Veteran actor Manoj Kumar recalls Dilip Kumar, says 'I became fan of cinema because of him!

Manoj Kumar, now 83, said it is the end of an era with the passing of his idol and co-star Dilip Kumar.

Mumbai: Remembering the impact Dilip Kumar had on his generation of cine-goers, veteran actor Manoj Kumar on Wednesday said the screen icon inspired him to become an actor. Manoj Kumar's love affair with cinema started when he watched Dilip Kumar's "Shabnam" as an 11-year-old. Such was the magic of the screen icon's performance on the young Harikishan Giri Goswami that he decided to adopt the name of Dilip Kumar's character from the 1949 film as his screen name. That's how Harikishan Giri Goswami became Manoj Kumar when he joined the movies in the late '50s.