Would you believe, Jeevan played Narad Muni in 61 films? As his son, Kiran Kumar, points out in senior journalist Roshmila Bhattacharya’s book, Bad Men: Bollywood’s Iconic Villains, it is an unprecedented feat, which no other actor can boast of, not even Sean Connery as James Bond.

“He should be in the Guiness Book of World Records!” insists Kumar, a popular screen actor himself, on the legend's birth anniversary.

Several others actors have played the Vedic sage, like Asrani in the 1989 film Narad Vivaah and the 2020 mini-series, Ayodhya Ki Ramleela, but Jeevan is the one who is instantly identified with Narad and his familiar chant, “Narayan, Narayan”, the greeting often spoken in his signature twang.

Photo courtesy: PR Team 

One of the mind sons of the creator Brahma, the divine messenger wanders around the three loks (worlds), singing hymns in praise of Vishnu.

While he was a wise and learned man who knew all the 64 vidyas, the devarshi was also known to have an impish streak, sparking in-fighting amongst the devas, rakshasas and humans by spicing up facts without any real malice or vested interest, eventually working for the ultimate good.

Jeevan understood this and before he started shooting for any of the films that featured him as Narad, including Har Har Mahadev, Jai Mahalaxmi Maa, Har Har Ganga and Gopal Krishna, he would give up meat and other non-vegetarian items, including alcohol, until the film was complete.

Sean Connery as James Bond | Photo courtesy: PR Team 

“It was his way of cleansing his body and soul for the character. In fact, such was his dedication that he would even shave his head,” Kiran Kumar informs in the book brought out by Rupa Publications this year in July.

Bad Men is Roshmila’s fourth book. Bad Man, the biography of Gulshan Grover, was published by Penguin Random House in July 2019 followed by Matinee Men: A Journey Through Bollywood by Rupa in December 2020, which is recommended by Book Authority among the 20 Best-Selling Bollywood Movie Books of All Time. Spooked: Bollywood’s Encounters with the Paranormal was released by Om Books in December 2023.

Jeevan was born Omkar Nath Dhar on October 24, 1915, in Gilgit, in a wealthy and aristocratic Kashmiri Pandit family, and his son remembers him as an excellent teacher who would impart life lessons without preaching.

Author Roshmila Bhattacharya | Photo courtesy: PR Team

He lost his mother in childbirth and his father when he was three, but despite the twin tragedies, he grew up a happy, boisterous child in the company of 23 siblings.

Perhaps that was why he was more of a friend than a parent. He would play cricket with his son and his friends on Sunday, then take the children out for ice cream and chocolates. Is it a wonder then that people remember Jeevan not as a mischievous muni or a scheming munim, but as an actor and a human being par excellence. Narayan, Narayan!