Remembering Dilip Kumar | The superstar who chose not to be content with his superstardom
The Hindu
“Not content with mere stardom, Dilip sahib was possibly among the earliest Indian actors to lend his star status to a variety of causes.”
As tributes tumble out at the – with Amitabh Bachchan going so far as to declare that when the history of Indian cinema will be written, it shall always be ‘before Dilip Kumar and after Dilip Kumar’ – we shall leave it to the film critics and the serious student of Hindi cinema to assess his impact on the Hindi film industry. For now, let us see him as the man who always chose to step up and speak up, when the moment come to speak truth to power, here was a super star who chose not to be content with his superstardom but to put it good use, as and when required. Born as Mohammad Yusuf Khan in Peshawar in 1922 in the home of a fruit merchant, he went on to enjoy a career in the movies spanning five decades, blessed with a longevity enjoyed by few of his contemporaries. Along with Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand, the reigning triumvirate of post-independence Hindi cinema, Dilip Kumar’s ouvre reflects the social and political cross-currents of modern India. A hapless farmer, an outlawed bandit, a fiery student leader, a trade unionist – Dilip Kumar essayed the new face of a new India as it unfolded. If Raj Kapoor was the loveable Tramp, Dev Anand the yodeling Peter Pan, Dilip Kumar was Everyman.More Related News