. A play is a good idea because I feel he led a very dramatic life. And of course, I would like to do a film on him.

But it demands a terrific script; I wouldn't settle for anything run-of-the mill. My father was against films with excessive dialogue, he felt sub-text was extremely important. The film on my father should do justice to his talent, his idiosyncrasies, his quirks."

Besides acting, Ashok Kumar also crooned for a few films and had an ear for melody. Bharti would like songs to be an element of her dad's centenary celebrations and is deciding on a vehicle to showcase his singing talent. A special focus of the Foundation has been to fund a charitable dispensary for the underprivileged and the elderly.