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{{Short description|Indian film and music producer and businessman (1951–1997)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Gulshan Kumar
| image = Gulshan_Kumar.jpg
| caption = Kumar in 1995
| birth_name = Gulshan Kumar Dua
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1951|05|05}}
| birth_place = [[Delhi]], India
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1997|08|12|1951|05|05}}<ref>[https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/akshay-kumar-mogul-gulshan-kumar-biopic-murder-t-series-965755-2017-03-15 Akshay Kumar's Mogul: All you need to know about Gulshan Kumar]</ref>
| death_place = [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]], India
| death_cause = [[Murder]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19970825-killing-of-gulshan-kumar-reveals-mumbai-underworld-nexus-with-bollywood-is-turning-nasty-831964-1997-08-25|title=Killing of Gulshan Kumar Reveals Mumbai Underworld's Nexus with Bollywood is Turning Nasty|date=25 August 1997|first=Smruti|last=Koppikar|work=India Today|access-date=23 January 2020}}</ref>
| education = {{ubl|[[Deshbandhu College]]|[[Delhi University]]}}
| organisation = [[T-Series (company)|T-Series]]
| occupation = {{hlist|[[Businessperson]]|[[film producer]]|[[music producer]]}}
| yearsactive = 1972–1997
| spouse = {{marriage|Sudesh Kumari|1975}}
| children = [[Bhushan Kumar]] (son)<br>[[Tulsi Kumar]] (daughter)<br>[[Khushalii Kumar]] (daughter)
| known_for = Founding T-Series
| relatives = {{ubl|[[Krishan Kumar (actor)|Krishan Kumar]] (brother)|[[Tanya Singh]] (sister-in-law)|[[Divya Khosla Kumar]] (daughter-in-law)}}
| family = [[List of Hindi film families#Kumar family|Kumar family]]
| website =
| signature =
}}

'''Gulshan Kumar Dua''' (5 May 1951 {{endash}} 12 August 1997),<ref>[https://www.inuth.com/india/gulshan-kumar-murder-mystery-recalling-the-day-when-16-bullets-were-pumped-into-him/ Gulshan Kumar murder mystery: Recalling the day when 16 bullets were pumped into him]</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=5 May 2021 |title=गुलशन कुमार ने छोटे भाई कृष्‍ण कुमार के लिए देखा था एक सपना, ख्‍वाहिश जो अधूरी रह गई |url=https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/entertainment/news-from-bollywood/gulshan-kumar-wanted-his-brother-krishan-kumar-to-be-a-superstar-last-wish-which-remained-incomplete/articleshow/82403368.cms |access-date=15 July 2025 |website=[[Navbharat Times]] |language=hi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=5 May 2021 |title=Gulshan Kumar Birthday: जीरो से हीरो बनने की कहानी है गुलशन कुमार के संघर्ष की, ऐसे बने थे 'टी सीरीज' के मालिक |url=https://www.jagran.com/entertainment/bollywood-gulshan-kumar-birthday-know-unknown-facts-about-him-21614574.html |access-date=15 July 2025 |work=[[Dainik Jagran]] |language=hi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=5 May 2022 |title=Gulshan Kumar Birth Anniversary: अनुराधा पौडवाल को दूसरी लता मंगेशकर बनाना चाहते थें गुलशन कुमार! |url=https://hindi.news18.com/news/entertainment/bollywood-birth-anniversary-gulshan-kumar-launched-anuradha-paudwal-in-music-industry-pr-4233855.html |access-date=15 July 2025 |work=[[News 18]] |language=hi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=5 May 2020 |title=Bhushan Kumar remembers his father Gulshan Kumar on his birth anniversary |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/bhushan-kumar-remembers-father-gulshan-kumar-birth-anniversary/ |access-date=15 July 2025 |work=[[Bollywood Hungama]]}}</ref> was an Indian film and music producer and businessman who was the founder of the [[T-Series (company)|Super Cassettes Industries Private Limited]] [[music label]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040604010925/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FE29Df05.html Indian film financing comes of age, 29 May 2004]</ref> in the [[Bollywood]] industry. After founding T-Series in 1983, Dua established it as a leading record label in the 1990s.

After his death, T-Series has since been run by his younger brother [[Krishan Kumar Dua|Krishan Kumar]] and son [[Bhushan Kumar]].<ref>[http://www.t-series.com/about.asp About Us] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305150519/http://www.t-series.com/about.asp |date=5 March 2009 }} ''T Series'' Official website.</ref> His daughters [[Tulsi Kumar]] and [[Khushalii Kumar]] are also [[Playback singer|playback singers]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-75996.html/|title=The daughter of the legendary Gulshan Kumar of T Series Tulsi Kumar comes out with her maiden solo album]|website=www.newkerala.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Watch: Gulshan Kumar's daughter Khushali makes screen debut with revived 'Mainu Ishq Da Lagya Rog'|work=[[DNA India]]|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-watch-gulshan-kumar-s-daughter-khushali-makes-screen-debut-with-revived-mainu-ishq-da-lagya-rog-2134641|access-date=1 September 2020}}</ref>

==Biography==
Born on 5 May, 1951 in a [[Punjabi Hindu]] family, Gulshan Kumar Dua was the son of a fruit juice vendor who worked the streets of the [[Daryaganj]] neighbourhood in the heart of Delhi. His family came as refugees from the [[Jhang District|Jhang]] region of [[West Punjab]] after the communal riots during the [[partition of India]] in 1947.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Khan |first1=Danish |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SHEhEAAAQBAJ&dq=gulshan+kumar+dua+jhang&pg=PT191 |title=Escaped: True Stories of Indian Fugitives in London |last2=Khan |first2=Ruhi |date=2021-03-22 |publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited |isbn=978-93-90914-73-9 |language=en}}</ref> Dua started working with his father from an early age. Gulshan Kumar was a devoted worshipper of [[Shiva]] and especially [[Vaishno Devi]]. He sung many religious and traditional songs in favour of almost all major deities in [[Hinduism]]. Due to traditional faith, love and respect towards [[Vaishno Devi]], he ran a free of cost meal assistance service in which free meals are offered as ''[[Prasad (food offering)|prasad]]'' to all the devotees visiting [[Vaishno Devi Temple]]. It was first started in 1983 at [[Banganga River (Jammu and Kashmir)|Baan Ganga]] location which is situated in between of the Vaishno Devi Temple's pilgrimage. Even after his demise in 1997, the service still continues till today and is widely revered all across India.<ref name="LegendsAboutGulshanKumar">{{cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/gulshan-kumar-s-name-still-alive-because-of-his-deeds-daughter-117111600451_1.html|title=Devotion of Gulshan Kumar towards Vaishno Devi|access-date=2022-04-27|newspaper=Business Standard India|date=16 November 2017 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="GulshanKumarDeath">{{cite web|url=https://www.amarujala.com/photo-gallery/jammu/gulshan-kumar-s-murder-mystery-underworld-gangster-dawood-ibrahim-gulshan-kumar-death-date|title=Death of Gulshan Kumar (1997)|access-date=2022-04-27|website=Amar Ujala|language=hi}}</ref> His son [[Bhushan Kumar]] now manages the service.

Dua changed career paths when his family acquired a shop selling records and inexpensive audio cassettes, which foreshadowed the onset of a vast music empire.<ref>[http://www.rediff.com/entertai/aug/12super1.htm Gulshan!] [[Rediff.com]], 12 July 1997</ref>

== Music business and film career ==
Gulshan Kumar started his own audio cassette operation known as "Super Cassettes Industries," which turned in to a profitable business. He began a music production company in [[Noida]]. As his business started growing, he moved to Mumbai.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelallantop.com/tehkhana/how-gulshan-kumar-has-changed-music-industry-by-using-plagiarism-with-his-brand-t-series/|title=बॉलीवुड का सबसे विख्यात और 'कुख्यात' म्यूजिक मैन, जिसे मार डाला गया [Bollywood's most famous and "infamous" music man, who was murdered]|work=The Lallantop ([[Living Media|India Today Group]])|date=30 December 2016|access-date=16 April 2017}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web|title = Gulshan Kumar Biography – Gulshan Kumar Profile, Childhood, Life, Timeline|url = http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-heroes/gulshan-kumar.html|website = iloveindia.com|access-date = 18 October 2015}}</ref>

His first movie in Bollywood was ''[[Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka]]'' in 1989. Next was the big hit ''[[Aashiqui]]'' in 1990 which is remembered for its music by [[Nadeem–Shravan]]. His other movies included ''[[Bahaar Aane Tak]]'', ''[[Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin]]'', ''[[Ayee Milan Ki Raat]]'', ''[[Meera Ka Mohan]]'', ''[[Jeena Marna Tere Sang]]'' and [[Bewafa Sanam]].<ref name=":0" />

===T-Series music label===
{{main|T-Series (company)}}
T-Series emerged as one of the top music labels in India with the release of ''[[Aashiqui]]'' in 1990.<ref name="Nihalani">{{cite book|last1=Nihalani|first1=Govind|last2=Chatterjee|first2=Saibal|title=Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema|date=2003|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=9788179910665|page=20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8y8vN9A14nkC&pg=PT44|quote=Songs made a triumphal return to mainstream Hindi cinema with the success of the music of a low-budget Mahesh Bhatt film, ''Aashiqui'', which was produced by T-Series, a small-time company that had begun life peddling pirated Hindi film songs.|access-date=11 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120143828/https://books.google.com/books?id=8y8vN9A14nkC&pg=PT44|archive-date=20 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
In the early 1990s T-Series was largely responsible for sparking a boom for the [[Indian Music Industry|Indian music industry]].<ref name="auto">{{cite news |title=Top 25 films between the years 1985–1994 |url=https://www.filmfare.com/features/top-25-films-between-the-years-1985-1994_-26676-1.html |work=[[Filmfare]] |date=18 February 2018 |access-date=10 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210110937/https://www.filmfare.com/features/top-25-films-between-the-years-1985-1994_-26676-1.html |archive-date=10 December 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
With its music and film production, the annual earnings of T-Series grew from {{INR|20 crore|link=yes}} ({{US$|{{#expr:200/12.369 round 0}} million|long=no}}) in 1985 to {{INR|200 crore}} ({{US$|{{#expr:2000/22.742 round 0}} million|long=no}}) in 1991,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bhargava |first1=Simran |title=As music market expands rapidly, India becomes one of the largest producers of cassettes |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/economy/story/19910115-as-music-market-expands-rapidly-india-becomes-one-of-the-largest-producers-of-cassettes-813888-1991-01-15 |work=[[India Today]] |date=15 January 1991 |access-date=19 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210110616/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/economy/story/19910115-as-music-market-expands-rapidly-india-becomes-one-of-the-largest-producers-of-cassettes-813888-1991-01-15 |archive-date=10 December 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.FCRF?end=1991&locations=IN&start=1985 |publisher=[[World Bank]] |year=1991 |access-date=9 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210110913/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.FCRF?end=1991&locations=IN&start=1985 |archive-date=10 December 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> and by the time of Gulshan Kumar's death in 1997, had reached {{INR|500 crore}}<ref name="mafia"/> ({{US$|{{#expr:5000/36 round -1}} million|long=no}}).<ref>{{cite web |title=Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.FCRF?end=1997&locations=IN&start=1996 |publisher=[[World Bank]] |year=1997 |access-date=9 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211101102/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.FCRF?end=1997&locations=IN&start=1996 |archive-date=11 December 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

It continues to be a major label.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiaglitz.com/hindi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812210144/http://www.indiaglitz.com/hindi|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 August 2014|title=Bollywood Cinema News {{!}} Bollywood Movie Reviews {{!}} Bollywood Movie Trailers – IndiaGlitz Bollywood|website=IndiaGlitz.com|access-date=10 May 2019}}</ref> and controls more than 60% share of the Indian music market. In international market, T-Series enjoys a turnover in excess of $4.2 million, and exports to 24 countries across six continents. In India, it has the largest distribution network of over 2500 dealers.

=== Filmography ===
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" style="width:80px;"|Year
! rowspan="2"|Film
! colspan="2"|Credited as
|- style="background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"
! Director
! Producer
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1989
| ''[[Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1990
| ''[[Appu Raja]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1990
| ''[[Aashiqui]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1990
| ''[[Bahaar Aane Tak]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1991
| ''[[Ayee Milan Ki Raat]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1991
| ''[[Jeena Teri Gali Mein]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1991
| ''[[Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1992
| ''[[Meera Ka Mohan]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1992
| ''[[Jeena Marna Tere Sang]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1992
| ''[[Sangeet (film)|Sangeet]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1993
| ''[[Shabnam]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1993
| ''[[Aaja Meri Jaan]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1993
| ''[[Kasam Teri Kasam]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1995
| ''[[Bewafa Sanam]]''
|{{yes}}
|{{yes}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1995
| ''[[Suryaputra Shanidev]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1995
| ''[[Satyanarayan Ki Virat Katha]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|1997
| ''[[Char Dham]]''
|{{no}}
|{{yes}}
|}

==Death==
Gulshan Kumar was killed by goons of [[Dawood Ibrahim]] in a shooting outside the Jiteshwar Mahadev Mandir, a [[Hindu temple]] dedicated to [[Lord Shiva]] of which he attended daily in Jeet Nagar, [[Andheri]] West suburb of [[Mumbai]],<ref name=gu>[http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19970813/22550763.html Gulshan Kumar shot dead, scare in filmdom] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505042754/http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19970813/22550763.html |date=5 May 2009 }} ''[[The Indian Express]]'', 13 August 2001.</ref> on 12 August 1997. He was shot 16 times.

On the day of the assassination, his bodyguard, provided by the [[Government of Uttar Pradesh]], was sick. Although he had received two threatening calls, on 5 and 8 August 1997, Kumar refused to pay the extortion money. The hired killers, including Rauf and Abdul Rashid, conducted reconnaissance for a month, but did not proceed because of the armed bodyguard. At 10:40, while returning from the temple, he was confronted by one of the assassins who said: "''Bahut puja kar li, ab upar ja ke karna'' (you have prayed enough already, now do it up there)." Initially, Kumar survived and sought shelter in nearby huts, but residents shut their doors. His driver Suraj was shot in both legs as he tried to shelter Kumar.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19970825-killing-of-gulshan-kumar-reveals-mumbai-underworld-nexus-with-bollywood-is-turning-nasty-831964-1997-08-25|title=Killing of Gulshan Kumar reveals Mumbai underworld's nexus with Bollywood is turning nasty|first=Smruti|last=Koppikar|date=August 25, 1997|website=India Today}}</ref>

A [[Mumbai underworld]] organisation called [[D-Company]] is considered to have been responsible for this assassination.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Prakash |first1=Aryan |title=Gulshan Kumar murder mystery: Recalling the day when 16 bullets were pumped into him |url=https://www.inuth.com/india/gulshan-kumar-murder-mystery-recalling-the-day-when-16-bullets-were-pumped-into-him/ |website=Inuth |date=September 2017 |access-date=10 March 2019}}</ref><ref name="mafia">{{cite journal|title=The Mafia Calls The Shots|journal=[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]]|date=25 August 1997|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/the-mafia-calls-the-shots/204098}}</ref> The police also accused film composer Nadeem Saifi of the music duo [[Nadeem-Shravan]] of having paid for the murder due to a personal dispute and fled the country after the murder. However, on 9 January 2001, Abdul Rauf Merchant (known as "Raja") confessed to being the murderer. On 29 April 2002, Sessions Judge M. L. Tahilyani sentenced Rauf to [[life imprisonment]], stating that he was not imposing the [[death penalty]] because the prosecution had failed to prove that Rauf was a contract killer. The police alleged that Saifi paid [[Abu Salem]], a known associate of [[Dawood Ibrahim]], to assassinate Kumar and assigned Rauf to the job, but it just so happened that Ibrahim and Abu Salem were already planning on murdering Kumar as he had refused to pay Rs 10 crore [[protection money]] to D-Company as part of an extortion attempt. As per his family's wishes, Gulshan Kumar was cremated in a ''[[Shmashana|shamshan]]'' (cremation ground) in [[Delhi]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090505041030/http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19970813/22550683.html Stunned silence at Super Cassettes' Delhi factory] ''[[The Indian Express]]'', 13 August 2001.</ref>

Abdul Rauf alias Daud Merchant was convicted in 2002 for the murder of Gulshan Kumar. He fled [[India]] after he was granted furlough by the [[Bombay High Court]] in 2009. He was extradited from [[Bangladesh]] in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/dawood-aide-abdul-rauf-to-be-sent-back-to-india-bangladesh-minister/story-WKGQicRF7HBEosTdcCzlhI.html|title=Dawood aide Abdul Rauf to be sent back to India: Bangladesh minister|date=18 January 2016|website=Hindustan Times}}</ref> He is currently lodged in the high-security [[Arthur Road Jail]] of Mumbai.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thedailystar.net/world/south-asia/daud-merchant-indian-jail-1313188|title=Daud Merchant lands in jail after deportation|date=11 November 2016|website=The Daily Star}}</ref>

==Legacy==
T-Series is still running and operated and has a widespread base across India. In 2017, T-Series announced plans to produce a biographical film about Kumar titled ''Mogul – The Gulshan Kumar Story''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/mogul-first-look-akshay-kumar-to-play-gulshan-kumar-who-was-gulshan-kumar-4569629/|title=Mogul first look: Akshay Kumar to play Gulshan Kumar. Who was Gulshan Kumar?|work=The Indian Express|date=15 March 2017}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[Music of Bollywood]]
* [[Brij Sadanah]]
* [[Divya Bharti]]
* [[Guru Dutt]]
* [[Raj Kiran (actor)]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously: post-1970]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0474806}}
* [http://in.rediff.com/news/super.htm The Gulshan Kumar Murder Homepage] at ''[[Rediff.com]]''

{{T-Series}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Gulshan}}
[[Category:Punjabi Hindus]]
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:1997 deaths]]
[[Category:1997 murders in India]]
[[Category:Film producers from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Kumar family|Gulshan Kumar]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Delhi]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in India]]
[[Category:People murdered by Indian organised crime]]
[[Category:Indian murder victims]]
[[Category:People murdered in Mumbai]]
[[Category:Music industry executives]]
[[Category:Hindi film producers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian businesspeople]]
[[Category:Punjabi people]]
[[Category:Indian Hindus]]
[[Category:People from Delhi]]
[[Category:Performers of Hindu music]]
[[Category:Delhi University alumni]]
[[Category:Indian record producers]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Mumbai]]
[[Category:D-Company]]
[[Category:Assassinations in India]]
[[Category:People from Noida]]
[[Category:T-Series (company)]]
[[Category:Film producers from Delhi]]

Gulshan Kumar - Revision history

NatishaMooring9 at 09:00, 11 February 2026