Kalyan was born into a Hindu Bengali family in Khandwa, Central Provinces and Berar (now in Madhya Pradesh).

His father, Kunjalal Ganguly (Gangopadhya), was a lawyer, and his mother, Gouri Devi, came from a wealthy family.

[1] Kumar is best remembered for his role in the movie Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi.

[2] He and his brother Ashok Kumar acted in the 1990 Doordarshan detective serial Bheem Bhawani.

At 4:15 AM that day, he died of his fourth heart stroke in the Aryogyanidhi hospital, Juhu, North West Bombay, where he was admitted the previous Saturday.