Iconic and legendary Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar passed away at Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai. He was 98. People from all walks of life, including politicians, actors and athletes, shared their condolences on social media after news broke of his death.
Kumar had been taken to the hospital in early June and later discharged, but was admitted again on June 30, according to posts on his official Twitter account.
On July 5, just two days before his death, Kumar’s wife, Saira Banu Khan, had tweeted from his account saying his health was improving.
A tweet from Kumar’s account, signed by family friend Faisal Farooqui, confirmed his death on Wednesday. “With a heavy heart and profound grief, I announce the passing away of our beloved Dilip Saab, few minutes ago,” said the tweet. Kumar is survived by his wife. The couple did not have children.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted, “Saddened to learn of Dilip Kumar’s passing. I can never forget his generosity in giving his time to help raise funds for SKMTH (cancer hospital he set up in memory of his late mother) when (the) project launched. This is the most difficult time – to raise (the) first 10% of the funds & his appearance in Pak & London helped raise huge amounts. Apart from this, for my generation Dilip Kumar was the greatest and most versatile actor.”
The Padma Vibhushan constantly lunged for complex characters where he was expected to evoke multiple emotions in a single frame.
According to The Hindu, when Marlon Brando was struggling to find a footing in Hollywood, a shy Pathan boy from Peshawar was practising method acting in Bombay film industry, helping it come out of the Parsi theatre’s influence. As Dilip Kumar transcends to a new stage, the pole star of the golden age of Hindi cinema would be remembered for setting a template of acting for generations to come.
Hindi cinema is synonymous with Dilip Kumar.
ShahRukhKhan heads to DilipKumar’s residence to pay his condolences to the family and his last respects to the veteran superstar.
A veritable cultural icon who inspired economist Meghnad Desai to draw parallels between his films and the newly independent India’s tryst with socialism and capitalism in his seminal work, Nehru’s Hero: Dilip Kumar in the Life of India, there is a bit of Dilip Kumar in everyone’s life.
Discovered and later rechristened by Devika Rani of the famed Bombay Talkies, Dilip Kumar, along with Raj Kapoor and DevAnand, were part of the discovery of cinema in India as a means of mass communication as we see it today. They had had few examples to follow and perhaps it worked to their advantage as each one carved out his own niche.
Kumar was known to several generations of movie fans for starring in Bollywood cult classics, including the films “Devdas,” “Naya Daur,” “Ganga Jamuna,” and more. He often took on tragic roles, earning himself the nickname “Tragedy King.” “Dilip Kumar passed away at 7:30 a.m. this morning, after prolonged illness,” said Dr. Jalil Parkar, who was treating him at Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai.
In a BBC interview, he once said when the director comes to him with a 30-year-old character, he tries to find and build the first 29 years of his life from the script so that “I start identifying with the character. Often directors leave it to me to interpret the character.”
Known to help out his colleagues in finding a rhythm that suited the narrative, the actor is said to have ghost directed many films such as Gunga Jumna, Ram Aur Shyam and Aadmi.
He took the preparation for a character to a different level. For “Madhuban Mein Radhika Nache Re” from Kohinoor where he played sitar on screen, he trained with sitarist Ustad Halim Jaffar Khan for six months.
It is said while filming for Dil Diya Dard Liya, he ran four rounds of the studio because in the next sequence he was supposed to snatch a rifle from Pran, playing the villain, in a state of breathlessness.
Tributes pour in for Dilip Kumar
Even in his second innings, when his mannerisms became marked, he impressed with power-packed performances in Shakti, Mashaal and Karma.
Off-screen, as a philanthropist, he always maintained that “industrialisation has made us narrow-minded”. He would always say “being developed and being civilised are two different things.”
Actor Anupam Kher said, “The legend lives on!! There is and there will always be a part of #DilipKumar Saab in every Indian actor for generations to come! His performances were like magic. Thank you Sir for those amazing moments i could spend with you! You taught me so much about life, living & acting.”