bollyfan.com

Dilip Kumar

Dilip Kumar, without denying or even doubting his versatility as an actor, is the Tragedy King of hindi cinema. He has lived more than 8 decades of a life full of all the elements that can very well be made into a gripping and dramatic feature film. His calibre, his charm, his intelligentia and, most importantly, his humbleness are the attributes that make him a towering figure not only in terms of his cinematic capabilities but in terms of the traits that make him a respected figure internationally.

The Early years as Yousuf Khan

Born in the city of Peshawar, capital of NWFP province in Pakistan now, on 11th of december in the year 1922, he was named Mohammed Yousuf Khan at the time of his arrival in the world. He was the eleventh child to take birth in the Pathan family. He came to the city of dreams, Bombay, as his father was based in the city during the 1930’s. He landed in Pune first where he took up canteen business and supplied dry fruits.

Spotted by Devika Rani, a leading heroine of those years, Yousuf was lucky as opportunity came knocking at his door by itself. She, as luck had it, was married to Himanshu Rai, founder of the great Bombay Talkies. He was visibly impressed by Yousuf’s persona and took him under his wings. Muhammad Yousuf Khan was, thus, rechristened as the immortal Dilip Kumar after a suggestion came to this effect from Devika Rani and the rest, as they say, is history.
Film Career

His debut film Jwar Bhata (1944), came and went almost unnoticed. His first brush with stardom came with the film Jugnu (1947), his first hit. Two years after that, in 1949, he acted alongside Raj Kapoor in Andaz. The film became a rage and Dilip Kumar was catapulated to iconic status and became a filmstar in the true sense of the word. In Deedar, Devadas and Madhumati in the 1950’s, he came into his own and earned the sobriquet “Tragedy King”.

His remarkable comic talent was tapped in films like Aan and Azaad which were quite successful and bear testimony to his range and versatility as an actor. But the real turn came in 1960 when K.Asif’s Mughal-E-Azam released and he immortalised the role of the crown-prince Salim ( Jahangir), the son of Akbar, who is in love with a dancer called Anarkali, played by the magnificently beautiful Madhubala. It remains, till date, his standout act as an actor. It proved to be a hit even at the time of its re-release in colored prints in 2004, almost half a century later. Films like Ram aur Shyam have been imitated time and again. Even when he switched to character roles in the 70’s and the 80’s, he delivered hits like Mashaal, Shakti, Karma and Saudagar among others.

He has received  many awards throughout his career (a career spanning over more than 50 years with his last film, Qila, releasing in 1998). The awards include a staggering 8 Filmfare Best Actor awards and 19 nominations in all for the same apart from the Filmfare Lifetime Achievent award in 1992. He was awarded the highest Indian award for cinematic excellence, Dada Saheb Phalke award, in 1994. This underlines his vast contribution to Indian Cinema. Later superstars like Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan have been accused of copying him but he is a benchmark and they are merely following the benchmark.
Personal Life

Happily married to the beauty queen of her times, Saira Banu, Dilip Kumar has been consistent and loyal in his personal life. His marriage to Saira was labelled as a recipe for disaster due to the vast age difference ( He was 44 and Saira was 22 at the time of their marriage!) but the couple has proven it wrong and set an example of selfless love and respect for each other.

He was linked up with his co-star Madhubala (like all filmstars are!) but his dignified and honest behaviour saw him through. And even if he did fall in love with her, it can’t be termed as a folly as who wouldn’t fall in love with an angel as charming as Madhubala?!

A Respected Citizen

A flag bearer of Indo-Pak friendship and goodwill, Dilip Kumar has the distinction of being awarded the highest civilian award of Pakistan, Nishan-E-Imtiaz, in 1998. He refused to return it after Bal Thakrey urged him to do so at the time of the Kargil war by saying that ‘it was awarded to him on the basis of his humane activities and not merely for his achievements in filmdom, it was given to him as a good human being and humanism had nothing to do with nationality or war.’

His position is the society can be judged from the fact that he was given the honorary post of the Sherriff of Mumbai in 1980 itself. Nominated to the upper house of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, in 2000, he served a full term and behaved responsibly and rationally throughout.

The Legend lives on…..

As an octogenarian who has been a remarkable human being throughout his life, Dilip Saab ( as he is fondly addressed) rightfully deserves his respectable place in the society, in general, and in the history of Indian Cinema, in particular. The original and the immortal Devdas, with his dignified character and oodles of talent, is quite an example to follow !