Dilip Kumar

Dilip Kumar

Mohammed Yusuf Khan, known professionally as Dilip Kumar, is an Indian actor and philanthropist. Referred to as The Tragedy King and The First Khan, he has been credited for bringing the Method acting technique to Indian cinema. Kumar holds the record for most wins for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and was also the inaugural recipient of the award. In a career spanning over five decades, Kumar worked in over 65 films.

About Dilip Kumar in brief

Summary Dilip KumarMohammed Yusuf Khan, known professionally as Dilip Kumar, is an Indian actor and philanthropist. Referred to as The Tragedy King and The First Khan, he has been credited for bringing the Method acting technique to Indian cinema. Kumar holds the record for most wins for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and was also the inaugural recipient of the award. Kumar debuted as an actor in the film Jwar Bhata, produced by Bombay Talkies. In a career spanning over five decades, Kumar worked in over 65 films. Kumar is known for roles in films such as the romantic Andaz, the heartwarming Babul, the impassioned Deedar, the swashbuckling Aan, social drama Daag, the dramatic Devdas and the epic Mughal-e-Azam. He had a long relationship with actress Madhubala but never married her. He and his wife Saira Bano currently live in the Bandra suburb of Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra in India. As of 2020, he is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hindi cinema. His last film was Qila. Kumar is a former Member of Indian Parliament. He is also a philanthropist and has donated millions of dollars to charity over the years. He has been described as the ‘father of Indian cinema’ and ‘the father of Indian film industry’ He was born in Peshawar, India, on 11 December 1922, to Ayesha Begum and Lala Ghulam Sarwar Khan, one of 12 children.

He grew up in the same religiously mixed neighbourhood as Raj Kapoor, his childhood friend, and later his colleague in the Hindi film industry. In the latter half of 1940, while still in his teens and after an altercation with his father, he left home for Pune in Maharashtra. In early 1943, anxious to start a venture to help his father with household finances, he met Dr. Masani at Churchgate Station, who asked him to accompany him to Bombay talkies, in Malad. There he met actress Devika Rani, owner of Bombaytalkies, who told him to sign up with the company on a salary of Rs. 1250 per month. Kumar helped out in the story-writing and scripting department because of his proficiency in Urdu language. He later cast him in a lead role for J war Bhata, which marked Kumar’s entry into the Hindi movie industry. His next films were the 1948 films Shaheed and Mela. He went on to have success in several leading roles in the 1950s playing several box office hits such as Jogan, Shabab and Shnamab. Some of these films established his image as the “tragedy king” Kumar suffered from depression due to his screen image. He died in 2011 at the age of 89. He was buried in Mumbai. He married actress SairA Bano in 1966. He also has a daughter, Sairah, who he met through his work in the industry.