Dilip Kumar is popularly known as the king of tragedy. The veteran actor has had an impeccable career spanning six decades and almost everyone in the industry is a huge fan of his. Dilip Kumar seems to have inspired several generations of actors, Shah Rukh Khan being one of them. He is married to Saira Banu and she is always seen by his side, supporting him, loving him. Dilip Kumar has been described as the 'ultimate method actor' by Satyajit Ray. We bring to you some of the lesser known facts about the veteran star. 

Jwar Bhata was Dilip Kumar's debut in Bollywood. Apparently, the actor was spotted by Mrs Devika Rani. Sharing the experience Dilip Kumar said in an interview with Filmfare, "I was introduced to Mrs Devika Rani at the Bombay Talkies Studio by a family friend who was helping me find a job. She had not seen me anywhere before that. She offered me the job of an actor on a salary of  Rs 1250 per month. I thought the amount offered was for a year, it being a sumptuous amount. So I requested a friend, Dr Masani, who took me to her, to find out whether I had heard it right. She told Dr Masani it was the monthly remuneration because she saw potential in me and did not want to lose me. It was a surprise and it spurred me to take the offer seriously without hesitation." 

Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu have a very romantic tale behind their relationship. He apparently fell in love with Saira at her birthday party. A PTI report quoted Dilip Kumar, "When I alighted from my car and entered the beautiful garden that leads to the house, I can still recall my eyes falling on Saira standing in the foyer of her new house looking breathtakingly beautiful in a brocade saree. I was taken aback, because she was no longer the young girl I consciously avoided working with because I thought she would look too young to be my heroine." The report further quoted Dilip Kumar's romantic proposal, "Saira, you are not the kind of girl I want to drive around with, or be seen around with... I would like to marry you... Will you be my wife?" 

Saira Banu has always been by the side of Dilip Kumar, at all events and parties. The doting wife had written a very interesting foreword for Dilip Kumar's biography. She has mentioned how Dilip Kumar used to imitate Helen. Apparently, Dilip Kumar's humorous side was revealed by Saira as she stated that he used to do Helen's cabaret number - Monica, O My Darling. According to a report in Hindustan Times, there is also a mention of Dilip Kumar fixing a broken rack in a fridge with a cloth-hanger. 

Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu have been an inseparable couple. However the duo could not bear a baby. A PTI report quoted Dilip Kumar on the same, "It was also wrongly represented that Saira could not bear a child. The truth is that Saira had borne a child, a boy (as we came to know later), in 1972. We lost the baby in the eighth month of pregnancy... We took the loss in our stride as the will of God." While on a happier note Dilip spoke in an interview with Bombay Times, "I love children, but where's the time to think about it? We have about 30 children from Saira's family and my own, and they are enough to keep me occupied with their mischief. They are so full of energy that I get tired trying to cope with them."