Muhammad Yusuf Khan (born December 11, 1922), better known as Dilip Kumar, is an Indian
film actor, producer, screenwriter and activist, known for his work in Hindi cinema. Popularly
known as The Tragedy King and The First Khan, he has been credited with bringing realism
to film acting since his first film which was released in 1944.
Kumar debuted as an actor in the film Jwar Bhata (1944), produced by Bombay Talkies.
In a career spanning over six decades, Dilip Kumar worked in over 65 films. Kumar is known
for roles in films such as the romantic Andaz (1949), the heartwarming Babul (1950), the
impassioned Deedar (1951), the swashbuckling Aan (1952), social drama Daag (1952), the
dramatic Devdas (1955), the comical Azaad (1955), Naya Daur (1957), Yahudi (1958), Madhumati
(1958), Kohinoor (1960), the epic historical Mughal-e-Azam (1960), the social dacoit crime
drama Gunga Jamuna (1961), and the comedy Ram Aur Shyam (1967).
In 1976, Dilip Kumar took a five-year break from film performances and returned with a
character role in the film Kranti (1981) and continued his career playing leading roles
in films such as Shakti (1982), Karma (1986) and Saudagar (1991). His last film was Qila
(1998).He has won nine Filmfare Awards and is the first recipient of the Filmfare Best
Actor Award (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.
He married actress Saira Bano, who is 22 years younger than him. He and his wife currently
live in Bandra, Mumbai.
== Early life == Kumar was born Mohammad Yusuf Khan to Ayesha
Begum & Lala Ghulam Sarwar Ali Khan in a Muslim Hindko-speaking Awan family of 12 children
on 11 December 1922 at home in the Qissa Khawani Bazaar area of Peshawar, British India (modern-day
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan). His father was a landlord and fruit merchant who owned
orchards in Peshawar and Deolali. Mohammad Yusuf Khan was schooled at Barnes School,
Deolali, Nashik. He grew up in the same religiously mixed neighbourhood as Raj Kapoor, his childhood
friend.In 1940, while still in his teens and after an altercation with his father, Mohammad
Yusuf Khan left home for Poona (Pune, Maharashtra). With the help of a Parsi café-owner and an
elderly Anglo-Indian couple, Kumar met a canteen contractor. Without letting on his family
antecedents, he got the job on the merit of his knowledge of good written and spoken English.
He set up a sandwich stall at the army club and when the contract ended, he headed home
to Mumbai, having saved Rs. 5000.In 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. 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".
He also met Sashadhar Mukherjee, and both of these people became close to Kumar over
the years. Initially, Kumar helped out in the story-writing and 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 (1944), which marked Kumar's
entry into the Hindi film industry.
== Career ==
=== 1940s ===
Dilip Kumar's first film was Jwar Bhata in 1944, which went unnoticed. After a few more
unsuccessful films, it was Jugnu (1947), in which he starred alongside Noor Jehan, that
became his first major hit at the box office. His next major hits were the 1948 films Shaheed
and Mela. He got his breakthrough role in 1949 with Mehboob Khan's Andaz, in which he
starred alongside Raj Kapoor and Nargis. Shabnam also released that year was another box office
hit
=== 1950s ===
Kumar went on to have success in the 1950s playing leading roles in several box office
hits such as Jogan (1950), Babul (1950), Hulchul, (1951), Deedar (1951), Daag (1952), Shikast
(1953), Amar (1954), Uran Khatola (1955), Insaniyat (1955) in which he co-starred with
Dev Anand, Devdas (1955), Naya Daur (1957), Yahudi (1958), Madhumati (1958) and Paigham
(1959). These films established his screen image as the "Tragedy King". Kumar 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
Aan. This marked his first 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 (1955), and as a royal prince in the romantic musical
Kohinoor (1960)He was the first actor to win the Filmfare Best Actor Award (for Daag) and
went on to win it a further seven times. He formed popular on-screen pairings with many
of the top actresses at the time including Madhubala, Vyjayanthimala, Nargis, Nimmi,
Meena Kumari and Kamini Kaushal. 9 of his films in the 1950s were ranked in the Top
30 highest-grossing films of the decade.In the 1950s, Dilip Kumar became the first actor
to charge ₹1 lakh (equivalent to ₹75 lakh or US$100,000 in 2017) per film.
=== 1960s === 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 and later
by the 1975 film Sholay. If adjusted for inflation, Mughal-e-Azam was the highest-grossing Indian
film through to the early 2010s, equivalent to over ₹1000 crore in 2011.The film told
the story of Prince Salim, who revolts against his father Akbar (played by Prithviraj Kapoor),
and falls in love with a courtesan (played by Madhubala). The film was mostly shot in
black and white, with only some scenes in the latter half of the film shot in colour.
44 years after its original release, it was fully colourised and re-released in 2004.
In 1961, Kumar produced and starred in Ganga Jamuna opposite his frequent leading lady
Vyjayanthimala and his brother Nasir Khan, this was the only film he produced. In 1962
British director David Lean offered him the role of "Sherif Ali" in his film Lawrence
of Arabia (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". His next film Leader (1964) was a below average grosser at the box office.
He was the co-director alongside Abdul Rashid Kardar of his next release Dil Diya Dard Liya
in 1966, but was uncredited as director. In 1967, Kumar played a dual role of twins separated
at birth in the hit film Ram Aur Shyam. In 1968, he starred alongside Manoj Kumar and
Waheeda Rehman in Aadmi. That same year he starred in Sangharsh with Sanjeev Kumar.
=== 1970s === Kumar's career slumped in the 1970s with films
like Dastaan (1972) failing at the box office. He starred alongside his real-life wife Saira
Banu in Gopi (1970) which was success. They were paired again in his first and only Bengali
language film Sagina Mahato (1970). A Hindi remake Sagina was made in 1974 with the same
cast. He played triple roles as a father and his twin sons in Bairaag (1976) which failed
to do well at the box office. He 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
and Gopi were critically acclaimed, he lost many film offers to act in leading roles to
actors Rajesh Khanna and Sanjeev Kumar, from 1968 to 1987. He took a five-year hiatus from
films from 1976 to 1981.
=== 1980s === In 1981, he 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 and Shatrughan Sinha, he played the title role as a revolutionary
fighting for India's independence from British rule. He then successfully collaborated with
director Subhash Ghai starting with Vidhaata (1982), in which he starred alongside Sanjay
Dutt, Sanjeev Kumar and Shammi Kapoor. Later that year he starred alongside Amitabh Bachchan
in Ramesh Sippy's Shakti which was only a below average grosser at the box office, but
won him critical acclaim and his eighth and final Filmfare Award for Best Actor. In 1984,
he starred in Yash Chopra's social crime drama Mashaal opposite Anil Kapoor which failed
at the box office but his performance was critically acclaimed. He also appeared alongside
Rishi Kapoor in Duniya (1984) and Jeetendra in Dharm Adhikari (1986).
His second collaboration with Subhash Ghai came with the 1986 ensemble action film Karma.
Karma marked the first film which paired him opposite fellow veteran actress Nutan. Three
decades earlier however, they were paired together in an incomplete and unreleased film
titled Shikwa. He acted opposite Nutan again in the 1989 film Kanoon Apna Apna.
=== 1990s === In 1991, Kumar starred alongside fellow veteran
actor Raaj Kumar in Saudagar, his third and last film with director Subhash Ghai. This
was his second film with Raaj Kumar after 1959's Paigham. Saudagar was Kumar's last
box office success. In 1993, he won the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution
to the industry for five decades. In 1992, producer Sudhakar Bokade announced
a film titled Kalinga which would officially mark Kumar's directorial debut after he had
allegedly previously ghost directed Ganga Jamuna (1961) and Dil Diya Dard Liya (1967).
Kumar was also set to star in the title role with the cast including Raj Babbar, Raj Kiran,
Amitoj Mann and Meenakshi Seshadri. After being delayed for several years, Kalinga was
eventually left incomplete and shelved.In 1998, he made his last film appearance in
the box office flop Qila, where he played dual roles as an evil landowner who is murdered
and as his twin brother who tries to solve the mystery of his death.
=== 2000s-present === In 2001, he was set to appear in a film titled
Asar — The Impact alongside Ajay Devgan, which was shelved. His classic films Mughal-e-Azam
and Naya Daur were fully colourised and re-released in cinemas in 2004 and 2008 respectively.
An unreleased film he had shot and completed in 1990 titled Aag Ka Dariya was set for a
theatrical release in 2013 but has not been released to date.
== Public life ==
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 2000–2006.Kumar launched his
Twitter account and his first tweet was on his 89th birthday in 2011.
== Personal life == Dilip Kumar had fallen in love with Madhubala
during the shooting of Tarana. They remained in a relationship for seven years until the
Naya Daur court case happened in which Dilip Kumar stood by the Chopras who had given evidence
against Madhubala and her father, thus ended his relationship with Madhubala. They never
worked together after the release of Mughal-e-Azam (1960). Madhubala died from a heart disease
in 1969. Dilip Kumar married actress Saira Banu in 1966, who was 22 years younger to
him. He married a second time in 1981 to Hyderabad socialite Asma Sahiba, but the marriage ended
in January 1983. Dilip Kumar does not have any children. He is fluent in Urdu, Hindi,
Hindko (his first language), Bhojpuri, English, Bengali, Pashto, and Farsi.
== Humanitarian work == Kumar has been involved with number of charitable
and social initiatives. He planned and conceptualised the famous Jogger's Park in Bandra, along
with Sunil Dutt and Oliver Andrade. Kumar used his good offices to get the necessary
clearances from the Maharashtra Government for the establishment of this public park.
Kumar donated a significant portion of his MPLAD fund towards the construction and improvement
of the Bandstand Promenande and the gardens at Bandra Fort at Lands End in Bandra.
== Actors launched in Hindi Film Industry by Dilip Kumar ==
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
== Awards ==
Dilip Kumar is widely considered 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 10 Filmfare Awards for
Best Actor and One Lifetime Achievement for Filmfare Also for Special Recognition FilmFare
Award for recognising him as one first recipients to receive a Filmfare Award along with the
nightingale of India Lata Mangeshkar and one of the greatest Hindi Music Directors Naushad
Ali at the 50th Filmfare Award Ceremony and along with 19 nominations at Filmfare for
best actor. He was honoured with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. Gunga
Jumna (1961), which he wrote, produced, and starred in, also received the National Film
Award for Second Best Feature Film in Hindi, the Paul Revere Silver Bowl at the Boston
International Film Festival, the Special Honour Diploma from the Czechoslovak Academy of Arts
in Prague, and the Special Prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Kumar was appointed Sheriff of Mumbai (an honorary position) in 1980, the Government
of India honoured Kumar with the Padma Bhushan in 1991, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994
and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015. The Government of Andhra Pradesh honoured Kumar with NTR
National Award in 1997. The Government of Pakistan conferred Kumar with Nishan-e-Imtiaz,
the highest civilian award in Pakistan, in 1998. The ruling political party of Shiv Sena
in Maharashtra had objected to this award and questioned Kumar's patriotism. However,
in 1999 in consultation with the then Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Kumar
retained the award. He was honoured with CNN-IBN Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.
== Recognition by Government of India == The Government of India honoured him with:
2015 - India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, for his contributions
towards Indian cinema 2000-2006 - Elected to Rajya Sabha, the upper
house of Indian Parliament. 1994 - Dadasaheb Phalke Award
1991 - India's third highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, for his contributions towards
Indian cinema 1979-1982 - Appointed as the Sheriff of Bombay
by the Governor of Maharashtra, India for the period
== Recognition by Government of Pakistan ==
1998 - The Government of Pakistan honoured him with its highest civilian honour, the
Nishan-e-Imtiaz.
== Autobiography == Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow
as narrated to Udayatara Nayar was published in 2014 by Hay House Publishers (India) Pvt.
ltd.
== Filmography ==
Films that garnered Dilip the most recognition or awards include:
== See also == Aziz Mian