Dilip Kumar - a legendary Bollywood actor

13 July, 2012

An actor with maximum number of filmfare awards, Dilip Kumar is a national hero for both India and Pakistan. After his performance in 'Jugnu', he never looked back and kept earning name and fame.

THE TRAGEDY King Dilip Kumar was born in Peshwar and in 1930 his parents moved to Mumbai. Later in 1940s, he moved to Pune and started working in a canteen. There he was spotted by a leading actress of those years Devika Rani who was also the wife of the founder of Bombay Talkies. She is the one who gave him the screen name of Dilip Kumar.

His first film 'Jwar Bhata' did not earn him good reputation but later in 1947 after Jugnu he never turned back and reached to the highest peak in Indian Film Industry. He was the first actor to receive a Filmfare Best Actor Award and holds the record for most number of Filmfare Awards. He also won Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994.

He was awarded Padam Bhushan Award in 1991 and also was awarded Life Time Achievement Award. He had also the homour to be the Sheriff of Mumbai. In 1998, he was awarded Nishan-e-Imtiaz, the highest Civilian Award by the Govt of Pakistan though there was a controversy whether he should go there or not.

The Govt of India also nominated him as a Rajya Sabha MP. He acted in a number of films which earned him a good name. Some of them are Aan, Andaz, Daag, Didhar, Madhumati, Naya Daur, Insaniyat, Ram aur Shyam, Gopi, Kohinoor, Mughal-e-Azam, Kranti, Shakti, and Saudagar, etc.

He retired from the Indian Film Industry in 1998. Dilip Kumar married actress and "beauty queen" Saira Banu in 1966 when he was aged 44 and she was 22. Pakistani authorities have plans to preserve Dilip Kumar's ancestral home in Peshawar as a national heritage site. We wish him good health and long life.