Dilip Kumar Years of life:Birthday December 11, 1922
the first actor to receive the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in 1954, and still, along with Shahrukh Khan, holds a record of 8 awards received in this nomination
Biography
Dilip Kumar (Hindi, English Dilip Kumar; real name – Muhammad Yusuf KhanUrdu Muhammad Yusuf Khan; December 11, 1922, Peshawar, British India) – Indian actor, producer and politician. For more than fifty years of his career, he starred in 59 films and appeared as a guest star in 4 more films. He was awarded the highest civilian awards of India by Padma Bhushan (1991) and Padma Vibhushan (2015), the highest award in the field of cinema – Dadasaheb Falke Prize (1994) and was nominated for the Rajya Sabha (upper house of the Parliament of India), of which he was a member from 2000 to 2006 . He is the first actor to receive the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in 1954, and still, along with Shahrukh Khan, holds a record of 8 awards received in this nomination. Critics have proclaimed him the greatest actor in the history of Bollywood.
Career
Dilip Kumar was born on December 11, 1922 in the Bissar area of Quissa Havani in Peshawar (now the territory of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan). Now his house is given the status of an object of cultural heritage. From birth, he bore the name Muhammad Yusuf Khan and was the fifth of thirteen children in the family. His father, Lala Ghulam Sarwar Khan, was a fruit merchant and owned orchards in Peshawar and Deolali (Maharashtra, India). His mother’s name was Ayesha Begum. Since she had asthma, the family moved to a milder climate a few years later – Deolali, a small town near Nasik, where Dilip attended Lord Banner’s prestigious boarding school. In the late 1930s, his family moved again, this time to Bombay. There he ended up in one high school with another native of Peshawar, Raj Kapoor – The Khalsa College.
After graduating for two years, Dilip lived in Pune, where he began his business as the owner of a dining room and a supplier of dried fruits. In 1943, actress Devika Rani, who owned the Bombay Talkies studio, saw Dilip Kumar in the dining room of Pune and invited him to star in the movie Sea Tide (Jwar Bhata, 1944). However, in her opinion, the name Yusuf Khan was not suitable for a romantic hero. The debutant agreed to take a pseudonym, as this would help to hide the connection with the cinema from his father, who despised filmmakers. The poet Pandit Narendra Sharma proposed three variants of the screen name, from which “Dilip Kumar” was chosen.
Debut
His debut film “ (Jwar Bhata, 1944), in which his long-time acquaintance Raj Kapoor was an assistant director, went unnoticed. The first success at the box office was Jugnu (1947), where he starred along with Nur Jehan. It was followed by a film adaptation of Tagore’s novel “Milan” (“Arrow”, 1947), directed by Nitin Boss. But the decisive breakthrough was the role in the film “Reputation” (1949) of Mehbub Khan. This is the story of a rich girl who makes friends with a poor man, being engaged to another person equal to her in position. Dilip Kumar came to the film on the recommendation of the composer Naushad. Other major roles were played by Raj Kapoor and Nargis. The appearance of two friends in the same film caused heated debate among fans and critics about whose game is better. After that, Dilip never shot together with Raj,
Paired with Nargis in 1948-1952, Dilip appeared in six films, including Fair, (1948), Father’s House and Yoginya (1950), Meeting and Rumble (1951). After the screen pair Nargis-Raj Kapoor was formed, Dilip found a new partner – Vijayantimalu, with whom he made seven films. His partners also included many other leading actresses of the time, including Kamini Kaushal, Mina Kumari and Madhubala. With Camini Kaushal, he first appeared together in the movie Martyr (Shaheed, 1948). The plot was based on the story of a revolutionary who, with arms in his hands, fought for freedom and gave his life for it. Imbued with the spirit of true patriotism, the film was very successful at the box office.
In 1998, he last appeared on the screen in the film Qila, where he superbly played the double role of twin brothers. In 2014, the movie Aag Ka Dariya, filmed in 1990, was released on the screens of cinemas, but did not go on sale at the time due to financial differences.
Although Dilip Kumar never regretted his decision, the three films he turned down later became iconic for Indian cinema: “Mother India” by Mehbub Khan, “Thirst” by Guru Datt and “Sangam” Raj Kapoor.
Awards
- 1954 – Filmfare Award for Best Actor – “Stigma of Shame”
- 1956 – Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Devdas
- 1957 – Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Azad
- 1958 – Filmfare Award for Best Actor – New Age
- 1961 – Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Kohinur
- 1965 – Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Conspiracy
- 1968 – Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Ram and Shiam
- 1983 – Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Shakti
- 1991 – India’s third highest civilian award Padma Bhushan
- 1993 – Filmfare Award for Lifetime Achievements
- 1994 – Dadasaheb Falke Prize
- 1997 – Pakistan Nishan Yi Imtiaz Civil Civil Award
- 1997 – National Prize for Science and Technology (Andhra Pradesh)
- 2004 – Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Award for outstanding contribution to Indian cinema
- 2004 – IIFA Award for Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema
- 2011 – Jeevan Lokmat Gaurav Award for Lifetime Achievements
- 2015 – India’s second highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan