Dilip Kumar

Dilip Kumar - Dilip Kumar is arguably one of the best Indian actors. Dilip Kumar was born as Yusuf Khan in Peshawar in the year 1922. His father moved to Bombay and it was here that Yusuf Khan came into contact with the film industry. Yusuf Khan adopted the screen name of Dilip Kumar for his first film Jwar Bhata, released in 1944. Since then Dilip Kumar has played a variety of roles. Dilip Kumar has enriched Hindi cinema with a variety of roles- a romantic, Mughal prince Salim, a thief, a don, a tycoon, a village tangawala, freedom fighter, idealistic cop, singer, an urban man-on-the make and farmer.

Dilip Kumar achieved stardom with "Andaz" in which he co-starred with Raj Kapoor. But the biggest landmark came with Bimal Roy's Devdas, which earned him the title of the "tragedy king". Then came the "Mughal-e-Azam", a record-breaking film in the history of the Indian film industry. Here he played the role of Jehangir, the son of Akbar. Other than the mainstream, Dilip Kumar also tried his hands at offbeat cinema and did films like Sagina. With "Ganga-Jamuna", Dilip Kumar became a successful producer as well. Other notable movies of Dilip Kumar are Andaz, Aan, Daag, Madhumati and Ram Aur Shyam.

Noting the charisma of Dilip Kumar, the noted Hollywood director David Lean offered Dilip Kumar the role of Sherif Ali in his 1962 blockbuster, Lawrence of Arabia. Not sure of outside films, Dilip Kumar declined the offer and the role eventually went to Omar Sharif. Dilip Kumar created sensation in the film industry when he married half his age Shaira Bano in 1966.

Dilip Kumar used to be so engrossed in his roles that a point of time he was advised to stay away from portraying tragic roles on celluloid. There was a period when no film of Dilip Kumar, after Ram Aur Shyam and Gopi, clicked at the box office. Directors like Manoj Kumar and Ramesh Sippy set his career back on track with- Kranti (1981) and Shakti. It was Subhash Ghai who gave him his biggest blockbusters- Vidhaata, Karma and Saudagar.

The name of Dilip Kumar stands out as a colossus in Indian cinema. He is undeniably the most imitated actor in Bollywood. The most remarkable thing about this actor is that he has adapted himself to the changing times and the new age innovations and techniques, while maintaining his stamp of individuality. For his contribution to Hindi cinema, Dilip Kumar was awarded the Dada Saheb Phalke award and the Padma Bhushan. He has also been decorated with Pakistan's highest civilian award, the Nishan-e-Imtiaz.