Nostalgia

Dilip Kumar

{Yesterday  11^th Dec, 2018 happened to be thespian Dilip Kumar’s 96^th birthday and we at Nasheman humbly pay our tribute to the legendary actor}. Muhammad Yusuf Khan was born on 11^th Dec, 1922, better known as Dilip Kumar, is an Indian film actor, producer, screenwriter & social activist, known for his work in Hindi Cinema. Popularly known as The Tragedy King & The First Khan, he has been credited with bringing realism to film acting since his 1^st ever film Jwar Bhata which was released in the year 1944. Yes! Dilip Kumar debuted as an actor with the film Jwar Bhata released in the year 1944, produced by Bombay Talkies. In a career spanning over 6 decades, Dilip Kumar worked in over 65 films. Dilip Kumar is known for roles in films such as the romantic Andaz in the year 1949, the heartwarming Babul in the year 1950, the impassioned Deedar in the year 1951, the swashbuckling Aan in the year 1952, social drama Daag in the year 1952, the dramatic Devdas in the year 1955, the comical Azaad in the year 1955, Naya Daur in the year 1957, Yahudi in the year 1958,

Madhumati in the year 1958, Kohinoor in the year 1960, the epic historical Mughal – E – Azam in the year 1960, the social dacoit drama drama Gunga Jamuna in the year 1961 & the comedy Ram Aur Shyam in the year 1967. In the year 1976, Dilip Kumar took a 5 year break from film performances & returned with a character role in the film Kranti in the year 1981 & thereby continued his career playing leading roles in films such as Shakti in the year 1982, Karma in the year 1986 & Saudagar in the year 1991. His last swan song film was Qila in the year 1998. Dilip Kumar has bagged innumerable Filmfare Awards trophy and is the 1^st ever recipient of the Filmfare “Best Actor” Award in the year 1954. Critics have acclaimed him as one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian Cinema. Dilip Kumar had a long relationship with actress Madhubala but never married her. Dilip Kumar later on married actress Saira Bano, who is 22 years younger than him. Dilip Kumar & his wife Saira Bano currently live in Bandra, Mumbai. Dilip Kumar was born as Mohammad Yusuf Khan to Ayesha Begum & Lala Ghulam Sarwar Ali Khan in a Muslim Hindko speaking Awan family of 12 children on 11^th Dec, 1922 at a home in the Qissa Khawani Bazaar area of Peshawar, British India (modern day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan).
Dilip Kumar’s father was a landlord & a fruit merchant who owned orchards in Peshawar & Deolali. Mohammad Yusuf Khan was schooled at Barnes School, Deolali, Nashik. Dilip Kumar grew up in the same religiously mixed neighborhood as Raj Kapoor, his childhood friend. In the year 1940, while still in his teens & after an altercation with his father, Mohammad Yusuf Khan left home for Poona (Pune, Maharashtra). With the help of a Parsi Café owner & an elderly Anglo-Indian couple, Dilip Kumar met a canteen contractor. Without letting on his family antecedents, he got the job on the merit of his knowledge of good written & spoken English. He set up a sandwich stall at the army club & when the contract ended, he headed home to Mumbai, having saved Rs. 5000. In the year 1942, anxious to start a venture to help his father with household finances, he met Dr. Masani at Churchgate Station, who asked him to accompany him to Bombay Talkies, in Malad, Mumbai. There he met actress Devika Rani, owner of Bombay Talkies, who asked him to sign up with the company on a salary of Rs. 1250 per month. There he met actor Ashok Kumar, who influenced his acting style by telling him to act “natural” acting. He also met Sashadhar Mukherjee, and both of these people became close to Dilip Kumar over the years. Initially Dilip Kumar helped out in the story writing & scripting department because of his proficiency in Urdu Language. Devika Rani requested him to change his name to Dilip Kumar, and later cast him in a lead role for Jwar Bhata in the year 1944, which marked his entry into the Hindi film industry. Dilip Kumar’s 1^st ever film Jwar Bhata in the year 1944, went unnoticed. After a few more unsuccessful films, it was Jugnu in the year 1947, in which he starred alongside Noor Jehan that became his

1^st ever major hit at the box office turnstiles. His next major hits were the 1948 films Shaheed & Mela. He got his breakthrough role in the year 1949 with Mehboob Khan’s Andaz, in which he starred alongside Raj Kapoor & Nargis. Shabnam also released that year was another box office turnstiles hit. Dilip Kumar went on to have success in the 1950’s playing leading roles in several box office turnstile hits such as Jogan in the year 1950, Babul in the year 1950, Hulchul in the year  1951, Deedar  in the year 1951, Daag in the year 1952, Shikast in the year 1953, Amar in the year 1954, Uran Khatola in the year 1955, Insaniyat in the year 1955 in which he co-starred with Dev Anand, Devdas in the year 1955, Naya Daur in the year 1957, Yahudi in the year 1958, Madhumati in the year 1958 & Paigham in the year 1959. These films established his screen image as the “Tragedy King”.  Dilip Kumar had briefly suffered from depression due to portraying many tragic roles. He also played lighthearted roles in an attempt to shed his “tragedy king” image upon his psychiatrist’s suggestion such as in Mehboob Khan’s big budget 1952 swashbuckling & musical movie named Aan. This marked his 1^st ever film to be shot in Technicolor and to have a wide release across Europe with a lavish premiere in London. He had further success with lighter roles as a thief in the comedy Azaad in the year 1955 & as a royal prince in the romantic musical Kohinoor in the year 1960.Dilip Kumar was the 1^st ever actor to bag  the Filmfare “Best Actor” award for Daag and went on to win it a further 8 times. He formed popular on-screen pairings with many of the top actresses at the time including Madhubala, Vyjayanthimala, Nargis, Nimmi, Meena Kumari & Kamini Kaushal. 9 of his films in the 1950’s were ranked in the Top 30 highest grossing films of the decade. In the 1950’s, Dilip Kumar became the 1^st ever actor to charge 1 Lakh (equivalent to₹75 lakh or US$100,000 in 2017) per film. In 1960, he portrayed Prince Salim in K. Asif’s big budget epic historical film Mughal – E – Azam, which was the highest grossing film in Indian film history for 11 years until it was surpassed by 1971 film Haathi Mere Saathi & later by the 1975 film Sholay. If adjusted for inflation, Mughal – E – Azam was the highest grossing Indian film through to the early 2010’s, equivalent to over 1000 crores in the year 2011. The film told the story of Prince Salim, who revolts against his father Akbar played by Prithviraj Kapoor & falls in love with a courtesan played by Madhubala. The film was mostly shot in black & white, with only some scenes in the latter half of the film shot in color. 44 years after its original release, it was fully colorized &  re-released in the year 2004. In 1961, Dilip Kumar produced & starred in Ganga Jamuna opposite his frequent leading lady Vyjayantimala & his brother Nasir Khan, this was the only film he produced. In the year 1962 British director David Lean offered him the role of “Sherif Ali” in his film Lawrebce Of Arabia in the year 1962, but Dilip Kumar declined to perform in the movie. The role eventually went to Omar Sharif, the Egyptian actor. Dilip Kumar comments in his much later released autobiography, “he thought Omar Sharif had played the role far better than he himself could have”.  Dilip Kumar‘s next film Leader in the year 1964 was a below average grosser at the box office turnstiles. He was the co-director alongside Abdul Rashid Kardar of his next release Dil Diya Dard Liya in the year 1966, but was uncredited as the director. In the year 1967, Dilip Kumar played a dual role of twins separated at birth in the hit film Ram Aur Shyam. In the year 1968, he starred alongside Manoj Kumar & Waheeda Rehman in Aadmi. That same year he starred in Sanghursh with Sanjeev Kumar. Dilip Kumar’s career slumped in the 1970’s with films like Dastaan in the year 1972 failing at the box office turnstiles. He starred alongside his real life wife Saira Bano in Gopi in the year 1970 which was a success. They were paired again in 1^st ever & only Bengali language film Sagina Mahto in the year 1970. A Hindi remake of Sagina was made in the year 1974 with the same cast. He played triple roles as a father & his twin sons in Bairaag in the year 1976 which failed to do well at the box office turnstiles. Dilip Kumar personally regarded M. G. Ramachandran’s performance in Enga Veetu Pillai better than his role in Ram Aur Shyam. He regards his performance in Bairaag much higher than that of Ram Aur Shyam. Although his performance in Bairaag & Gopi were critically acclaimed, he lost many film offers to act in leading roles to actors Rajesh Khanna & Sanjeev Kumar, from the year 1968 to the year 1987. He then took a 5 year hiatus from films from the year 1976 to the year 1981. In the year 1981, Dilip Kumar returned to films as a character actor playing central roles in ensemble films. His comeback film was the star studded Kranti which was the biggest hit of the year. Appearing alongside an ensemble cast including Manoj Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Hema Malini & Shatrughan Sinha, Dilip Kumar played the title role as a revolutionary fighting for India’s independence from British rule. He then successfully collaborated with director Subahash Ghai starting with Vidhaata in the year 1982, in which he starred alongside Sunjay Dutt, Sanjeev Kumar & Shammi Kapoor. Later that year he starred alongside Amiotabh Bachchan in Ramesh Sippy’s Shakti which was only a below average grosser at the box office turnstiles, but won him critical acclaim & his 8^th &  final Filmfare Award for “Best Actor”. In the year 1984, he starred in Yash Chopra’s social crime drama Mashaal opposite Anil Kapoor which failed miserably at the box office turnstiles but his performance was critically acclaimed. He also appeared alongside Rishi Kapoor in Duniya in the year 1984 & Jeetendra in Dharam Adhikari in the year 1986. Dilip Kumar’s 2^nd collaboration with Subhash Ghai came with the 1986 ensemble action film Karma, which marked the 1^st ever film which paired him opposite fellow veteran actress Nutan. 3 decades earlier however, they were paired together in an incomplete & unreleased film titled Shikwa. He acted opposite Nutan again in the 1989 film Kanoon Apna Apna. In the year 1991, Dilip Kumar starred alongside fellow veteran actor Raaj Kumar in Saudgar, his 3^rd & last film with director Subhash Ghai. This was his 2^nd film with Raaj Kumar after 1959’s Paigham. Saudagar was Dilip Kumar’s last box office turnstiles success. In the year 1993, he won the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the industry for 5 decades.In the year 1992, producer Sudhakar Bokade announced a film titled Kalinga which would officially mark Dilip Kumar’s directorial debut after he had allegedly previously ghost directed Ganga Jamuna in the year 1961 & Dil Diya Dard Liya in the year 1967. Dilip Kumar was also all set to star in the title role with the cast including Raj Babbar, Raj Kiran, Amitoj Mann & Meenakshi Sheshasdri. After being delayed for several years, Kalinga was eventually left incomplete & shelved. In the year 1998, Dilip Kumar made his last film appearance in the box office turnstile flop Qila, where he played dual roles as an evil landowner who is murdered & as his twin brother who tries to solve the mystery of his death. In the year 2001, Dilip Kumar was all set to appear in a film titled Asar – The Impact alongside Ajay Devgan, which was shelved. His classic films Mughal – E – Azam  & Naya Daur were fully colorized & re-released in cinemas in the year 2004 & 2008 respectively. An unreleased film he had shot & completed in the year 1990 titled Aag Ka Dariya was all set for a theatrical release in the year 2013 but has not been released till this date. Dilip Kumar was nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, by the Indian National Congress for the period of 2000 to 2006. Dilip Kumar launched his Twitter account & his 1^st ever tweet was on his 89^th birthday in the year 2011. Dilip Kumar had fallen in love with Madhubala during the shooting of Tarana. They remained in a relationship for 7 years until the Naya Daur court case happened in which Dilip Kumar stood by the Chopra’s who had given evidence against Madhubala & her father, thus ended his relationship with Madhubala. They never worked together after the release of Mughal – E – Azam in the 1960. Madhubala died from a heart disease in the year 1969. Dilip Kumar married actress Saira Bano in the year 1966, who was 22 years younger to him. He married a 2^nd time in the 1981 to a Hyderabad socialite Asma Sahiba, but the marriage ended in Jan, 1983. Dilip Kumar does not have any children. He is fluent in Urdu, Hindi, Hindko (his 1^st ever language), Bhojpuri, English, Bengali, Pashto  & Farsi. Dilip Kumar has been involved with a number of charitable & social initiatives. He planned & conceptualized the famous Jogger’s Park in Bandra, along with Sunil Dutt & Oliver Andrade. Dilip Kumar used his good offices to get the necessary clearances from the Maharashtra Government for the establishment of this public park. Dilip Kumar donated a significant portion of his MPLAD fund towards the construction & the improvement of the Bandstand Promenande & the gardens at Bandra Fort at Lands End in Bandra. Dilip Kumar has encouraged new talent in the Indian film industry. He believes that an actor does not necessarily have to bring any acting skill, rather a recognition that “acting is all about not acting. Some of the talent identified by him who later on became big stars of their own include: Mukri, Aruna Irani & Kader Khan. 

Dilip Kumar is widely considered as one of the greatest actors in the history of Hindi Cinema. He holds the Guinness World Record for winning the maximum number of awards by an Indian actor. He has received many awards throughout his career, including 8 Filmfare Awards for “Best Actor” &  1 Lifetime Achievement from Filmfare. Also for Special Recognition FilmFare Award for recognizing him as one of the 1^st ever recipients to receive a Filmfare Award along with the nightingale of India Lata Mangeshkar & one of the greatest Hindi Music Directors Naushad Ali at the 50^th Filmfare Award Ceremony & along with 19 nominations at Filmfare for best actor. He was honored with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in the year 1993. Gunga Jamuna in the year 1961, which he wrote, produced & starred in, also received the National Film Award for 2^nd “Best Feature Film in Hindi, the Paul Revere  Silver Bowl at the Boston International Film Festival the Special Honor Diploma from the Czechoslovak Academy of Arts in Prague & the Special Prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.Dilip Kumar was appointed Sheriff of Mumbai (an honorary position) in the year 1980, the Government of India honored Dilip Kumar with the Padma Bhushan in the year 1991, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in the year 1994 & the Padma Vibhushan in the year 2015. The Government of Andhjra Pradesh honored Dilip Kumar with NTR National Award in the year 1997. The Government of Pakistan conferred Dilip Kumar with Nishan [- E – Imtiaz , the highest civilian award in Pakistan, in the year 1998. The ruling political party of Shiv Sena in Maharashtra had objected to this award & questioned Dilip Kumar’s patriotism. However, in the year 1999 in consultation with the then Prime Minister of India Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Dilip Kumar retained the award. He was honored with CNN-IBN Lifetime Achievement Award in the year 2009. The Government of India honored Dilip Kumar with:2015 – India’s 2^nd highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, for his contributions towards Indian Cinam2000 – 2006: Elected to Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament.1994 – Dadasaheb Phalke Award 1991 – India’s 3^rd highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, for his contributions towards Indian Cinema 1979 – 1982 – Appointed as the Sheriff of Bombay by the Governer of Maharashtra, India for the period1998 – The Government of Pakistan honored him with its highest civilian honor, the Nishane – E – Imtyiaz. Dilip Kumar: “The Substance & The Shadow” as narrated to Udayatara Nayar was published in the year 2014 by Hay House Publishers (India) Pvt. ltd. Films that garnered Dilip the most recognition or awards include: Jwar Bhata (1944),Jugnu (1947), Shaheed (1948), Shabnam (1949), Jogan (1950), Babul (1950),Andaz (1949), Deedar (1951), Aan (1952), Daag (1952), Devdas (1955), Azaad (1955),Naya Daur (1957), Yahudi (1958), Madhumati (1958), Paigham (1959), Kohinoor (1960),Mughal-E-Azam (1960), Ganga Jamuna (1961), Leader (1964), Dil Diya Dard Liya (1966),Ram Aur Shyam (1967), Sunghursh (1968), Gopi (1970), Dastaan (1972), Bairaag (1976),Kranti (1981), Vidhaata (1982), Shakti (1982), Mashaal (1984), Duniya (1984),Karma (1986), Saudagar (1991) & Qilla (1998).