Keshto Mukherjee

Biography

Keshto Mukherjee(7 August 1925 – 3 March 1982) was an Indian actor and comedian. He was born in Kolkata, Bengal Presidency, British India. He specialised in comic drunkard roles in Hindi films. Though he was famous for his drunkard typecast role in Hindi films, he was a teetotaller throughout his life. However in his own interview published in the Stardust magazine in 1981, he mentioned the following; "I drink a lot. I started boozing when I left my home town and came to Bombay to become a film hero. I lived in a dingy room in the railway quarters with nothing to eat, but lots to drink. I drank because I was frustrated. I didn’t have any work. I drank to get some sleep, to forget that there were rats running all around the place, that there was a dog sleeping next to me. I drank to relieve the tension. And I only had daaru as my true friend. And again, it was because of this daaru that I gained popularity. Today, if anyone says my name, everyone pictures a bevda. I cannot ditch my friend now. I still drink. The only day when I didn’t touch a drop of liquor was on my wedding day."