 One
of the greatest actors ever to grace the Indian silver screen... Dilip
Kumar was a name to reckon with in the Hindi tinsel world in the 50's
and 60's. His unique style of acting has inspired many upcoming actors
and hopefuls but none have even remotely been able to match his natural,
one and only style.Dilip aka Yusuf Khan was born in Peshawar (now Pakistan)
in 1922 in a Pathan Family of 12 children. His father who was a fruit
merchant later moved to Mumbai in Maharashtra and set up business there.
A small tiff with his father made young Yusuf run away
to Pune. There he started to work in a British Army canteen and later
having saved some amount, set up his own fruit stall. As far as his interest
in art goes, even from a young age Yusuf was fond of gazals and was himself
a good singer and sitar player never knowing that later, he was to render
his voice in a Hrishida film.
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Comments
about Dilipkumar |
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Surely he is one of the legendary actors in India |
By:
Pradeep | Sep 22, 2008 11:14:27 AM
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In the 40's Yusuf was initiated to the world of films by the
leading actress of those days Devika Rani, who was also the proprietor of the
famous studio Bombay Talkies. Yusuf who was re-christened Dilip Kumar by a famed
Hindi novelist made his debut in their film 'Jwar Bhatta' in 1944. He became
successful as a hero opposite singing actress Noorjehan in the film 'Jugnu'
(1947)..next came 'Mela' (1948) in which he played the doomed lover and then
Mahboob Khan's 'Andaz' (1949) a love triangle opposite superstars Nargis and
Raj Kapoor which became a big hit and elevated him to a super star level.
The next three years saw him in tragic roles very similar
to his role in Mela in films like Babul (1950), Arzoo (1950), Jogan(1950), Deedar(1951),
Udan Khatola (1955) and Bimal Roy's super hit Devdas. The release of a number
of tragic films earned him the title of the 'Tragedy King' initially. With his
naturalistic emoting conveyed through changing expressions and a well modulated
voice he gave a new meaning to Hindi films and became a role model to young
aspirants as well as established ones. However, pain-soaked roles took its toll
on the actor's psyche, which reportedly made him seek psychological counselling..
50's and part of 60's saw his prime time along with Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand
and earned him Filmfare awards for best actor for Daag in 1953 and consecutively
for Azad (1955), Devdas (1956), Naya Daur (1957) etc. His other successful film
during this time were Mughal- e- Azam (1960), Madhumati, Ganga Jamuna (1961)
which saw one of the best performances in his career and Ram aur Shyam (1967).
In between, his continuous tragic roles gave a high handedness
to his characters that he consciously tried to break free of his image and began
to accept more light hearted films in which also he excelled. His versatility
shown through in films like Ganga Jamuna and the comedy Ram Aur Shyam, two of
the best roles in his career, where in the latter playing a double role his
comical brilliance was displayed.
 On
the personal front, Dilip the star was linked with a number of actresses like
Kamini Kaushal, Madhubala, Vyjayanti Mala Bali but he never settled down until
late at the age of 44 he married the lovely young Saira Bano. He created quite
a sensation in those days by marrying her, an actress half his age. Much later
he created quite a similar stir by getting married a second time to Asma while
still very much married to Saira. But his second marriage was a short lived
one.
After Ram Aur Shyam, his career suffered a drawback in the
70's. No other film clicked at the box office and Dilip reduced work to one
or two films at a time. By the end of 70's he took a complete break from films
for some years. He became involved in various other interests like literature,
theatre and comparative religions. But he made a triumphant return to Hindi
cinema in the 1980s when Amitabh dominated the scene, with meaty roles in two
big hits, Manoj Kumar's 'Kranti' (1981) and Ramesh Sippy's 'Shakti' (1982) in
which the latter earned him yet another Filmfare award. Then came Subhash Ghai's
Vidhaata, Karma and then Saudagar as late as in 1991which were equally successful.
This living legend of Indian Cinema has been honoured with
the Filmfare Lifetime achievement award in1993 and the Prestigious Dada Saheb
Phalke award in 1995 for his contributions. In a career spanning over five decades
this veteran actor with his fine performances has found a place in the world
of Hindi films that few could vie for, though he retains that his first love
was never cinema but soccer. The aging actor now leads a retired life but his
charisma lingers..
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