Ashok Kumar (Muni Da)

 Ashok Kumar (Bengali: অশোক কুমার; 13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001) was an Indian film actor. Born Kumudlal Ganguly (Bengali: কুমুদলাল গাঙ্গুলী) in Bhagalpur, Bengal Presidency he attained iconic status in Indian cinema. He broke from the theatrical style then common in Indian film towards a more naturalistic method. Given his versatility and proven brilliance over five decades, he is considered by many to be one of the finest ever Indian actors.^] The Government of India honoured him with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1988 and the Padma Bhushan in 1998 for his contributions towards Indian cinema.

Family

His father Kunjalal Ganguly was a lawyer and his mother Gouri Devi came from a wealthy Bengali family. His family was based in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh. His brothers Anoop Kumar and Kishore Kumar also acted in films. Three brothers worked together in the comedies Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Badhti Ka Naam Dadhi and Chalti Ka Naam Zindagi. Ashok, though the eldest of the three by quite a margin, survived them both. In fact, he stopped celebrating his birthday after the youngest brother, Kishore, died on that day in 1987. His sister, Sati Devi, was married to Sashadhar Mukherjee of the Mukherjee-Samarth family.
Ashok Kumar married Shobha. They had a troubled marriage due to his wife being an alcoholic. 

Later career and death

He acted in fewer films in the 1980s and 1990s and occasionally appeared on television, most famously anchoring the first Indian soap opera Hum Log and appearing as the title character in the unforgettable Bahadur Shah Zafar. His last film role was in Aankhon Mein Tum Ho in 1997. Besides acting, he was an avid painter and a practitioner of homeopathy.Altogether, he starred in over 275 films. He has done more than 30 Bengali dramas in Dhakuria.
Ashok Kumar died at the age of 90 in Mumbai on 10 December 2001 of heart failure at his residence in central Mumbai suburbs of Chembur. The then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee described him as "an inspiration... for many generations of aspiring actors.