daphan karane se pahale nabj jaan lena saaheb |
umda kalaakaar hai kaheen kiradaar mein na ho ||
Legendary actor of the yesteryears, the first Khan of Bollywood, Dilip Kumar tragedy king of Bollywood, left for the heavenly abode on 7th July 2021.
Dilip Kumar held a Guinness World Record for having the maximum number of awards by an Indian actor. He also won the inaugural Filmfare award.
Dilip Kumar introduced the Method Acting technique in Bollywood. He was conferred with the biggest award in Indian Cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Dilip Kumar was also bestowed with Padma Vibhushan, which is the second-highest civil award in India.
Dilip Kumar Sahab and His Biography
Dilip Kumar aka Muhammad Yusuf Khan tragedy king of Bollywood was born in a Hinko-speaking Awan family. Dilip Kumar was born on 11th December 1922 to Lala Ghulam Sarwar Khan, a fruit merchant, and Ayesha Begum.
He was born in his family home in Qissa Khawani Bazar in Peshawar, which was a North-Western Frontier Province in British India. He had five brothers and six sisters.
His father shifted from Peshawar to Nashik in Maharashtra during the 1930s. He completed his schooling in Deolali. He grew up in the same neighborhood as that of the great actor Raj Kapoor.
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Espousal of Dilip Kumar
In 1966, he married Saira Banu who was younger than him by 22 years. In 1981, he married Asma Shiba, a socialite, whom he had met during a cricket match in Hyderabad but divorced in a mere two years of marriage.
As stated to Wino News “Well, the one episode in my life that I would like to forget and which we, Saira, and I, have pushed into eternal oblivion is a grave mistake I made under the pressure of getting involved with a lady named Asma Rehman whom I had met at a cricket match in Hyderabad.”
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The Bollywood Journey Started By Dilip Kumar
At the age of 18, he fled to Poona after an argument with his father. At the Army Club, he started a sandwich stall. He went to Mumbai with INR 5000 after the contract ended.
Swashbuckling met Dr. Masani in 1942. He took him to Bombay Talkies to meet Devaki Rani, owner of Bombay Talkies.
Devaki Rani signed him up for Bombay Talkies for INR 1250/month. She suggested he embrace the name Dilip Kumar with the thought that a Hindu on-screen name would go well with the audience. He also accepted the same instead of offending his father, who never liked movies.
In 1944, Devaki Rani offered him the lead role in the movie “Jwar Bhata.” In 1949, he got his iconic movie Andaz, which was directed by Mehboob Khan.
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Dilip Kumar: The Star Was Born
Later he met Ashok Kumar, who advised him to act naturally. With the iconic movie Andaz, the next decade was booked by Dilip Kumar with one after another hit.
His movies such as Jogan (1950), Babul (1950), Hulchul (1951), Deedar (1951), Daag (1952), Shikast (1953), Amar (1954), Devdas (1955), Uran Khatola (1955), Insaniyat (1955), Naya Daur (1957), Madhumati (1958), Yahudi (1958) and Paigham (1959). During these years he was the first actor to charge INR one lakh per movie.
Most of these movies got him the title of Tragedy King, but they also affected his mental health and suffered from depression. His therapist advised him to opt for light-hearted roles too. With this advice, he took his first light-hearted role in Mehboob Khan’s big-budget movie Aan.
In 1960, he acted as Prince Salim in Mughal-e-Azam, which was the highest-grossing movie till 2010 if correction due to inflation is ignored. He acted in the only movie produced by him, Ganga Jamuna. During the 1960s, he also received an offer from David Lean for the role of “Sheriff Ali” in the movie Lawrence of Arabia.
His next movie in 1964 was Leader, which was an average-grossing movie. Later in 1966, Dil Diya Dard Liya was released followed by Ram Aur Shyam in 1967 in which he played a dual role. In 1968, he acted in Admi and Sungursh.
And The Downfall as an Actor of Dilip Kumar
In 1970, his movie Dastaan was a box office flop. Later he worked in Gopi with Saira Banu and then in Sagina Mahato. He played a triple role in Bairaag, which failed at the box office.
Though his performance in Bairaag and Gopi was critically acclaimed, he considered his performance better than Ram Aur Shyam.
Newcomers such as Rajesh Khanna and Sanjeev Kumar bagged the leading roles, leaving Dilip Kumar with no movie. He made a comeback in movies in the 1980s with Kranti which was a big hit followed by Vidhata by Subhash Ghai.
In 1984 he acted in Ramesh Sippy’s Shakti, Yash Chopra’s Mashaal, Duniya, and Dharm Adhikari.
He worked on some projects such as Saudagar, and Qila. He later joined politics as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament. Indian National Congress nominated him to represent Maharashtra.
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Fame Comes With Controversies
During his struggling years, he was hooked up with his co-star Kamini Kaushik. However, during the shooting of the movie Tarana, Kumar fell in love with Madhubala.
The relationship lasted for seven years till he testified against Madhubala and her father in the Naya Daur court case. The last film they worked on together was Mughal-e-Azam.
During his breakthrough years, he was linked with Vyjayanthimala as they were paired in most of the movies. But the truth is not known.
Net Worth of Dilip Kumar
As per reports, his net worth was $85 Million which is approximately INR 627 crores. He and his wife own a plush bungalow at Pali Hills, Bandra, and Mumbai. It is estimated to be INR 350 crores. His ancestral property in Peshawar is worth INR 81 lakhs.
Awards and Titles of Dilip Kumar
He was born in modern-day Pakistan. Pakistan bestowed him with Nishan-e-Imtiaz, which is the highest civilian award in Pakistan.
The Indian government gave him the second-highest civilian award of Padma Vibhushan. He was given the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest in the Film Industry.
He was honoured with an Honorary Position, as Sheriff of Mumbai in 1980. His name is recorded in Guinness World Records for getting the maximum number of awards by an Indian Actor.
Last Days and Death of Dilip Kumar
He was suffering from advanced prostate cancer. Fifteen days back, Dilip Kumar was admitted to the hospital. Dilip Kumar has been under treatment for the past three months. Dilip Kumar has water in the pleural cavity with kidney failure.
He even required blood transfusions. In the past few days, he was unresponsive. But he gave up his battle on 7th July 2021, leaving behind his widow, Saira Banu.
He has always been with his close family and friends throughout his life. Actors Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor were good friends too. With the demise of Dilip Kumar tragedy king of Bollywood, an era comes to an end. But this actor took the risk and made it whacking life as said in his movie Vidhata “
Bada admi banna ho, toh choti harkatein mat karna
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