Dilip Kumar: Bollywood Icon and The Tragedy King

 

There are shooting stars that come and go some blaze brightly and then fade away, but Dilip Kumar was the brightest star, whose light never dimmed. The Last Emperor of Indian cinema, Dilip had once ruled the silver screen with his glamorous prominence as an unmatched giant. The ultimate method actor, Dilip chose his passions mindfully and chiseled them to exemplary standards. His versatility, incredible dialogue delivery and typical disarming smile made him the screen legend beyond his image of a ‘tragedy king’. There was aesthetic classical bliss in his acting and always worked to get under the skin of the character he was portraying. He had a flair for playing the tragic roles but also proved that he was second to none in comedic roles. The erudite and observant Dilip Kumar defined the modern artiste and how he can marry the didactic and the aesthetic schools. Dilip Kumar, a perfectionist, was the touchstone of acting and has inspired generations of actors.

His performances have been regarded as the epitome of emoting in Indian Cinema. Though he has done all kinds of films, he balanced a lightweight Shabnam (1949) with the intense Andaaz (1949), the ultra-serious Daag (1952) with the swashbuckling ebullient Jai of Aan (1952), and deep-in-the-cups melancholic Devdas (1955) with the entertainer Azaad (1955). His range of characters from being a revolutionary in ‘Sagina Mahato’ or Nehruvian socialist in ‘Leader’ to the underworld don in ‘Vidhata’, displayed a breadth mastered by few others.

Dilip Kumar was born as Muhhamad Yusuf Khan to Lala Ghulam Sarwar Khan and Ayesha Begum on 11 December 1922 in Doma Gali, Mohallah Khudadad, Kissa Khawani Bazaar, Peshawar (now Pakistan). His father was a wealthy fruit merchant, who owned fruit orchards in Peshawar and Deolali. Yusuf got his primary education from Prestigious Barnes School, Deolali. In the late 1930s, his family was relocated to Mumbai. As the World War-II was raging, their fruit business got adversely affected. Yusuf did his graduation from Khalsa College, Bombay and took up a job in Army Canteen, Deolali.

After some time, he had his own sandwich-stall in Wellingdon Club Pune. The stall became popular among the female members and they would fondly call him “Chico” (a lad in Spanish). Once, he made a fierce speech about India's freedom struggle. He was arrested and lodged in Yerwada Jail, Pune for one day.

In 1942, he was introduced to Devika Rani, the owner of Bombay Talkies, by Dr. Masani. She was awe-stricken with the sensitive face and expressive eyes of young Yusuf Khan. He was enrolled by Bombay Talkies as an apprentice with a three-year contract at Rs.500 per month. She considered Yusuf Khan too bland a name and rechristened him as Dilip Kumar, the name suggested by famous Hindi writer Bhagvati Charan Verma. He was launched as the second protagonist in their four-handkerchief melodrama ‘Jwar Bhata’ (1944) directed by Amiya Chakraborty. Dilip Kumar had a rough start and was derided as a ‘monkey’ by Baburao Patel of Film India.

His next film ‘Pratima’ (1945) also failed to click. He had shaky beginnings that eventually congealed into a luminous career through his determination. His third film 'Milan' (1946) fetched him popularity. However, his pairing with Noorjehan in ‘Jugnu’ (1947) created ripples and the film became a phenomenal hit. The box-office bonanza ‘Shaheed’ (1948) opposite Kamini Kaushal gave him a solid footing in Hindi filmdom. Another smash hit was ‘Mela’ (1948), a tale of star-crossed lovers whose destiny is molded by society’s rigid rules. The megahit ‘Andaz’ (1949) established him as a talented actor.

In the early 1950s, he developed a distinct acting style and films like Jogan, Aan, Babul, Deedar and Sangdil helped him to leap to the peak. In Jogan (1950), he played an atheist who lived for the moment and his cynicism collided with Nargis’s faith. ‘Footpath’ (1953), his first tryst with realistic cinema, was his truly memorable film where stark reality was mingled with thought-provoking romanticism. Devdas (1955) created a template for musical films based on tales of unrequited love. In Naya Daur (1957), he speaks for man versus machine, striking a blow for Nehruvian idealism and socialism in India. After Madhumati (1958), youth took to lurching with a Dilip Kumar gait, with sweaters tied around their necks.

He was the hapless Salim to the doomed, beauteous Anarkali (Madhubala) in 'Mughal-e-Azam' (1960). His performance as Salim has often been rated as among his best ever. The classic scene with a feather coming between their lips, which set a million imaginations on fire, was shot when both of them had completely stopped talking. Gunga Jumna (1961) is the poignancy of two brothers caught on opposite sides of the law, the lingering grip of feudal oppression in rural India, the struggle to reconcile family loyalty and revenge with the implacable law codes of the modern state. He gave a flawless performance and perhaps the greatest of his career. In Dil Diya Dard Liya (1966), a petered down Wuthering Heights, gave the battered lover’s role all the gravitas. Equally unforgettable is his double-role turn in Ram Aur Shyam (1967), where he played twin brothers separated-at-birth, a trope cemented firmly thereon, with great light-hearted gusto. He was absolutely brilliant displaying razor sharp comic timing.

Dilip Kumar took sabbatical after his triple role in ‘Bairag’ (1976). He staged a grand comeback after a six-year hiatus with Manoj Kumar's Kranti (1981). His larger than life author-backed role in Shakti (1982) confirmed his legendary status. In Saudagar (1991), he pulled it off effortlessly mixing memory with desire and comedy with anger. Dilip Kumar’s first and last directorial venture ‘Kalinga’ (1996) was his dream project. He was playing justice Kalinga in the movie, however, this film got shelved midway for unknown reasons. His last released film was ‘Qila’ (1998) that featured him in a double-role as an evil landlord Jagannath Singh and his twin judge Amarnath Singh, who is left to solve the murder of his brother.

He was branded as ‘the king of tragedy’ after his portrayal of a doomed lover in a chain of tragedy films like Mela (1948), Shaheed (1948), Andaaz (1949), Babul (1950), Jogan (1950), Deedar (1951), Daag (1952), Shikast (1953), Udan Khatola (1955) and Devdas (1955). He plunged into an ocean of depression and on the advice of a London based psychiatrist, he changed the template and switched over to humorous roles in films like Azad, Kohinoor, Leader, Ram and Shyam and Gopi.

Dilip Kumar turned down David Lean’s offer to act as second lead in 'Lawrence of Arabia' and also 20thCentury Fox’s offer of 'The Rains Came'. He declined to do Hindi films 'Baiju Bawra', 'Pyaasa', ‘Mother India’, 'Kaagaz Ke Phool', 'Dil Daulat Aur Duniya' and 'Naya Din Nayi Raat'. Some of his films like Shikwa, Chanakya Aur Chandragupta, Omer Khayyam, Sanam, Raasta, Asar and Kalinga were shelved.

Dilip Kumar, the perfectionist, learnt nuances of Sitar playing to enact song sequence 'Madhuban Mein Radhika Nache Re...' (Kohinoor), a true gem executed with such unabashed purism in Bollywood films. While Mohammad Rafi mostly gave playback to Dilip Kumar but Talat Mahmud’s voice brought out the ultimate romanticism in him in Babul, Arzoo, Daag, Tarana and Sangdil. Some legendary songs picturised on him include 'Tu Kahey Agar Jeevan Bhar' (Andaaz), 'Maan Mera Ehsan, Arey Nadan' (Aan), 'Suhana Safar Aur Yeh Mausam Hasin' (Madhumati); 'Udey Jab Jab Zulfein Ter' (Naya Daur); 'Do Sitaro Ka Zamin Par Hai Milan' (Kohinoor) and many more.

The suave performer known for his dedication, intensity and versatility had left behind a rich legacy of 62 films in a magnificent career graph that spanned five decades His fifteen movies celebrated golden jubilee runs, while eighteen films were silver jubilee hits. He demonstrated his script-writing talent in 'Leader' (1964) and narrated the destructive events in 'Dharmaputra' (1961).

Dilip Kumar formed a famous troika with his illustrious contemporaries Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand. In fact, Dilip and Dev used to wander around the local Bombay in search of work. Dev would embrace and wish him invariably on his birthday ‘Lale, you will live for a thousand years’. A good number of books on his life and times including his autobiography “Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow” (2014) have been written. He owned a blue Impala car with registration number 2424.

A graceful presence sans superficial gestures and a genuinely submissive attitude towards female beauty were unique to Dilip Kumar. The on-screen chemistry with his leading ladies produced sophisticated sensuousness. As a lover, he played a man who worships women; from Kamini Kaushal to Madhubala to Nutan with a deference bordering on the platonic. He worked with all the leading actresses of his era except Suraiya.

After marrying Saira and even before, there were some beauties in his life. Kamini Kaushal was indisputably his dream-girl, both had tremendous on-screen and off-screen chemistry. But a married Kamini Kaushal left him under family pressure. Then he found ‘Dil Ki Rani’ Madhubala. But their closeness did not find favour with her father Ataullah Khan, who tried to make the marriage proposal into a business venture. It was love at first sight for twelve year old Saira Banu. The Wedding bells rang for Dilip Kumar(44) and Saira Banu(25) on 11 October 1966. Dilip Kumar secretly married Asma Begum, a Pakistani-origin woman, on 30 May, 1981 and divorced her on 22 June, 1983 after this alliance emerged in the public domain.

Dilip Kumar became the first recipient of the Best Actor Filmfare Award for 'Daag' (1952). Subsequently, he won the black-lady for best actor in Azad (1955), Devdas (1956), Naya Daur (1957), Kohinoor (1960), Leader (1964) and Ram Aur Shyam (1967). He received NT Rama Rao Award for his valuable contribution to Indian cinema in 1997. Next year, he received Ramnath Goenka Award for contribution in the field of social welfare. Government of India honored him with Padma Bhushan in 1991 and Padma Vibhushan in 2015. He was felicitated with Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994. He created controversy by accepting Pakistan’s highest civil honour 'Nishan-e-Imtiaz' during the Kargil war in 1998. He was appointed as the Sheriff of Mumbai in 1980. He was nominated member of Rajya Sabha from 2000 to 2006.

Dilip Kumar was suffering from prostate cancer and breathed his last on July 7, 2021 in Mumbai.

 

A few leaves from his Diary:

He was temperamental, moody and even hypersensitive. Some events in his life were mere trifles, while others had made deep wounds.

"I am a small boy. I had gone to fetch milk for the house. I am walking home leisurely on the hot dusty street, lined with sprawling shops and crowded with people. Suddenly there is a commotion. There are shrieks and shouts. People are running in every direction, some stumble and fall. A mad dog is in the street. I panic and turn to run. The dog rushes out of the confused crowd and springs at me. I feel a sharp pain in my right arm. I drop the milk can and run home, crying. Blood is streaming from the bite just above my elbow. I have the mark of that wound to this day."

"An old lady's four strapping sons have been killed in a lorry smash-up. Relations are mourning for them up there in her house, I sneak in. The four gruesomely mangled bodies are laid on the ground. Beating of chests above, beating of chests below and the shrieking throng turns the night into a pandemonium of grief. It is a harrowing experience, etched deep into my child-consciousness."

"I am six or seven years of age. I am on my way home from my uncle’s shop at the Kabul Gate. There is a great commotion in the streets. I see uniformed figures with rifles scurrying everywhere, some on the roofs of shops. Before I recover from the shock, British soldiers arrive and start firing at the people. I take refuge under a low roof on the roadside, watching everything with fear-filled eyes. Suddenly a policeman pulls me out by the scruff of my neck and slaps me very hard. I fall, then pick myself up and run blindly home, shots and cries ringing in my ears."

“Kulsum is young and very beautiful. She is the daughter of a Turkish prisoner and a Deccani Muslim woman named Halima. Her father died long ago. She and her mother live in a hut near our house. She and I go out to mind her flock of goats. She teaches me to climb trees and pluck mangoes. We are great friends”.

“I am proud to call myself an Amiya Chakrabarty discovery. He gave me my much desired break in ‘Jwar Bhata’ (1944). For my first ever shot, I had to look intensely thinking, I was really confused, after ten takes Amiya canned the shot. He later worked very successfully with me in “Daag” in 1952, which earned me the title of tragedy king”.

 Alvida!!!!!!

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