Legendary actor Dilip Kumar breathed his last this morning (7th July) at 7.30 a.m. in the ICU of Hinduja Hospital, Khar, Bombay, where he had been admitted on 29th June for age-related issues. He was 98 years old and is survived by his wife, veteran actress Saira Banu. He will be buried at the Santacruz qabrastan today at 5 p.m. According to the Maharashtra chief minister’s office, the last rites will be performed with full state honours.
Dilip Kumar’s blood pressure and haemoglobin levels were falling, according to senior doctor of Hinduja Hospital, Jalil Parkar. The same doctor revealed that he had been given blood transfusion although it was difficult to get the blood since his blood group was O-negative. He had been discharged from the same hospital, a non-COVID facility, on 11th June after spending some days there for episodes of breathlessness.
To say that Dilip Kumar (real name Mohammed Yusuf Khan) was an extraordinary actor would be to state the obvious. He was, undoubtedly, an institution in himself, one of the best actors India has produced. To every performance of his, Dilip Kumar added that special something, making them noteworthy and, in the process, himself legendary. Whether it was Mughal-E-Azam, Devdas, Gunga Jumna, Madhumati, Aan, Daag, Azaad, Naya Daur, Shaheed, Mela, Kohinoor or Andaz, he gave his best to the roles he essayed in them, winning him crores of fans across the world. His double roles in Ram Aur Shyam are considered iconic even today when double roles, with the help of technology, are much easier to shoot. He was an absolute master at underplaying his characters. In his latter years, his well-known films were Karma, Kranti, Mashaal, Shakti, Vidhaata and Saudagar. His last film was Qila (1998).
If Dilip Kumar was known for his romantic roles, he was even more adept at playing tragic roles, winning him the title of tragedy king of Bollywood. He hated loud acting as much as he hated mediocrity. Perhaps, that’s why he has been an inspiration for almost every actor of Bollywood. His career spanned five generations, which itself was remarkable.
Your founder-editor, late Ramraj Nahta, had once said, “There are only two actors of the Hindi film screen who don’t need to utter even a word to prove that they are adored by the audience.” He had gone on to elaborate, “If Mehmood were to merely stand in front of the camera, the public would burst out laughing, such was his body of work. And if Dilip Kumar were to merely stand still, facing the camera, the audience would still clap for him, such was the intensity of his acting.”
Yusuf Khan was born in Peshawar (now in Pakistan). He grew in the same neighbourhood as Raj Kapoor who was, therefore, his childhood friend and who was to later become his colleague in the Hindi film industry. Dilip Kumar debuted in Bollywood with Jwar Bhata (1944) but neither the film nor his performance in it were talked about. He came to be noticed three years later in Jugnu (1947) which co-starred Noor Jehan. He became a star to reckon with with the 1949 hit, Andaz, co-starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis.
Dilip Kumar tried his hand at direction with Sudhakar Bokade’s Kalinga but the film has remained incomplete even 25 years after it was launched in 1996. Only last year, the incomplete film’s negative was taken over from Prime Focus by Bokade’s ex-wife, Sangeeta Ahir, with the intention of completing and releasing it.
The thespian is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Indian actor who won the maximum number of awards. He was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 2015. Prime minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “Dilip Kumar Ji will be remembered as a cinematic legend. He was blessed with unparalleled brilliance, due to which audiences across generations were enthralled. His passing away is a loss to our cultural world. Condolences to his family, friends and innumerable admirers. RIP.”
Indeed, an era has come to an end with the passing away of this cinema great whose health had given many an anxious moment to his immediate family as well as to his millions of fans several times during the last few years.