Hiten Kumar

Hiten Kumar born Hiten Mehta in Mumbai Maharashtra is a beloved name in Gujarati cinema Son of Ishwarlal and Urmila Mehta he is the second among three siblings elder brother Pankaj and younger sister Bhavna A passionate actor since college he began his journey through intercollegiate drama competitions and theatre in the early 1980s earning Best Actor awards while studying at Mumbai University Though he worked at LIC as a Development Officer for 10 years his love for acting kept him involved in theatre He performed in over 45 plays in Gujarati Hindi Marathi and English gradually making a mark in Gujarati commercial theatre After many struggles and rejections in films and TV his major breakthrough came in 199596 with the Gujarati film Unchi Medina Uncha Mol earning him the Gujarat State Award for Best Villain His iconic rise came with Desh Re Joya Dada Pardesh Joya 1997 directed by Govind Patel which broke all records in Gujarati cinema grossing 22 crore when ticket prices were just 711 He followed it with hits like Maiyar Ma Mandu Nathi Lagtu 2001 which won 11 State Awards In a career spanning over 27 years he acted in more than 130 Gujarati films winning 9 Gujarat State Awards and 90 awards from other organizations His versatility spans roles from hero to villain aged characters to psychologically intense onesas seen in Vash later remade by Ajay Devgn as Black Magic He has also appeared in Hindi films like Jayate Raakh and Simran and is now working on new Gujarati projects for 2024 while exploring cinema in other Indian languages TMDB mini biography by Ashvin Borad