THE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN DILIP AND MADHUBALA

Z.A Bhutto was madly in love with Madhubala and some reports suggest, he even proposed to her, but she turned him down since she was already in love with Dilip Kumar.

The immensity of her affection seemed to permeate her whole being with a glow and radiance, prompting Film Indiato comment: 'Madhubala has found her soul at last in the company of Dilip Kumar.' Her moorings still intact, life moved on an even keel. Meetings with Dilip Kumar took place discreetly, well away from the public eye, at times in the homes of friends like Sushila Rani Patel, or K Asif and his wife Sitara Devi. According to Sitara: "They used to come over often. Asif and I used to go out so that they could have some privacy." 

Shammi Kapoor remembers that when they were shooting for Naqab at the Prabhat Studios in Poona (now Pune), Dilip Kumar would drive down from Bombay to meet Madhubala. He even flew to Bombay to spend Eid with her, taking time off from his shooting stint for Gemini's Insaniyat in Madras. the romance was all too apparent on the screen, where it was reaffirmed in Madhubala's expressive eyes and smiles, and in Dilip Kumar's equally eloquent intensity. If the romantic scenes of Mughal-e-Azam stand out as a class apart and continue to weave their spell on viewers even today, it is largely due to that spark of truth which runs through them, manifesting itself in a palpable undercurrent of passion. The same could be said of Tarana, Amar, of Sangdil in varying degrees. The 'Insaaniyat' premiere incidentally, was the first occasion when Madhubala made a public appearance with sweetheart Dilip Kumar.

Her father's was a stern and dominating personality and Madhubala had been in awe of him all her life. When it came to the crunch, despite the depth of her feelings for Dilip Kumar, she did not have the courage to defy and over-ride her father and marry without his approval. Her happiness hinged on both Dilip Kumar's love, and her father's acceptance of it.Her father was rendered unquestioning obedience, love and respect. In fact, it is said that when Dilip Kumar started his own production Ganga Jamuna, he even decided to give the entire profits of the film to Ataullah Khan so that he and Madhubala could get married and she could stop working.

According to Dilip Kumar: "She was a very, very obedient daughter." "I cannot think of marriage," she would say, "Till I have fulfilled my responsibilities to my family". An yet, by the mid-fifties, there were clear indications that she was nearing a decision. In 1955, she made a bold declaration in a Filmfare interview: 'Nobody in the world has any right to interfere with one's choice of a husband. I would marry only the man with whom I am very much in love.'

Without distraction, Madhubala faced Dilip Kumar in Mughal-E-Azam; which took ten years to make. By then, Madhubala's father, Ataullah Khan, had become a domineering stage father and he did his best to keep Dilip away from Madhubala. However, like Romeo and Juliet, Dilip and Madhubala found ways to see each other; sometimes a mutual friend's home and if not; there was always on set.

They found ways and means of meeting each other, away from Ataullah Khan's disapproving eye sometimes in Sushila Rani's house, sometimes in her make-up room.

THE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN DILIP AND MADHUBALA

During the making of Dhake ki Malmal (1956) in the presence of Om Prakash, events of a dramatic nature took place that decided the final shape of the association between Dilip and Madhubala. Om Prakash was on the sets of the film when he was startled by a message from Dilip Kumar, who asked to see him.

Dilip was with Madhubala in her make-up room and the atmosphere was surcharged. Om Prakash was requested to simply sit down and be a witness to the happenings. He watched as Dilip Kumar implored Madhubala, asking her to go with him and be married that very day. He had a kazi ready and waiting at his home and he wanted her to leave with him immediately. "I will marry her today," he emphasised. Apparantly some source had said Madhubala and Dilip has got secretly engaged

It was the condition that he put forth that became the stumbling block: She would have to leave her father and never meet him again. Madhubala's refrain was that this was impossible, and apart from this, she said nothing. "Dilip saab urged her repeatedly -- again and again. He asked if this meant she was not willing to marry him? He told her if he went away now, he would never return. Madhubala was silent. At last, he got up and left -- alone and out of her life." Their stormy relationship lasted about eight years.

It has been said that Dilip Kumar demanded that if they were to marry, Madhubala would have break off all ties with her family. The veracity of this statement is questionable. It would be safe to say that Kumar must have felt a deep resentment towards Ataullah Khan. It was only on the actual film set, or the movie studio that the couple were allowed to interact, and that, only behind the back of the elder Khan. Their rendezvous had to be kept hidden. For Madhubala, to be under the watchful eye of her father, had always been her whole way of life, but for Dilip Kumar, it must have felt like a huge imposition.

The couple though did carry on their affair in this manner for a few years. The stress and inability to have a proper relationship took their toll and finally in 1957 they finally broke up. The events were a major scandal, and involved a court house drama, with the press and eager public as audience.

Dilip and Madhubala had both been signed and were well into pre-production for the BR Chopra film Naya Daur. In the film a 40 day shooting schedule had been allotted to take place on location in Bopal. Ataullah Khan refused to let Madhubala do the location shoot, claiming the scenes could be shot in studio. BR Chopra told Khan the 40 day location shoot was essential. Now it was well known that Ataullah Khan had always refused to let Madhubala do location shoots, stating her fragile health. Dilip Kumar was certain the reason Ataullah would not let her go was because the pair would be unchaperoned on a location shoot for 40 days. Madhubala herself was caught in the middle, she opted to follow whatever decision her father demanded. Eventually Madhubala was dropped from the film and replaced by Vyjayanthimala.

THE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN DILIP AND MADHUBALA

Ataullah sued, and BR Chopra counter sued. Eventually the whole fiasco was dragged into court. At some point in the trial the personal relationship between Dilip Kumar and Madhubala was put down as evidence, and their whole affair was put under the spotlight. The filmi press had a field day, and the public ate up every word of the published court transcripts. Dilip feeling very bitter had of course sided with BR Chopra and presented evidence against Ataullah Khan and Madhubala.At some point in the trial the personal relationship between Dilip Kumar and Madhubala was put down as evidence, and their whole affair was put under the spotlight. The filmi press had a field day, and the public ate up every word of the published court transcripts. Dilip feeling very bitter had of course sided with BR Chopra and presented evidence against Ataullah Khan and Madhubala. Dilip Kumar appeared as a witness for the prosecution against Madhubala and said some very bitter things about her in open court. While Dilip was testifying against her, she turned to her lawyer R.D. Chadha and said, ?I don?t believe this is the man who was so in love with me and whom I loved more than anyone and anything in the world.? The elder Khan presented evidence against Chopra and Kumar. It spelled disaster for the couple. At one point in the trial a distraught Dilip Kumar under cross examination on the witness stand, declared, "I love this woman and shall love her till my dying day."

 Dilip Kumar allowed himself a rare moment of public vulnerability: "I love Madhubala and shall always love her,"he said. Madhubala choked back her tears.

Dilip Kumar never came back and the Naya Daur court case and its fallout put an effective end to any chance of redeeming the relationship. Too much was said and done that could not be forgotten. Madhubala who was shocked and angry in the aftermath of the case made an attempt at reconciliation, but Dilip Kumar evidently could not forgive her. And it seems the pair continued to pine for each other far after their tragic break up. 

The well-known journalist and writer, Bunny Reuben, speaks of her unsuccessful effort to reach out to the estranged Dilip. Assigned to do a feature on her for Filmfare, Reuben was surprised to be given an appointment at her home, not at the studios as usual. He was further taken aback when he was escorted straight to her room upstairs. She seemed very keen to meet him and it occurred to him that it was his well-known proximity to Dilip Kumar that had prompted her to send for him in preference to her friend, Gulshan Ewing.

The article was outlined to her but in the meeting which stretched to over two hours, she spoke instead on the subject closest to her heart. "She wanted to talk only about her Yusuf Khan -- doing the feature was secondary. As she proceeded to unburden herself of all the intimate and hurtful details of their relationship, she put her head on my shoulders and wept uncontrollably," recollects Reuben.

Reuben understood that she was trying to send a message across to Dilip. "She wanted me to go and convince him how badly he had treated her and how much she still loved him." Moved by her tears, he looked for a suitable opportunity to report the whole episode to Dilip Kumar, but found that Dilip was in no mood to listen.

He had hardly gone beyond the opening sentence: "She still carries a torch for you Yusuf," when he was cut short and curtly dismissed by the angry retort: "What bloody torch?" Not even the essentials of his two-hour conversation with the unhappy Madhubala could be conveyed. In keeping with the spirit of the age, and Filmfare's policy in particular, the star's troubled outpourings were not betrayed in print. There was no 'scoop'.

Meanwhile, Mughal-e-Azam was still on the floors. Its shooting constantly brought Dilip and Madhubala together but could not heal the scars. Unable to work out a rapprochement, Madhubala channelised her distress and pent-up grief into her characterization of the similarly unfortunate Anarkali. The role assumed sublime proportions 

THE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN DILIP AND MADHUBALA

While Dilip Kumar appeared to emerge relatively unscathed, for Madhubala it was the beginning of the end; the festering wounds she carried never really healed. Emotional to a fault, guileless in the bargain, she was simply not equipped to deal with the shock of the break-up. Speaking of her, Nadira once remarked: "She had not a strain of pettiness, of anything small. That girl did not know anything about hate. She was in love with love exuberantly, overflowing with love. She had so much to give."

A change began to come over Madhubala, imperceptible at first but quite apparent to those who knew her. A friend described it thus: "In 1951, when I first knew her, she was always smiling, always gay. I envied her peace of mind. By 1958, the beauty was still there but the peace of mind had vanished."

The same year, Filmfare observed: 'Her laughter is a becoming quality, not only because she comes to life as it were when she laughs but because a smile is the most charming cloak for a sob... Madhubala has had her share of struggle, suffering, disillusionment and emotional shock but no matter what lies beneath the surface she cloaks it with a graceful smile.'

Madhubala remained with her family. Her love for Dilip  remaining unchanged, the decision that she felt impelled to take proved to be a singular mistake of judgement, for it robbed her of her health, her happiness and her peace of mind. For a girl as loving and emotional as she was, the decision was suicidal.

For the next few years, she followed the time-honoured antidote for heartbreak and, turning to her work, tried to forget her troubles. She had the satisfaction of working in a number of highly successful films like Kala Pani, Howrah Bridge, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi and Barsaat Ki Raat On the personal front, she made an admirable bid to maintain a facade of normalcy, but a wastefulness and a lost look began to lurk just under the surface, and the fabulous smile no longer reached her eyes. "She must have been miserable, but she wouldn't show it," comments Sushila Rani Patel. "An ethereal beauty," noted Gulshan Ewing, "whose eyes were always sad, but whose lips were always smiling." But in the presence of long-time colleagues or in the privacy of her make-up room, there were times when sobs racked Madhubala. . It seemed the pair continued to pine for each other far after their break up, Dilp Kumar a crushed man slipped to alcohol, and eventually married Saira Bano Bharat Bhushan, Pradeep Kumar, and Kishore Kumar proposed her to. She eventually married the latter of the three, she and Kishore Kumar argued and bickered constantly, plunged into a loveless marriage with him Madhubala soon realized that she had made a mistake in marrying him, as she truly loved and desperately wanted to marry Dilip.

THE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN DILIP AND MADHUBALA

 (Taken from an interview with Madhubala?s sister)

KS: When she married...

MB: Yes, she was already sick. We had decided on going to London for the diagnosis. But Kishore-bhaiyaa was adamant, he said, 'Look she is not sick, nothing's happened to her.' And indeed, she didn't look very sick. My father and others tried to convince Kishore-bhaiyaa, 'Let the diagnosis be done in London first, and then you can get married'. But he didn't relent. Finally, the marriage happened and thereafter, they went to London. On coming back from there, I don't know what happened to Kishore-bhaiyaa, he came and insisted on her being kept at our house. He said, 'She is very sick, I can't take care of her. Even the doctor has given her little more time.' We said, 'Whatever little time she has now, she would love to spend with you.' But then he said, 'No, I have to go to shootings.' We suggested he keep a nurse. But again, he didn't relent. So we sisters, till today, have a regret somewhere deep within us, that the love she always desired, she never got.

(Quote)

It so happened that in real life Dilip Kumar was already in love with Madhubala. And obviously this romantic pair clicked at the box office. The shooting of Mughal-e-Azam started in 1950 and it took ten years to complete.

Stopping the Linkage from Mohan Deeps gossip sham book.

(Taken from an interview with Madhubala?s sister)

KS: I think she was also distressed by the gossip printed in the film magazines once she fell sick...

MB: Yes, a lot was printed about how she was very 'romantic' and had many affairs. Let me make this clear, I swear to God that this is not true. Of course, the industry is a man's world and as co-actors, she indulged in a bit of friendly banter with men, but everything got converted to linkages. 'Flirting' was the word used at that time.
In that era, there were also gentlemen like Premnath-ji, who was linked to her after they co-starred in 'Baadal' and 'Saaqi'. Premnath-ji actually came and proposed to her, saying 'Madhu, I want to marry you.' But she declined saying our father was very strict and wouldn't approve of it.
Just let me make it clear that she hadonce fallen in love with Dilip Kumar and married Kishore Kumar. Madhubala was confined to her bed in the last days of her life, she repeatedly watched her favourite movies, Mughal-e-Azam, Barsaat Ki Raat, Chalti ka naam gadi and Mahal. She used to recite Urdu poems to herself and saw her 'pyar kiya to darna kya' over 500 times.

(Taken from an interview with Madhubala?s sister)

KS: In her final days, where was she?

MB: She was with us. Kishore-bhaiyaa never took her.

Madhubala's reflections a chilling evidence of the disastrous consequences of the break-up on her mind and heart. All the underlying bitterness, the sense of betrayal and dejection come through as she speaks of 'the innumerable sorrows and few joys that life had given her.'

The sum total of my life is a bitter experience which is coiled tight like a spring within my heart and when released hurts excruciatingly. It is true that one learns something from every experience but when the experience is evil, the shock is so great that one feels as though one can never recover from it.

THE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN DILIP AND MADHUBALA

Dilip Kumar and Madhubala were both very private persons, and their meetings were away from the public eye. 'They went out for drives after shooting', said a friend, 'or she picked him up on her way to the studios. She'd sound the horn and he came out and joined her. She did not enter his house. It looked very much like they'd get married any day. When Dilip Kumar married Saira Banu [in October 1966] she did not like it.' 

The perceptive Nadira saw it too: 'She considered herself married to him. They were almost married. She wore his ring, he wore hers.' Dilip Kumar himself acknowledged it in a statement to a newspaper, saying a proposal had been sent from him. A film journalist of the time, Ram Aurangabadkar, reported that Dilip Kumar sent his eldest sister, Badi appa, to Madhubala's house with a marriage proposal, saying they'd like it to be in seven days. Ataullah Khan refused.

Emotional to a fault, guileless in the bargain, she was simply not equipped to deal with the shock of the break-up. Speaking of her, Nadira once remarked: 'She had not a strain of pettiness, of anything small. That girl did not know anything about hate. She was in love with love. Exuberantly, overflowing with love. She had so much to give.'

The scenario was bizarre. With feelings for each other just as strong, with no other individuals creeping into either of their lives, they persisted in proceeding to destroy their relationship almost as if compelled by forces beyond them. In the space of about five to six years, choosing to become Mrs Kishore Kumar, Madhubala had taken the most irrational decision of her life. The general reaction to her marriage to Kishore Kumar was echoed in Nadira's incredulous disbelief: 'From the sublime to the ridiculous! Oh my God! Madhu what are you doing?

I am very emotional. I have always lived my life with my heart. For that I have suffered more than is necessary. I have been hurt.

She expressed her desire to see Dilip the day before she died.  

Dilip Kumar had loved Madhubala, but would marry her only on his terms. Her father had loved her too, but laid down his own terms and conditions at every stage. Finally, both had to stand by and watch the disintegration of a beautiful human being before their eyes.

People say that Dilip Kumar till date makes it a point to place flowers over her tomb.

(Taken from an interview with Dlip Kumar  still hold the bitterness towards Atullah after all these year he still loves Madhu and doesn?t let anyone in)

What about Anarkali? It is no secret surely that he had a tempestuous affair with Madhubala, the film's heroine?
He does not deny the relationship.
So were they really in love when Mughal-e-Azam was made? Or was it all just acting?
Dilip Kumar begins to get a little evasive. "Frankly," he says finally, "I don't remember the exact timing. Was I carrying on an affair with her when the film was made? Was it before? I don't remember."
A breakthrough. He is notoriously reluctant to talk about any of the women in his life so even this slightly evasive answer about Madhubala marks a break with precedent.
"Why didn't you marry her?" I persist. "She was very beautiful."
"She was a very nice girl," he responds. "She made a conscious attempt to improve herself. By the end, she had even learnt to speak good English."
Was her family the problem?
He begins to talk about something else.
Saira Banu comes to my rescue. "Her father Ataullah Khan was also a Pathan, wasn't he?" she begins.
She knows her husband well. The response is immediate. "Pathan, my foot! He couldn't speak one world of Pathani! He was no Pathan. He was from Delhi or somewhere."
So the family was the problem.
But Saira will not let him off so easily. "Is it true that Ataullah Khan wanted you to act in his home production and you refused and this led to a rift?"
"How can a man like that expect to make movies?" says Dilip Kumar, now slightly agitated. "He thought that because of his daughter, I was signed, sealed and delivered."
I look accusingly at Saira. "He's told you the Madhubala story before?" I ask.
"No, no," she says. "He never talks about her.

THE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN DILIP AND MADHUBALA

(Madhubala true and love  Dilip Kumar aka Yusuf Khan)

Given the nature of her beliefs and her inherently emotional temperament, it was really no surprise at all that when Madhubala fell in love, she committed herself totally and for life. "Madhu loved only one man," confirmed her sister Kaneez Fatima, "and that was Dilip Kumar, till the day she died."

(A Quote of dilip kumar)

To dig back memories it involves efforts. Memories so often go to sleep within the mind. Sometimes it becomes painful when you think of a tragic incident.

Interview extract in 2004 of Dilip Kumar.

Is it true that the idea of restoring and colouring the print of Mughal-e-Azam was basically your brainwave?
Yes, I had made the suggestion to the son of the late Shapoorji Pallonji. The idea had been discussed with the Indian Academy of Arts & Animation that does a lot of work for foreign countries and specialises in the art of fine paintings. Sterling Investment Corporation Pvt. Ltd. approved of the proposal and the project got underway

Industry lore has it that when Asif sahab approached Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan to sing Tansen?s ?Prem jagon ban jaoo...?, the maestro was not too keen. He insisted on seeing the scene first and it was hurriedly edited and shown to him. It was a moonlit night...Prince Salim was in the palace garden cradling Anarkali?s head and caressing her cheek with a feather... Ustadji, we?re told, was so wowed by the beautiful Anarkali and her handsome prince that he sang the song four times. And each time the reel had to be rewound and screened for him.

Dilip: Yes, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan saab insisted on seeing the film first. But I don?t think he agreed to sing the song because of the beautiful Anarkali. No doubt Madhubala was a beautiful lady but I think he was finally convinced by what he saw... By what we had shot.

Dilip saab was so emotional at the end of the Mughal e azam rerelased premiere , at the end of the film he has tears well up. He gave speech in a very emotional state  ' i wish Allah would   bring back the people in the film who are no longer here with us.

THE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN DILIP AND MADHUBALA

Dilip saab was so emotional at the end of the Mughal e azam rerelased premiere , at the end of the film he has tears well up. He gave speech in a very emotional state  ' i wish Allah would   bring back the people in the film who are no longer here with us.

THE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN DILIP AND MADHUBALA

ROYAL MESSENGER visits Dilip Kumar

During the Mughal era, the 'Shashi Paigaam' or the 'Royal Message' was sent with pomp to deliver a message from the Emperor himself. Over four decades after the release of the historic Mughal-E-Azam, the one and only prince Salim i.e. Dilip sahab was once again presented with a 'Farmaan'. This time the occasion was the release of the colour Mughal-E-Azam DVD and VCD by Shemaroo Video. In an innovative presentation, Shemaroo's 'Royal Messenger' visited Dilip Kumar at his residence, read out a 'Farmaan' in Urdu announcing the release of the Mughal-E-Azam DVD and took the honours in presenting a copy to Dilip sahab.
 
For a movie that has been so widely written about and appreciated, Shemaroo Video decided to execute a clutter-breaking idea that was both innovative and novel in its presentation.
 
Notably happy on receiving the colour Mughal-E-Azam DVD copy, Dilip sahab and Saira Banu relived the nostalgia of the movie's black-and-white and colour premieres and how times had changed since.

Mughal e azam dvd release, Dilip kumar happy with the the print and Madhubala poster besides him stuck up in his house.

Dilip Kumar said he still remembered all the dialogues of the film and could recite them without having the read them again. His wife Saira Banu said that it was after a long gap of forty years that Dilip Kumar had visited the Eros theatre to watch any film.

'She loved Dilipsaab till the day she died'

On her romance with Dilip Kumar

The reason Madhubala broke up with Dilip Kumar was B R Chopra's film Naya Daur, not my father.

Madhubala had shot a part of the film when the makers decided to go for an outdoor shoot to Gwalior. The place was known for dacoits, so my father asked them to change the location. They disagreed because they wanted a hilly terrain. So my father asked her to quit the film. He was ready to pay the deficit.

Chopra asked Dilip Kumar for help. Dilipsaab and Madhubala were engaged then. Dilipsaab tried to mediate but Madhubala refused to disobey her father.

Chopra's production filed a case against her, which went on for a year. But this did not spoil their relationship.

Dilipsaab told her to forget movies and get married to him. She said she would marry him, provided he apologised to her father. He refused, so Madhubala left him. That one 'sorry' could have changed her life. She loved Dilipsaab till the day she died.

THE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN DILIP AND MADHUBALA

December 2012

 Dilip Kumar on his 90th birthday

 Meanwhile, it is impossible for any of Dilip Kumar?s talks to take place without the mention of his lost love Madhubala. So, when sources quizzed him about the late actress and girlfriend, he said, ?Madhubala was very vivacious as an artiste and person. It was in Tarana that our pairing became noticed,

though most film lovers cherish her gorgeous screen presence in Mughal E Azam.?

A CHAPTER IN DILIP KUMAR LIFE OR MANY CHAPTERS MAYBE WE SHALL NEVER KNOW THE TRUTH OR DO WE? WHAT WE KNOW IS THAT THEY WERE LOVERS:

THE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN DILIP AND MADHUBALA

LOVING AND LOSING

‘‘Apa first fell in love with Premnath. The relationship lasted six months. It broke on grounds of religion. He asked her to convert and she refused. The next relationship was with Dilip Kumar. She met Bhaijan (Dilip Kumar) on the sets of Tarana. They later worked in Sangdil, Amar and Mughal-e-Azam.  It was a nine year long affair. They even got engaged. Unki apa aayee thi, chunni lekar (his sister had come with a chunni as is the custom). Bhaijan was also a Pathan. Contrary to reports, my father never stopped her from getting married. We already had enough money by then and were financially secure. Apa and Bhaijan looked made for each other. He’d often come home. He has even seen me in my school uniform. He was respectful towards us children and addressed us with ‘aap’. The two would go for a drive or sit in the room and talk. ‘‘The breakup with Dilip Kumar happened due to the court case during Naya Daur in the mid ’50s. The unit was to shoot somewhere in Gwalior.  During the shooting of another film Jabeen Jaleel, at the same location, a mob had attacked the women and even torn their clothes off. My father was wary and just asked that the locale be changed. It’s not that he didn’t let her go outdoors. Apa had shot in Mahableshwar, Hyderabad and other places before. Bhaijan called my father ‘a dictator’ in court and sided with the Chopras (late BR Chopra was the director). Darare padh gayee, rishtey toot gaye (relationships were broken).‘‘We love and respect Bhaijan but I have just one question, ‘Aapki mohabbat yahan thi, aapki chahat yahan thi, phir aapne aisa kyun kiya (why didn’t you side with your love)?’ Bhaijan could’ve simply said let’s change the location. Or remained neutral. Apa used to cry a lot those days. They had conversations on the phone trying to patch up. He kept saying, ‘Leave your father and I’ll marry you’. She’d say, ‘I’ll marry you but just come home, say sorry and hug him’. It was zid (ego) which destroyed their love. But my father never asked her to break the engagement or ever demanded an apology from him.

THE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN DILIP AND MADHUBALA

THE LAST YEARS

‘‘On the rebound Apa got involved with Kishore Kumar who was going through a divorce with Ruma Devi Guha Thakurta (actor-singer). What attracted her to Kishore? Maybe it was his singing or maybe his ability to make her laugh. Their love affair went on for three years through Chalti Ka Naam Gadi and Half Ticket. They got married in 1960, when she was 27. After marriage they flew to London where the doctor told her she had only two years to live. After that Kishore left her at our house saying, ‘I can’t look after her. I’m on outdoors often’. But she wanted to be with him. He’d visit her once in two months though. Maybe he wanted to detach himself from her so that the final separation wouldn’t hurt. But he never abused her as was reported. He bore her medical expenses. They remained married for nine years.  ‘‘The hole in her heart (ventricular septal defect) was detected when she was shooting for SS Vasan’s Chalak in Madras 1954. She had vomited blood. She was advised bed rest for three months but continued working as her films would suffer. While shooting for Mughal-e-Azam she was tied with chains and had to walk around with them. That was stressful. By the end of the day her hands would turn blue. She’d even refuse food saying that she had to look anguished and weary for the jail scenes. The ‘feather scene’ between her and Bhaijan (considered the most romantic in Hindi cinema) was shot after the breakup. ‘‘Due to her ailment, her body would produce extra blood. So it would spill out from the nose and mouth. The doctor would come home and extract bottles of blood. She also suffered from pulmonary pressure of the lungs. She coughed all the time. Every four to five hours she had to be given oxygen or else would get breathless. She was confined to bed for nine years and was reduced to just bones and skin. She’d keep crying, ‘Mujhe zinda rehna hai, mujhe marna nahin hai, doctor kab ilaaj nikalenge (I want to live, I don’t want to die, wonder when the doctors will find a cure)’.

‘‘During her last days, I was suffering from chicken pox and so was advised to stay away from her. But when the doctor said that she was sinking,
I rushed up to see her. But she had passed away (February 23, 1969). She was only 36 to my 19.‘‘Though Bhaijan never visited her when she was unwell, he flew down from Madras to pay his last respects at the kabrastan (cemetery). Food was sent from his home to ours for three days (as is the custom). ‘‘I remember when Bhaijan married Saira Banu, Apa was sad because she loved him. She’d say, ‘Unke naseeb mein woh (Saira Banu) thi, main nahin’. But she’d also say, ‘He’s got married to a very pretty girl. She’s so devoted. I’m very happy for him’. But a vacuum remained in her heart. A few years back her tomb was demolished as it was in a Wahabi (a Muslim sect that doesn’t allow building of tombs) cemetery. They wiped away the last memories of a legend.’’

DILIP KUMAR HAS RETRUNED HOME FROM HOSPITAL

IN AN EARLIER TIME

DILIP KUMAR WITH HIS SECOND WIFE ASMA: SHE IS A STUNNER ALSO

Dilip Kumar, like we all know, at 44 married a very young Saira Banu. She was barely 22 then. Dilip saab was previously linked to many a few co-stars(Madhubala, Vaijayanti Mala, Kamini Kaushal). This was in 1966.

But in 1980, Dilip Kumar married a Hyderabadi girl named Asma(Dilip being a muslim, this was completely legal).However,his second marriage brokeup as he realized that Asma was cheating him by disclosing all his secrets to the press along with her former husband.

Finally Dilip came back to Saira and they lived happily.

Another version of the story: When Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu looked like they had the perfect marriage, out came his marriage with Asma. When Saira threw a fit and asked for a quick divorce, Dilip Kumar retracted to Saira and divorced Asma. Asma remained the loser all the way, as she had left her husband and children to be with her beloved. She tried suicide and later went back to her former husband.

I am pretty sure you folks were not aware of this second wife of Dilip Kumar a.k.a Yusuf Khan. Here is a photo of Dilip with Asma

Dilip saab was previously linked to many a few co-stars(Madhubala, Vaijayanti Mala, Kamini Kaushal).

We will in the near future try to get some of the juicy part  with Vijyanthimala and Dilip also with Kamini Kaushal and Dilip.

Quote

"Bollywood chooses to believe Dilip and Saira have the perfect marriage. They didn't and they don't know. He's grown to love her and he totally depends on her in his old age but was he ever IN LOVE with Saira? I don't think so. To this day, he has a giant picture of Madhubala in MEA hanging over the reception in his house. What does that tell you?

DK-Saira marriage is a sham. People romanticize it for the sake of it. They were a mismatch from the get go, the generation apart huge age difference should have stopped DK from marrying her. Sounds similar to Rajesh Khanna-Dimple doomed marriage. The younger ambitious actress awestruck by his status/position, blinded by his legendary fame wants a piece of it falls for his flattering attention and it wears off sooner than later. He wanted to be a father so he married a much younger actress. She must be fun company to have around initially with her youthful nakhras/jhatkas, it is hollow. He should have married Waheeda Rehman they belonged to the same era/genre, share mindsets/maturity levels, grown old together and aged gracefully too. DK is unlucky he never found a partner in the true sense. Madhubala died young she would have widowed him. DK-Saira marriage is heavily lopsided, more a father-daughter kinda bond where she became a crutch that he depends on and is handicapped without her around. The crush that becomes the crutch. That is not LOVE at all. Very unfortunate indeed. How does a man live happily with a woman who goes to the Press to divulge dirt on him or his family or threatens him? Saira could have found a compatible husband not a father to take care of. Both are stuck. DK is indeed a very good actor to keep the happy image alive. Maybe if he had kids with Asma or adopted an orphan he would be happier. I don't think kids make a happy marriage, the right partners do. I feel sorry for both. I wish they spend the rest of their years together in happiness."unquote

Blast from the Past: The Terrible

Truths about the Thespian Dilip Kumar

Posted on July 8, 2012

Check out this 1982 Stardust article about Dilip Kumar.
Even though the whole country was disillusioned, seething with fury and utterly disgusted when their darling Dilip Kumar deceived them about his second marriage, it wasn’t long before people forgave, forgot and started making excuses for their idol. Within a couple of months, Dilip Kumar was back on his pedestal. The public had literally grown up believing in his legend, fans had lived with stories of his greatness for too long to accept his feet of clay because of just one mistake.

Now however, it’s come to light that Asma was not the legend’s first mistake. It was only the first to be exposed! The expose, however belated, seems to have aroused the other ‘wronged parties’ who have kept quiet about their suffering all these years, out of fear for themselves and their families. Today, there’s no end to the stories shattering the white-washed façade, no restraint in the explosion of the myth of the ex-Sheriff, the actor nonpareil, the perfect family man, the legendary lover, the Godfather of the industry. One (exposed) slip-up has cost the fallen angel his thirty-year-old image!

So far, the only well-known negative aspect of this Marlon Brando of the Indian screen was that he had the habit of interfering with his scripts, directing his directors and delaying his films. Any filmmaker who signed Dilip Kumar, did so after knowing what to expect from the screen God. Those who resented his encroaching, never worked with him.

But it hasn’t been such simple and straight dealing always. Very few people are aware that the thespian has time and again deliberately cheated his producers, ruined his directors and put film families out of action for years, even at times, forever…

Manmohan Desai and his family of filmmakers were one of Dilip Kumar’s first victims. It is said that M.D’s father was one of the industry’s richest producers in his time. In fact, he had so much money, that he used to get his wardrobe specially flown in from the most expensive boutique in Paris! But, he made one mistake – he signed Dilip Kumar for one of his films and with it, he lost everything he had achieved and amassed in life. “That film never got made,” his son Manmohan Desai recalled sadly. “My father almost became a pauper.”

As if his own extravagant demands during and after the film’s making weren’t enough, Dilip Kumar even instigated Saira Banu as a major accomplice in the Desais’ downfall. The producers had signed Saira for their Bluff Master, a black and white venture, which was supposed to be a quickie. While the film was still on the floors, Saira’s Junglee was released and became an all time hit. Immediately the beauty queen and her mother demanded that Bluff Master be switched to Technicolor, because Saira Banu had become too big a star for a black and white film. At the time, the Desais could neither afford to give in to their heroine’s demands, nor to scrap the film, so they begged and pleaded with Saira to complete the project as it was. The actress turned to her family friend (they weren’t married then), Dilip who insisted that the Desais abide by Saira’s request!

It took years for the Desais to complete their ‘quickie’. After which, they were not just financially ruined but also completely out of business. This has made Manmohan Desai so bitter about Dilip and Saira, that today he is the only filmmaker who dares to openly declare, “Dilip Kumar may be a fabulous artiste, the best in the country, but I will never make the mistake of signing him for my film!”

Another filmmaker who is still trying to get back his foothold in the industry, after being back stabbed by his idol, is Chandra Barot. Chandra was more of a family-member in the Yousuf Khan household, than a producer. After he launched his Master with the thespian and his begum in the lead, he fell hook, line and sinker under the Dilip Kumar spell. He hung around the legend night and day, played his chauffeur, bodyguard, odd-job man, etc., while Dilip Kumar worked on the script of Master. Chandra was convinced that as soon as the paper work was done, they would shoot continuously and complete the film at a stretch. Unfortunately, for Barot, Dilip Kumar never completed the script itself!

Reason: He never intended to, because he was only using Chandra and his film as a pawn to keep his wife from going back to a full-time career on screen. He had convinced Saira that she should work in just two good films – their home production and Master.

Dilip Kumar’s little selfish game cost Chandra Barot his career. Today, industrywallas mock him on his face, as a filmmaker who starts but never finishes anything. Financiers, distributors, even stars refuse to back his projects. Chandra has lost the credibility and standing he’d built up after Don. Though he doesn’t hit out at the thespian openly, the undercurrent of bitterness is obvious whenever he speaks about Dilip. “I have wasted a lot of my time on Master, but it couldn’t be helped,” Barot declares wryly. “How was I to know that I was being taken for a ride?”

Today, another producer Kishore Sharma is waiting and sweating it out like Barot, for Dilip Kumar to give the dates and the green signal to start Chandragupta Chanakya, which he had launched at least five years ago! “I get very upset when I hear people say that my film will never be made.” Mr. Sharma snaps nervously. “But let me make this one thing very clear, Chanakya is more important to me than an artiste or star. I will definitely make this film with or without Mr. Dilip Kumar.” Of course, he hastily adds that only the thespian fits the role perfectly and that only Dilip Kumar can do full justice to it! And the fact that he has waited so long and pampered every whim and fancy of the best actor, only proves that Sharma has no intentions of replacing Dilip Kumar  in his film.

According to insiders however, the reason why Kishore Sharma is standing by Dilip Kumar is not so much for his suitability to the role, but the power he commands in the industry. “Sharma is not an industrywalla,” revealed a know all. “Chanakya is his first film. The man is scared that if he throws Dilip saab out, his only ambition in life (to make this film) will remain incomplete.”

Incidentally, Kishore Sharma is not the only one who is afraid of Dilip’s powerful connections. In fact, fear seems to be quite a common feeling amongst the people who’ve fallen into the thespian’s bad books. It is believed that Dilip Kumar has a lot of friends in the underworld, who act as his bodyguards and protectors whenever he needs them. In fact, industry people insist that Dilip has often used these connections to get even with his ‘enemies’.

His own brother-in-law Iqbal Khan (son of the late Mehboob Khan) is said to be terrified of the thespian. When his marriage to Dilip’s sister (Saeeda) didn’t work out, Iqbal wanted a divorce. Till today (so many years later), he hasn’t got it because Dilip Kumar is supposed to have threatened to ruin Iqbal if he ever gave ‘talaq’ to his sister. “Dilip saab is very, very possessive about his family.” Revealed an insider, “and he is capable of killing any man who so much as tries to hurt them!”

Today, though the couple lives separately, Iqbal continues to provide for his wife. Not only does he pay for her maintenance (including  a car)  and all her expenses, but he even sends her daily  meals (breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner)  from his home (above Mehboob Studios) to her brother’s bungalow (where  she now lives)!

However, since Iqbal and his family members were too scared to clarify this, it was difficult to say how far the story was true or exaggerated. But people close to Dilip’s second brother-in-law (K. Asif) insist that the actor had had a big hand in getting the filmmaker beaten up by goondas when the two men fell out with each other. Reportedly, Dilip could never forgive K. Asif when he betrayed Dilip’s trust in him, and eloped with his sister Akhtar. Even his own family members recall how violent Dilip became when anyone so much as mentioned their names in his presence. That’s why when one night both Asif and Akhtar were brutally beaten up by a masked man, everyone was certain that the goondas had been sent by Dilip Kumar to teach the couple a lesson!

Ismat Chugtai, the well-known Urdu writer who has been extremely close to Dilip Kumar and his family, put  the Dilip-K. Asif  showdown in its proper perspective. “I have known Yousuf  for a long time now,”  she explained seriously, “and I do recall how furious he was when his best friend ran away with his sister. Yousuf  does have a terrible temper, and it is  quite possible that he must have even threatened  to kill K. Asif  for what he had done. But I know for sure that Dilip Kumar was not in any way involved in that awful (beat-up) incident. The poor man isn’t even capable of hurting a fly.”

Dilip’s sister-in-law and star of yesteryears, Begum Para, however, didn’t second Ismat Chugtai’s opinion. Though she pleaded complete ignorance where the Asif case was concerned, she insisted that Dilip Kumar was certainly not as innocent as he looked! “Yousuf is the biggest charmer,” she declared cynically. “But behind that sweet charm lies the most vindictive man one can ever come across! He never forgets anything, and he always believes in striking back when you least expect him to. Basically, the man is a coward and does not confront his opponent face to face. He always hits out from behind!”

Begum Para was speaking from her own personal experience. The raw deal that she and her children got from her husband’s brother, is something they will never forget. When Nasir Khan suddenly died of a heart-attack while location hunting for his film Zid, his wife Para was left with the sole responsibility of completing the film. “Our hero Sanjay Khan was more than co-operative,” she recalled. “He was making his own film, Chandi Sona at that time, but he assured me that he’d give me his dates whenever I wanted them.

I was deeply touched. But my heroine Saira Banu and her husband saw to it that I never completed the film. Apart from Saira Banu playing  games and harassing me for dates, Dilip Kumar  played a very dirty game with me,” Begum  Para related wryly. “He went up to all our distributors and convinced them that he would take the responsibility of completing the film his brother had started. Of course, the distributors were extremely happy and felt very reassured with his guarantee. Every time I wanted to shoot and went to the distributors for the finance, I was told that they would talk to Yousuf saab about it, since he had asked them to deal with him directly. But of course, Dilip Kumar made sure he was never available when they needed him! He just disappeared for eight months.

Under the bahana of helping his poor sister-in-law, he was very discreetly and cunningly cutting off my roots. I was left with no alternative but to shelve my film and go off to Pakistan and live with my mother.”

Para still remembered the time she’d gone to say goodbye to Dilip and Saira before leaving the country. “I was told that they were not at home,” she said. “So the next day, I called up their place in the morning. Saira informed me that her saab could not come on the phone as he was sleeping. I told her that I didn’t know how long I would be in Pakistan and it was just possible that I would never return and that I would like to say goodbye to my brother-in-law. She made me hold on for some time and came back only to tell me that she had tried her best, but he would not get up!”

Dilip Kumar must have really believed that Para and her kids had quit India for good, otherwise he would’ve never done what he did soon after their departure. Begum Para was in for the biggest and the most unbelievable jolt of her life when she unexpectedly returned to India one fine day. “Dilip Kumar was having some financial problems because of Ganga Jamuna,” she revealed. “My husband was the producer of the film and he had given the rights of Ganga Jamuna to one of the distributors. The only way Dilip Kumar could get himself out of the mess was by getting the rights of the film for himself. So, he declared that a trust had been formed (headed by Dilip Kumar and including all his other brothers and sisters) by my husband for the film. How could my husband forget to add his wife’s name and especially those of his three small kids? The fact is that my husband had died intestate. He had made no will. I never thought that the great Dilip Kumar would stoop to this level even if it was to save his own skin.”

The incident embittered the lady to such an extent that when Dilip Kumar later tried to make up by offering to help his brother’s children, Begum Para promptly called him up, and retorted. “How can you be so presumptuous as to even think that I would want your help for my children?”

Can one believe such behavior from a man who has always been the first star to organize charity cricket matches and variety shows for the poor and the needy? In fact, when he was the Sheriff of Bombay, Dilip Kumar refused to open any exhibition or inaugurate any shop or be the chief guest at any function, unless  the organizers donated a certain amount of money to any one of the three charitable institutions he was supporting. But then, like a Yousuf Khan critic puts it.  “It is very easy to be charitable when you don’t have to put in your own money. Dilip Kumar has always loved to project a public image, which is so completely different from his real self!”

Even his first begum Saira Banu will confirm this. “Saab is full of double standards,” she had said after the Asma-scandal broke out. “He knows that he has a blind following and he often takes advantage of this to get his own work done. He works so hard on his speeches and sways the masses with them. Even I was very impressed with his word. It was only after what he did to me (his second marriage), that I realized how empty and meaningless his speeches were. He never means what he says. His public image and the Yousuf Khan I now know are two completely different identities.”

“It’s hard to believe,” continued a Saira Banu campwalla, “but the great Dilip Kumar is actually an extremely petty man. Do you know that when Sunil Dutt was made the Sheriff, Dilip Kumar spent sleepless nights? He was so very upset. ‘How can they make him the Sheriff? What has he achieved so far? What has he done to deserve this post?’ Dilip cried over and over again. He could not accept the fact that another film personality could hold the post he once had held! But of course, on Mr. Dutt’s face he was the perfect charmer. In fact, he was the first one to send him flowers and a congratulatory message. He was even around when Dutt saab was sworn in as the Sheriff. With all the back slapping and the hugging, one couldn’t even imagine that Dilip Kumar held any grudge against the new Sheriff!”

Even women, especially his heroines, weren’t immune from Dilip Kumar’s petty grudges and revenge tactics. During his hey-days, Suraiya was probably the only top actress who didn’t send out feelers for films with him. Initially, intrigued by her indifference, Dilip requested K. Asif to cast them together. Suraiya accepted Janwar, but throughout the shooting, she stayed away from her co-star, ignored all his advances and was on her best professional behaviour. Humiliated by her blatant disinterest, Dilip got his own back in a way that fills Suraiya with disgust to this date.

When the actress reported for shooting one day, the director narrated a particular hot scene which she had to perform. Suraiya had to lie flat on her stomach, while Dilip climbed over her back, scratched her passionately and tore her clothes. Asif made the couple do the scene over and over again. It was only later when she spotted the two friends laughing together, that Suraiya caught on that the scene was just Dilip Kumar’s badla on her – it was not in the script and there was no film in the camera during  its ‘shooting’! Humiliated and furious, Suraiya stormed out of the sets and right out of the film.

“I never said a word,” Suraiya recalled bitterly. “I quietly walked out. If I had retaliated, I would have brought myself down to his level. I didn’t want to give him that satisfaction.”

But unlike Suraiya, her contemporary Nimmi didn’t take Dilip Kumar’s advances lying down. During the making of Amar, Nimmi slapped Dilip right across the face, in front of the whole unit, when he tried to make an ugly pass at her. Of course, since the strict no-nonsense Mehboob Khan was the director of the film, Dilip Kumar had no alternative but to quietly bear the public insult and he never got the opportunity to get even with her because Nimmi made sure that she never worked with the thespian again.

Nimmi and Suraiya, however, were the exceptions in Dilip Kumar’s love-life, for as a rule, women were an easy prey for the legendary lover. Waheeda Rehman still hurts when she remembers how Dilip had ditched her almost at the altar! Reportedly, Dilip had proposed to her in Madras, but when he had changed his mind later, he didn’t even have the decency to inform her! Waheeda’s people remember how terribly shocked she was when she read about Dilip’s engagement to Saira Banu in the papers. That’s why, the moment the Rehmans heard about Dilip’s second marriage, Waheeda’s sister Saeeda immediately went and told Saira about it. “Of course, I didn’t believe her,” Saira said sheepishly. “I thought that she was only getting her own back at Saab and me.”

“Waheeda was not the only woman Dilip ditched at the last moment when he announced his engagement to Saira,” revealed Begum Para. She spoke of a married Princess he’d been involved with, who even got a divorce from her first husband to marry Dilip. Ismat Chugtai added Kamini Kaushal to the list, and insisted that the actress was ready to end her marriage for a permanent relationship with Dilip Kumar, till the thespian backed out at the last moment. “The two of them were so madly in love with each other,” revealed Ms. Chugtai, who got to see the love couple together while they were co-starring in her film Arzoo. “I don’t think Dilip Kumar has ever loved a woman with as much passion as he loved Kamini.”

In fact, Ismat played quite a go between for them because Kamini was always heavily chaperoned by her mother and brother. “They hounded her wherever she went,” explains Ms. Chugtai, “and did not allow her to exchange a word with Dilip. My hero was so upset, that he refused to shoot till he could spend more time alone with Kamini. So, we thought of a plan. We had a big pillar built and we hired a crane to take Dilip, Kamini and the cameraman up. We pretended to shoot a scene there. Actually, there was no film in the camera and the poor cameraman had to spend the whole day looking the other way while Dilip and Kamini held hands and talked to their heart’s content. Of course, the whole drama cost us a lot of money. But we had to do it for our film.”

But the biggest drama Dilip Kumar played was with the late Madhubala, so it’s hardly surprising that her family still blames him for her death! Though the Madhubala-Dilip Kumar affair is almost a forgotten twenty-two  year old legend now, her sisters still smart at the way the actor had abused her love for him. “Why do you want me to talk about that man and insult my dead sister’s holy spirit?” demands Madhubala’s eldest sister, Mrs. Kaniz Balsara, whenever Dilip’s name is mentioned. “Only recently, his sister Fauzia who stays opposite us, came over to tell us that her brother had got married a second time and that she was extremely happy about it. I told her point-blank that I wasn’t. If he’s got married a second time to get children, I told her that would never happen. Dilip Kumar will never get an aulad. And the day he gets one, I’ll know that there is no God in this world. Is duniya mein Khuda nahin hai. My sister was literally craving for a child, but she died without bearing one. If Dilip Kumar had married her, this would have never happened. How can he get a child now?”

She insisted that the thespian had made an emotional fool of her sister, for he never had any intentions  of marrying her. “He  expected her to give up wearing silks and chiffon and forced her  to wear simple cotton salwar-kameezes,” she revealed  bitterly. “My sister obeyed him. He asked her to remove her make-up, tie her hair back in a simple knot, never to use nail polish. My sister agreed. But when he told her that he would marry her only if she promised never to meet her father or her family, my sister burst into tears and told him that we were her blood and that she could never leave us. How can a man who so openly claims to be so very close to his own brothers and sisters, expect another human being to leave her family?”

Mrs. Balsara pointed out that Dilip’s only grouse against their father was that when Dilip asked Madhubala to marry him immediately and stop working, their father had only insisted that she should complete all the films she had in hand first. “My father only told Dilip that he would not allow Madhu to ditch her producers. She would not sign any new films, but she had to complete her old commitments. Tell me was he wrong? But Dilip Kumar is a very revengeful man,” Mrs. Balsara went on furiously. “He paid my father back when he made a statement against him in court. Madhu was never able to forgive Dilip for that. She told him that she loved him, but she loved her father too, and she would not allow anyone to insult him in public. Dilip Kumar is a hypocrite,” Mrs. Balsara said bitterly. “He is a man full of double standards. He did not make the same rules for his wife Saira Banu. She was not only allowed to work in films after marriage but, please excuse my language, he even made his biwi dance nanga on screen!”

“My sister loved only one man,” she said emotionally. “Madhu loved Dilip Kumar till the day she breathed her last. The only reason why she married Kishore Kumar was because she wanted to die a suhagan. And the worst thing was that though she knew she was ailing, she wanted to live. After all, she was so young. Dilip Kumar could have made her happy, but he left  her when she needed him the most. How can people respect such a man? Woh aadmi nahin, kasaai hai! He is responsible for my sister’s death! I for one, wasn’t surprised when he swore on the Koran and lied to Saira. He is capable of anything. How can people sing praises of such a man?”

How indeed, is the question? And the answer is the much admired image, the glorified legend and the perfect myth that have so cleverly camouflaged the ‘truth’ for nearly thirty years!

More later on the bollywood king of tragedy: The great Thespian Dilip Kumar

Wife of Dilip Kumar...Saira Banu:

Every man has a wish, hmmmm

Madhuri Dixit, Dilip Kumar and Saira

Banu at wedding reception party of

Dr.Abhishek and Dr.Shefali

Dilip Kumar discharged from hospital

26th Sep 2013

Dilip Kumar discharged from hospital

26th Sep 2013

Some of his most memorable films include ‘Jugnu’, ‘Devdas’, ‘Madhumati’, ‘Mughal-e-Azam’, ‘Ganga Jamuna’, ‘Kohinoor’, ‘Duniya’, and most recently, ‘Saudagar’.

Dilip Kumar was offered the role of Sherif Ali in the iconic 1962 Hollywood film, 'Lawrence of Arabia'. However, he turned British director David Lean down. The role eventually went to Omar Sharif.

He is seen in the film Junga Jumna with Madhubala

A favourite in Bollywood, ‘the twins separated at birth’ theme has for long been a treasured plot in Indian cinema. Its origin can be traced back to Dilip Kumar’s ‘Ram Aur Shyam’ (1967), which spawned a number of films with the same storyline for years to come. He's pictured here with wife Saira banu and her mother, Naseem Banuji, fondly called 'Appaji'.

In the early 1970s, a new batch of young actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna, began to rule the roost. Dilip Kumar took a break from films only to return again five years later in the hit ‘Kranti’ (1981).

Dilip Kumar received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992. This is a picture, tweeted by the thespian, of himself with the late Prime Minster Pandit Nehru, in a photograph that sits proudly on a prominent place in his living room.

Amitabh Bachchan published this photograph of himself with Dilip on his Facebook page, where he refers to 'Yusuf Saheb' as 'my inspiration and my idol.'

Dilip Kumar married actress Saira Banu in 1966, when he was 44 years old. They have remained together ever since, and have one of the longest lasting marriages in Bollywood.

Dilip Kumar received the 'Maharashtrian of the Year-Lifetime Achievement Award' from the President of India, Mrs Pratibha Patil in 2011. He received a trophy, a citation and a cheque of Rs 5 lakh as a token of Lokmat Media's appreciation of his immense contribution to the progress of to cinema.

Bollywood stars of then and now, including Amitabh Bachchan and his family, flocked Dilip Kumar's 89th birthday celebrations last year.

With so many great losses this year, he has expressed his displeasure at media-mentions of a 90th birthday celebration this year, saying, 'With so many dear friends gone this year, how can we even think of a celebration?' (Dilip Kumar's personal blog.)

The news that Dilip Kumar has been admitted to the hospital for chest complications, is dark indeed. Here's wishing the Bollywood legend a speedy recovery.

Respected, loved and adored by millions, Dilip Kumar, who turned 90 on December 11, 2012, enjoys a legendary status across India and several other continents. Revered for not just his longevity in the entertainment business, the actor was and still is celebrated for the form of art that he chooses to practice.

India's noted Bollywood magazine is celebrating 100 years of Cinema by bringing together three iconic stars Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan together in one frame for their special edition cover.

Voila, here we present to you the much talked about cover. The iconic moment of Hindi cinema. Each actor representing the decade they have ruled Bollywood indicating their charisma has not faded and will never do so.

THE KING OF BOLLYWOOD TRAGEDY IN A PENSIVE MOOD