Dilip Kumar | |
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 Kumar in 2011 | |
| Born | Muhammad Yusuf Khan (1922-12-11)11 December 1922 |
| Died | 7 July 2021(2021-07-07) (aged 98) Mumbai,Maharashtra, India |
| Resting place | Juhu Qabrastan, Mumbai[2] |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1944–1998 |
| Works | Full list |
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) |
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| Member of Parliament,Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 3 April 2000 – 2 April 2006 | |
| Constituency | Maharashtra |
| Signature | |
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Muhammad Yusuf Khan (11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), known professionally asDilip Kumar, was an Indian actor and film producer best known for his work inHindi cinema. Credited with pioneeringmethod acting in cinema,[3] he dominated Hindi cinema from the 1950s throughout the 1960s and is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history ofIndian Cinema.
In a career spanning over five decades, Kumar worked in57 films.[4] He debuted as an actor in the filmJwar Bhata (1944), produced byBombay Talkies. Following a series of unsuccessful ventures, he had his first box office hit inJugnu (1947). He consistently starred in top–grossing Indian films from the late-1940s to the 1960s, such asShaheed,Andaz,Babul,Deedar,Aan,Uran Khatola,Insaniyat,Azaad,Naya Daur,Madhumati,Paigham,Kohinoor,Mughal-E-Azam,Gunga Jumna andRam Aur Shyam.[5] Some of his most acclaimed performances, includeNadiya Ke Paar,Shabnam,Jogan,Tarana,Daag,Sangdil,Shikast,Footpath,Amar,Devdas,Musafir,Yahudi,Leader,Aadmi andSunghursh.[6]
The 1970s saw Kumar's career take a downturn, with only one major success,Gopi (1970).[5][7] In 1976, he went on a brief hiatus from film performances and returned with the revolutionary dramaKranti (1981), which was the highest-grossing Indian film of the year.[8] He continued to play leading roles in films such asVidhaata (1982),Karma (1986), andSaudagar (1991). His last on-screen appearance was in the commercially unsuccessfulQila (1998), which saw him in a dual role. Kumar later served as a member of theRajya Sabha, the upper house of India's parliament, from 2000 to 2006.
Kumar's personal life was the subject of much media attention, however, he himself had largely avoided media limelight and endorsements.[9] He was in a long-term relationship with actress and frequent co-starMadhubala that ended after theNaya Daur court case in 1957. He married actressSaira Banu in 1966 and resided inBandra, a suburb ofMumbai, until his death in 2021. For his contributions to film, theGovernment of India awarded him with thePadma Bhushan in 1991 and thePadma Vibhushan in 2015, the country's third and second-highest civilian awards respectively. He was also awarded India's highest accolade in the field of cinema, theDadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994. In 1998, theGovernment of Pakistan conferred Kumar withNishan-e-Imtiaz, their highest civilian decoration, making him the only Indian to have received the honour. Thehouse that Kumar grew up in, located inPeshawar, was declared a national heritage monument in 2014 by the Pakistani government.
Dilip Kumar was born Muhammad Yusuf Khan[10][11][12] on 11 December 1922, into anAwanHindkowan family athis family home in theQissa Khawani Bazaar neighbourhood ofPeshawar, a city in theNorth-West Frontier Province ofBritish India.[13][14] He was one of the twelve children of Lala Ghulam Sarwar Ali Khan (1890–1950) and his wife Ayesha Begum (1897–1948). His father was a fruit merchant.[15]
Khan studied at theBarnes School inDeolali (now inMaharashtra), where his father owned orchards.[16][13] He grew up in the same neighbourhood in Peshawar asRaj Kapoor, his childhood friend, and later his colleague in thefilm industry.[17] In 1940, he moved to Pune and set up a dry fruit supply shop and a canteen.[13] Despite hailing from Peshawar, Khan's family decided to remain in Bombay following thePartition of India in 1947.[18]
Khan never acted under his birth name, debuting inJwar Bhata in 1944 under thestage name Dilip Kumar. In his autobiography,Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow, he wrote that the name was a suggestion fromDevika Rani, who was one of the producers onJwar Bhata.[19] In an interview in 1970, he said that he adopted this name out of fear of his father, who never approved of his acting career because of the general poor image of cinema back then.[20][21]
Kumar's first film wasJwar Bhata in 1944, which went unnoticed. After two more unsuccessful films, it was his fourth filmJugnu (1947), in which he starred alongsideNoor Jehan, that became his first major hit at the box office.[4][13][22] His next major hits were the 1948 filmsShaheed andMela.[23] BothJugnu andShaheed were the highest grossing Hindi films of their respective year of release.[22][24]
He got his breakthrough role as an actor in 1949 withMehboob Khan'sAndaz, in which he starred alongsideRaj Kapoor andNargis. At the time of its release,Andaz was thehighest-grossing Indian film ever, until its record was broken by Kapoor'sBarsaat that same year.[25]Shabnam was another box office hit that was also released in 1949.[22]
The 1950s was Kumar's most successful and prolific decade with him playing leading roles in several box office hits such asJogan (1950),Babul (1950),Deedar (1951),Tarana (1951),Daag (1952),Aan (1952),Uran Khatola (1955),Insaniyat (1955),Devdas (1955),Naya Daur (1957),Yahudi (1958),Madhumati (1958) andPaigham (1959).[26] He formed popular on-screen pairings with many of the top actresses at the time includingVyjayanthimala,Madhubala,Nargis,Nimmi,Meena Kumari andKamini Kaushal.[27] Together with fellow contemporariesRaj Kapoor andDev Anand, he dominated the 1950s which is considered a part of the golden era of Hindi cinema. Though the three did not appear in any one film together, Kumar did appear with Raj Kapoor inAndaz (1949) and Dev Anand inInsaniyat (1955).[28]
Several of his films established his screen image as the "Tragedy King".[29] Kumar briefly suffered from depression due to portraying many tragic roles and on the advice of his psychiatrist, he also took on light-hearted roles.[30]Mehboob Khan's big-budget 1952 swashbuckling musicalAan featured him in one of his first lighter roles[31] and marked his first film to be shot intechnicolor.Aan was the first Indian film to have a wide release across Europe with a lavish premiere in London.[32]Aan was the highest-grossing Indian film ever at the time, domestically[33] and overseas.[34] He had further success with lighter roles as a thief in the hit comedyAzaad (1955). In 1957, he appeared in the third segment of theanthology filmMusafir, which was the directorial debut ofHrishikesh Mukherjee. He also did playback singing for a song in the film withLata Mangeshkar.[35]
By this time, he had developed his distinct, signature style of understated acting of mumbling his dialogues while giving myriad expressions and meanings to lines that his characters uttered.[36][37]
He was the first actor to win theFilmfare Best Actor Award (forDaag) and went on to win it a further seven times.[38][39] 9 of his 21 films in the 1950s were ranked in the Top 30 highest-grossing films of the decade.[40]
In the 1950s, Kumar became the first Indian actor to charge 1.5 lakh per film.(equal to 60 cr or above of 2024)[41]
In 1960, he portrayedPrince Salim inK. Asif's big-budget epichistorical filmMughal-e-Azam, which was thehighest-grossing film in Indian film history for 15 years until it was surpassed by the 1975 filmSholay.
Mughal-e-Azam was in the making for over a decade and was originally shot in black and white, with only two songs and the climax scenes shot in colour. 44 years after its original release, it was fullycolourised and theatrically re-released in 2004 and was once again a box office success.[42][43] That same year he played another lighter role in the musical comedyKohinoor which was also among the highest grossers of the year.[29]
In 1961, Kumar wrote, produced, and starred in the dacoit dramaGanga Jamuna opposite his brotherNasir Khan, playing the title roles. Kumar produced the film under his production companyCitizen Films and despite it being the highest-grossing film of the year, it would be the only film he produced. Though the directing credit went to the veteran directorNitin Bose, it was rumoured that Kumar had ghost directed the film as well as being involved in every aspect of its production. He chose the shade of saree that his co-starVyjayanthimala would wear in every scene. The film received theNational Film Award forSecond Best Feature Film in Hindi, thePaul Revere Silver Bowl at theBoston International Film Festival, the Special Honour Diploma from theCzechoslovak Academy of Arts inPrague, and the Special Prize at theKarlovy Vary International Film Festival.[44]
In 1962, British directorDavid Lean offered him the role of "Sherif Ali" in his filmLawrence of Arabia (1962), but Kumar declined to perform in the movie.[45] The role eventually went toOmar Sharif, the Egyptian actor. Kumar commented in his much later released autobiography, "he thought Omar Sharif had played the role far better than he himself could have".[46] Kumar was also being considered for a leading role oppositeElizabeth Taylor in a film that Lean was working on calledTaj Mahal, before the project was cancelled.[47]
After a three-year hiatus, he returned in 1964 with his next filmLeader, which underperformed at the box office and ended up being only an average grosser. Kumar was also credited with writing the story of this film.[48] His next filmDil Diya Dard Liya (1966), oppositeWaheeda Rehman was a box office flop. It was rumoured that he had ghost directed the film but the final credit was given toAbdul Rashid Kardar.[49]
That same year, he made his debut inBengali cinema with a guest appearance inPaari, which starredDharmendra in the lead role.[50] In 1967, Kumar played adual role oftwins separated at birth in the hit filmRam Aur Shyam.[51] In 1968, he starred alongsideManoj Kumar inAadmi and oppositeSanjeev Kumar andBalraj Sahni inSunghursh, which were both average grossers at the box office.[52][53]
In 1970, Kumar played the title role in the Bengali filmSagina Mahato, which marked his first onscreen pairing with his wife Saira Banu.[54] In the same year, he starred alongside Banu again inGopi, which was a box office success. In 1972, he once again played dual roles as twin brothers inDastaan, which was a box office flop and began a decline in Kumar's career as a leading man. A Hindi remake ofSagina Mahato, simply titledSagina was made in 1974 with both Kumar and Banu reprising their roles which also failed to do well at the box office. In 1976, he played triple roles as a father and twin sons inBairaag. Though his performance in triple roles was acclaimed, the film was his third consecutive failure at the box office.[55][56] He personally regardedM. G. Ramachandran's performance inEnga Veettu Pillai better than his role inRam Aur Shyam. He regards his performance inBairaag much higher than that ofRam Aur Shyam. The rise of actors likeRajesh Khanna,Amitabh Bachchan andSanjeev Kumar led to Kumar losing film offers from 1970 to 1980. He took a five-year hiatus from films from 1976 to 1981.[57]
In 1981, he returned to films, reinventing himself in elderly character roles. His comeback film was the star-studded historical epicKranti which was the biggest hit of the year.[58] Appearing alongside an ensemble cast includingManoj Kumar,Shashi Kapoor,Hema Malini andShatrughan Sinha, he played the title role as revolutionary fighting for India's independence from British rule.[59] In the post-Kranti phase, Kumar reinvented himself to play the "Angry Old Man"[60] In 1982, he collaborated with directorSubhash Ghai for the first time withVidhaata, in which he starred alongsideSanjay Dutt,Sanjeev Kumar andShammi Kapoor.Vidhaata was the highest-grossing film of the year. Later that year he starred alongsideAmitabh Bachchan inRamesh Sippy'sShakti, which was an average grosser at the box office, but won him critical acclaim and his eighth and final Filmfare Award for Best Actor.[61] In 1984, he starred inYash Chopra's social crime dramaMashaal oppositeAnil Kapoor, which failed at the box office, but his performance was critically acclaimed.[62] He also appeared alongsideRishi Kapoor inDuniya (1984) andJeetendra inDharm Adhikari (1986).[63][64]
His second collaboration with Subhash Ghai came with the 1986 ensemble action filmKarma.Karma marked the first film which paired him opposite fellow veteran actressNutan, although they were previously paired in an incomplete and unreleased film in the 1950s titledShikwa.[59][65][66] He acted opposite Nutan again in the 1989 action filmKanoon Apna Apna which also reunited him with Sanjay Dutt.[67]
In 1990, he co-starred withGovinda in the action thrillerIzzatdaar. In 1991, Kumar starred alongside fellow veteran actorRaaj Kumar inSaudagar, his third and last film with director Subhash Ghai. This was his second film with Raaj Kumar after 1959'sPaigham.Saudagar was to be Kumar's penultimate film and last box office success.[68] In 1994, he won theFilmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the industry.[69]
In 1991, producerSudhakar Bokade who had previously worked with Kumar inIzzatdaar announced a film titledKalinga which would officially mark Kumar's directorial debut after he had allegedly previously ghost-directedGanga Jamuna (1961) andDil Diya Dard Liya (1967).[70] Kumar was also set to star in the title role with the cast includingRaj Babbar,Raj Kiran,Amitoj Mann andMeenakshi Seshadri. After being delayed for several years,Kalinga was eventually shelved with only 70% filming completed.[71][72]
In 1998, Kumar made his last film appearance in the box office flopQila, 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.[73][74]
In 2001, Kumar was set to appear in a film titledAsar – The Impact alongsideAjay Devgan andPriyanka Chopra, which was shelved due to Kumar's declining health.[75] He was also set to appear inSubhash Ghai's war filmMother Land, alongsideAmitabh Bachchan andShah Rukh Khan, but this film was shelved after Khan decided to leave the project.[76]
His classic filmsMughal-e-Azam andNaya Daur were fully colourised and re-released in cinemas in 2004 and 2008 respectively.[77] An unreleased film he had shot and completed titledAag Ka Dariya was set for a theatrical release in 2013 but has not been released to date.[78]
Kumar was a member of theRajya Sabha, the upper house of India's parliament, from 2000 to 2006.[79] He was nominated by theIndian National Congress to representMaharashtra.[80][81] Kumar utilised a significant portion of hisMPLADS fund towards the construction and improvement of the Bandstand Promenade and the gardens at Bandra Fort at Lands End in Bandra.[82]
Kumar andMadhubala were drawn to each other during the shooting ofTarana (1951). They were in a relationship for seven years until theNaya Daur court case, during which Kumar testified against Madhubala and her father, ending their relationship.[83] They never worked together again afterMughal-e-Azam (1960).[84] Kumar later expressed in his autobiography, "Was I in love with Madhubala as the newspapers and magazines reported at that time? As an answer to this oft-repeated question straight from the horse's mouth, I must admit that I was attracted to her both as a fine co-star and as a person who had some of the attributes I hoped to find in a woman at that age and time...She, as I said earlier, was very sprightly and vivacious and, as such, she could draw me out of my shyness and reticence effortlessly."[85] However, Kumar shared in his biography that contrary to popular notion, Madhubala's father Ataullah Khan wasn't opposed to their match but instead, wanted to turn this marriage into a business venture which did not land well with him.[86]
In the late 1950s,Vyjayanthimala was linked by gossip magazines to Kumar, who has acted with her the most compared to any other actress, which resulted in great on-screen chemistry between them. While working for his home productionGunga Jumna (1961), Kumar reportedly handpicked the shade ofsari that Vyjayanthimala would wear in every scene.[87]
In 1966, Kumar married actressSaira Banu, who was 22 years younger than him. He later marriedHyderabad socialite Asma Rahman, taking her as a second wife in 1981.[88][89] That marriage ended in January 1983.[90] Banu and he lived inBandra. They did not have any children. In his autobiography,Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow, he revealed that Banu had conceived in 1972, but developed complications in the pregnancy, leading to a miscarriage. Following this, they did not try to have children again, believing it to be God's will.[91][92]
Kumar was fluent in his nativeHindko, in his later years aiming to establish a Hindko Academy in Peshawar in order to safeguard the language,[93] as well asUrdu,Hindi,English,Punjabi,Marathi,Pashto andFarsi. He was also a great music enthusiast and also learnt how to play thesitar for a film.[94] He loved cricket and played it often.[95] He led a cricket team againstRaj Kapoor in a friendly cricket match held for charity.[96] Both growing up inPeshawar and inBombay, Dilip Kumar and his family had a close relationship with theKapoor family.[97]
His younger brotherNasir Khan (1924–1974) was also a noted film actor.[98] Two of his younger brothers, Aslam Khan (1932 - 2020) and Ehsan Khan (1930 - 2020), died after testing positive forCOVID-19 in 2020, within a space of two weeks.[99][100]
Kumar died atHinduja Hospital, Mumbai, on 7 July 2021 at 7:30 am, aged 98,[101][102][103] after a prolonged illness. He had been suffering from several age-related issues and was diagnosed withpleural effusion.[104][105] TheGovernment of Maharashtra approved his burial with state honours underCOVID-19 restrictions at the Juhu Muslim Cemetery that same day.[106][107]
Expressing their condolences,Prime MinisterNarendra Modi stated in a tweet that Kumar would be remembered as a cinematic legend, while thePresident,Ram Nath Kovind, stated that "he was loved across the subcontinent".[102] ThePrime Minister of Pakistan,Imran Khan, also expressed condolences for his death and remembered his efforts in raising funds for theShaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in a tweet.[108] and the formerPresident of Afghanistan,Hamid Karzai also expressed condolences to Kumar and his family.
Kumar is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history ofIndian cinema,[109] andcinema in general.[110] Kumar was a pioneer ofmethod acting, predating Hollywood method actors such asMarlon Brando. He inspired many greatIndian cinema actors from contemporaries likeBalraj Sahni to succeeding generations of artists, includingRajendra Kumar,Manoj Kumar,Dharmendra,Amitabh Bachchan,Shah Rukh Khan,Kamal Haasan,Mammootty,Aamir Khan andNaseeruddin Shah among others.[3] Kumar, who pioneered his own form of method acting without any acting school experience,[111] was described as "the ultimate method actor" by renowned filmmakerSatyajit Ray.[112]
A part of the "Trinity – The Golden Trio" (along withRaj Kapoor andDev Anand),[113] Kumar was popularly referred to as "Abhinay Samrat" (Hindi for "Emperor of Acting") by the audience.[114] He was also dubbed in the media as "Tragedy King" because of the acclaimed dramatic roles he took early in his career and is also retrospectively known as "The First Khan" of Bollywood.[17] Other than these, of recent, he is often referred in the media as "The Kohinoor of Indian cinema".[115] Kumar was the biggest Indian star of the 1950s and 1960s era,[116][117] a national icon and the country's highest paid actor during this period.[118] His prolific period as a leading artist coincides with what retrospectively came to be known as the "Golden Age of Hindi cinema", with him playing a key role in its legacy.[119] Film historianMaithili Rao states, "He towered like a mountain in the middle of Hindi film history, obscuring his predecessors and dwarfing his contemporaries."[120]
He is retrospectively recognised as "The First Superstar of Indian cinema".[121] He became one of the earliest and most revered stars in the history of Indian cinema having legions of fans across thesubcontinent and among theSouth Asian diaspora worldwide.[122] In 2013, on the occasion of the centenary of Indian cinema, he was declared the "Biggest superstar of all time" byFilmfare in its poll of the same title.[123]
As of 2020, he is by far, the most successfulBollywood star of all time with over 80% box-office successes and numerous gross records.[124] Kumar appeared inBox Office India's "Top Actors" list nineteen times from 1947 to 1965. He topped the list sixteen times (1948–1963).[125] Trade analysts have acknowledged that many of his films were commercially successful despite their heavy theme and non-commercial nature because the masses gathered incinemas acrossIndia only to see him act, a unique feat as anything such hasn't happened with any other actor. This had been particularly apparent in the late 1940s and early 1950s, a period in which he got the title of "Tragedy King" inmedia outlets.[5] In the review of the last film of his initial phase, the 1976 musicalBairaag,The Hindu, remarked, "For more than 25 years Dilip Kumar was the king at the box office. His name was almost a guarantee of success not only at the time of the release of the film but even in re-runs his films made more money than fresh releases of many of his contemporaries."[126] Renowned director,Hrishikesh Mukherjee, called him "a phenomenon at the time", stating all his films had the hype, "he was absolutely a one-man industry".[127]
In the second phase of his career, which saw him playing mature roles that were the main leads of his films, often driving them to immense success,Box Office India notes, "This was the part of his illustrious career which sets him apart from all other actors as no one else has managed to such success as a character artist."[5] Renowned actorIrrfan Khan, remarked, "Till date, no other actor has had that kind of an impact on people's hearts. The kind of combination he brought along – of an actor and a star – was never seen before him. It started with him, and ended with him. His career, his working style, his personal lifestyle or his choice of films, nothing sets a wrong example. He is a true legend. These days, the word'legend' is used loosely, but I strongly believe that he is the only one who deserves to be calledthe legend".[128]
Kumar, Raj Kapoor andDev Anand together formed "the golden trio" of Indian cinema in the 1950s and 1960s, with the camaraderie between the three contemporary actors, all renowned for their own style.[129] Kumar was the biggest Indian star of this era,[116] a national icon, holding the status of amatinée idol. He was the country's highest-paid actor during this period.[118]
From the independence of India in 1947 to the late 2010s, Kumar held the record of performing in the highest number of highest-grossing films of the year (9 films), until his record was broken bySalman Khan, who performed in 10 such films. However, as per new reports fromBox Office India, highest grossing Indian film in 1991 was Kumar'sSaudagar (1991) instead of Khan'sSaajan (1991), thus perhaps re-establishing his record.[130]
He is the only actor in India to have delivered at least one bonafide "hit" at the box office for 15 years straight, from 1947 to 1961.[131] He also did not give a single flop in a period of 15 years from 1952 to 1965.[4] According to many sources, he is the only Indian actor to have more than one film (3 or 4) among the top 10highest-grossing films of Indian cinema when adjusted for ticket-price inflation. These films areNaya Daur (1957),Mughal-e-Azam (1960),Gunga Jumna (1961), andKranti (1981).[132][133][134]
Over his career, Kumar received eightFilmfare Awards for Best Actor (with 19 total nominations), the most of any actor (and was also its inaugural recipient),[135] and aFilmfare Lifetime Achievement Award (1993).[136] He holds the record for most consecutiveFilmfare award for Best Actor wins. He also received a Special Recognition Filmfare Award at the50th Filmfare Awards for being one of the first recipients of Filmfare Awards along withLata Mangeshkar andNaushad Ali.[69][137] and a cine icon for his enduring legacy at the 70th Filmfare Awards along withBimal Roy,Nutan andMeena Kumari.[138]
Kumar was appointedSheriff of Mumbai (an honorary position) in 1980.[139] TheGovernment of India honoured Kumar with thePadma Bhushan in 1991, theDadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994 and thePadma Vibhushan in 2015.[140] TheGovernment of Andhra Pradesh honoured Kumar withNTR National Award in 1997. He was honoured withCNN-IBN's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.[141] The Government of Madhya Pradesh honoured Kumar with Rashtriya Kishore Kumar Samman in 2015.[142]
TheGovernment of Pakistan conferred Kumar with theNishan-e-Imtiaz, the highest civilian award inPakistan, in 1998.[143][144] The ruling political party ofShiv Sena inMaharashtra,India, had objected to this award and questioned Kumar's patriotism. However, in 1999, in consultation with the thenPrime Minister of IndiaAtal Bihari Vajpayee, Kumar retained the award. Vajpayee declared, "There is no doubt about film star Dilip Kumar's patriotism and commitment to the nation."[145] Kumar later said in his autobiography that returning it "could have only soured relations further and produced bad vibes between India and Pakistan."[94] Many believe this incident prolonged his wait forBharat Ratna.[146]
TheHouse of Dilip Kumar inPeshawar,Pakistan, was declared a national heritage monument in 2014 by the thenPakistani Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif.[147]
Kumar was voted the "Greatest Indian Actor of All Time" in aRediff Readers poll in 2011.[148] He holds theGuinness World Record for having received the most awards by an Indian actor.[149] He was honoured by theWorld Book of Records on his 97th birthday for his "matchless contribution to Indian cinema and promoting social causes".[150]
For the uninitiated, Dilip Kumar, born as Muhammad Yusuf Khan was from an Awan family in Pakistan's Peshawar.
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