| This immortal star of the Golden Age of Indian Cinema was born in Peshawar (now Pakistan) as Yusuf Khan to a family of Pathans. He had 11 siblings and to support the family young Yusuf’s father moved to Maharashtra as a fruit merchant. In Bombay Yusuf Khan earned his first break when the reigning star of Bombay Talkies Devika Rani noticed him. He was cast opposite her in Jwar Bhatta (1944). He however, attained stardom with Jugnu (1947) opposite singing diva Noorjehan. There on there was no looking back for this young dashing actor. Shaheed and Mela (1948), started a trend of films where Dilip Kumar was cast as the doomed lover, thereby earning him his famous title – Andaaz, Babul (1950), Jogan (1950), Deedar (1951), Udan Khatola (1955) and of course Devdas cemented his position as the Tragedy King of Indian cinema. However this intense actor was critiqued for his heavy mannerisms, which made his characters too intense to identify with. Particularly in films like Devdas and the Hindi adaptation of Wuthering Heights - Dil Diya Dard Liya (1966). So involved was he in his serious roles that they began to their toll on him and on psychiatric advice he switched over to do more light-hearted musical films. He was equally adept at portraying the buffoon too and shone in films like Azaad, and Kohinoor (1960). Dilip Kumar’s best was reserved for the 60s decade where he starred in epical films like Mughal-E-Azaam and Gunga Jamuna. He was certainly in peak for in these films. His is interpretation of Salim in Mughal-E-Azam was an interesting one because he managed to layer the character with a psychological subtext. Ganga Jamuna too was a flawless performance and perhaps the greatest of his career. His authentic Bhojpuri accent in the film delighted his harshest critic. Dilip Kumar was indeed an icon of his era, not only was/is he the role model of countless young actors he also devised a new genre of acting; intensity is synonymous with Dilip Kumar in Bollywood. |
An actor par excellence…a multi faceted actor…the best actor to have graced Indian screen…Dilip Kumar has lived with such accolades all his life yet nothing seems to describe this actor more aptly than his own words, he is primarily an “honest actor” who has always tried to do justice to his roles. In the 1950s and 60s Dilip Kumar’s popularity reached its zenith. The array of roles he enacted in this period reflected his versatility. His chameleonesque ability to fit into any role, garnered him much respect- he balanced a lighthearted comedy like Shabnam (1949) with the intense love story Andaaz (1949), the dark and brooding comment on pre marital sex called Daag (1952) is a direct contrast to the swashbuckling Aan (1952). If there was the melancholic Devdas (1955) there was also the fun and frolic epic Azaad (1955). However he will always be remembered as the King of Tragedy of Indian cinema. 
