Legend called Dilip Kumar
By M.L. Dhawan

MOHAMMAD YUSUF SARWAR KHAN was born on December 11, 1922, in Peshawar. Devika Rani discovered a hero in him and gave him a new name — Dilip Kumar. In Amiya Chakarborty’s Jwar Bhata released in 1944, Dilip made his debut, not as a hero but as a parallel hero. Incidentally, the renowned comedian Agha was the leading man of Jwar Bhata. There was something unique about the way Dilip Kumar delivered his dialogues. He was so different and he has remained different throughout his career. Different. One of kind — a class apart. He was the stuff legends are made of. He left no doubt in the minds of the people that he will rise to become a star, a superstar, a phenomenon.

P. Jairaj, the director of Pratima, the first film in which Dilip acted as a hero, says that from the beginning, Dilip was painstakingly hardworking. His sincerity and dedication were something that made him stand out among the other actors of his time.

In his early films like Milan, Jugnu, Anokha Pyar, Ghar ki Izzat, Dilip strove for perfection. Even in bad films with weak scripts, he came up with mesmerising performances. He always had his feet on the ground. He did not allow the success of Mela and Shaheed (1949) to go to his head. Instead, he made his success and popularity as a stepping stone to maturity and growth. With Andaz (1948), Arzoo and Babul (1950), he rose to the pinnacle of glory and grandeur.

Dilip was the undisputed king of tragedy. His love-lorn look of tragic resignation in films like Jogan, Deedar, Sangdil, Footpath, Shikast, Aadmi, etc. repeatedly reduced the audience to tears. If rebellion became angst with Guru Dutt and grew romantic with Raj Kapoor, it was transmuted into inner torment with Dilip Kumar. He was a hero more aggrieved than angry. Rambling aimlessly, having a bottle in hand with dirge on his parched lips and the shadow of death looming ahead, Dilip brought the Greek tragic hero in the classics like Daag and Devdas. Dilip Kumar made a virtue of sorrow by consciously opting for grief, sacrifice in films like Babul, Jogan, Devdas Shikast, Amar, Mussafir, Aadmi, Sangharsh, Dastaan, etc, lending a tragic grandeur to the heart-broken loner. In Deedar, Sangharsh and Andaz, Dilip — the unrequited lover — believed happiness to be an impossible dream in a world riddled with class and caste barriers.

As he began to get typecast, he opted for a change of image and switched to the swashbuckling style in films like Aan, Azaad, Kohinoor, Ganga Jamuna, Gopi and Ram aur Shyam. The greatest tribute to the actor in him was when he was unanimously crowned as the ‘king of comedy’ as well. All through his career, Dilip has been dignified in whatever he has done — tragedy or comedy. With the passage of time, he felt the need for restrategising his career suiting the demands of his advancing age. He shifted to character roles in films like Bairag, Kranti, Shakti, Vidhata, Mazdoor, Duniya, Mashaal, Dharam Adhikari, Karma, Izzatdar, Saudagar and Qila wherein he left an indelible mark of his talent.

Dilip is a perfectionist to the core and by far the greatest actor we have had in the industry. It is the range of roles he has played right from Jwar Bhata to Qila in all the 62 films he has done during the span from 1944 to 1997, his understanding of the characters and his command over the nuances of the language that set him apart. His intensity comes across without having to contort the face, without having to scream and shout. His pauses convey more than pages of dialogues. He takes days to get into the mood of a scene and places through the skin of the characters. His involvement in his work is astounding. In B.R. Chopra’s Naya Daur, a horse had been brought for final race. Half-way through the climax, one of the reins snapped. It was a dangerous situation, but Dilip went on without showing any signs of tension. In his fetish for perfection, he keeps asking for re-takes. On the set, his performance seems just about okay but when viewed on screen he is mesmerising as the hidden facets of his performance come to the fore. His mannerisms lend his performance a special touch.

For the stars of today and tomorrow, Dilip is a legend they can rely on, always. An institution in himself. Just watching his films is a comprehensive acting course. Shah Rukh Khan, who is often compared to the legend, says, "It is flattering to me but I cannot even dream of reaching the position he is in today." Most of the actors do not mind if they are told of imitating Dilip. Jackie Shroff admits that during the making of Ram Lakhan he could see that Subhash Ghai was missing Dilip... "searching for him in me." According to Anil Kapoor, working with Dilip is a learning process. His enthusiasm and dedication for work are infectious. Amitabh Bachchan rates Dilip on par with Hollywood giants like Marlon Brando, and is convinced that if he was born across the seven seas he would have most definitely won several Oscars.

Over the years he has appealed both to the critics and the masses, which is not a small achievement. Even now the release of a Dilip Kumar film is a festival celebrated by the film-goers. He is into his 78th year. He is an example of how time can leave an individual untouched. While some of his colleagues have retired hurt, some others, even much younger, are waiting to join him on a sticky wicket hoping he will help them survive a hostile spell.