Remembering the iconic DILIP Saab

Tragedy King, Abhinay Samrat, The Institution of Acting. Someone for whom acting was always, "Quality not quantity". Such is the impact of DILIP Kumar that he is still relevant.

In the words of , Amitabh Bachchan,

'Whenever the history of Indian cinema will be written, it shall always be "before Dilip Kumar," and "after Dilip Kumar".'

11th December ,1922 was when he entered the mortal world. He was not from a film family. This son of a fruit merchant was seen by the legendary actress Devika Rani who introduced him to the world of cinema as Dilip Kumar. Born Muhammad Yusuf Khan, the handsome young man, it is said, agreed on the name change only because acting in films had a poor image as a career choice then. Thus no one at home would know he tried his hand at acting. Little did he know that he was soon to become an institution in acting and a text book on 'method acting' and be called "Abhinay Samrat". Dilip Kumar remains an inspiring example of how one can build a career from scratch, fuelled purely by passion and hard work.

Though some of his films tanked at the box office, he also gave us many landmark movies like?Mughal-e-Azam,?Naya Daur?and?Devdas?that have stood the test of time. He did not give into the frustration of failure or lack of recognition and continued working hard. His is a story of struggle and success on how one can reach the pinnacle in one's career and life with sheer dedication, hard work and being open to to learn.

Decoding DILIP Kumar, on his 102nd birthday. He today is the reference point in acting for every generation of actors till date.

Dedicated

It was his observation of seniors like Ashok Kumar In the early years of his career, that helped him soon find his niche. A slow start in 1944, with his initial films not doing so well, it was in 1947 that his 4th film 'Jugnu' became a hit. He became a name India sat up to watch. It was his hard work & dedication to learning the craft that made him And eight years after his debut, he won the first ever Filmfare award (1954) for his portrayal of Shankar in the 1952 film?Daag and went on to be the actor with the highest number of Best actor awards with 8 in his kitty over the years. This record later was equalled by Shah Rukh Khan, an actor Dilip Saab loved.

Involved

An institution in acting, in the 5 decades that he was in the industry he acted in less than sixty films. The way he paused & the way he used gestures, he says were important in his style aspects. Getting under the skin character, he says he wrote "Emotional Biographies". His interpretations of the characters are reference points today while he had to create his own. Therefore getting into the skin of the character was prime. For a film like Mughal-e- Azam he gave 10 years!

Learner :

Dilip Kumar changed himself as an actor over the years.From a successful 'tragedy king' who was adept at drama, he took a major risk in the 1960s by taking on comic roles, which paid off brilliantly in?Ram Aur Shyam. Instead of getting typecast by doing similar roles and sticking to a particular genre, he did versatile characters, shifting from drama and romance to comedy and lighter characters. He later shifted to character roles. It is said when Amitabh heard from Ramesh Sippy that he was playing son to Dilip Saab, he said "No" to a role he loved. He was not sure how he would stand before his idol & act. It was Dilip Saab who called Amitabh and asked him to act in the role as son, as he wanted to learn from Amitabh and see what made him so popular!

Impactful

A much sought after star and -- with Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand -- part of Bollywood's legendary golden trio, he was choosy about the films he worked in, often rejecting roles or characters he felt was inappropriate. We all know he refused the role of Sherif Ali ibn el Kharish -- later played by Omar Sharif -- in David Lean's?Lawrence Of Arabia, which could have propelled him to international stardom. His choice of films clearly defined his personality and individuality, and how much he respected his craft.He had to his credit, 80% hits. From 1952-1965, all his films were continuous hits.

?Perfectionist

?In those years, the actors and makers went through a continuous phase of struggle, delays, disappointments and conflicts. For example, In Mughal-e- Azam ,Dilip Kumar wasn't convinced about working in a period drama and playing Prince Salim. However he worked on himself & once he decided he has played it so authentically. His portrayal of Devdas is considered the touchstone of perfection. He had invested so much into the character. In fact it is said how the title 'Tragedy king' that he was slowly seeing his reel roles reflected in his real life too that he had to resort to professional help. An interesting fact is about Mughal-E-Azam’s immortal romantic scene with Madhubala. It is considered to be the most sensual and sublime in Indian cinema. He recalls in an interview, "The classic scene with the feather coming between our lips; which set a million imaginations on fire, was shot when we had completely stopped even greeting each other."

There is so much about this actor that makes him an icon. Would love to know which movie/song of his are you humming right now.

The songs on my mind are: Ude jab jab zulfen tere, "Dil tadap tadap Ke..."Suhana safa, Maang ke saath tumhara....

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( no one did Devdas as well as him.