Veteran Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar passes away
The actor breathed his last in the intensive care unit of the Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai.
FollowVeteran actor Dilip Kumar has passed away after prolonged illness. He was 98.
The actor breathed his last in the intensive care unit of the Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai.
Dr Jalil Parkar, who had been treating the actor, informed that the actor passed away at 7:30 AM.
Family friend Faisal Farooqui posted from the actor's Twitter handle, "With a heavy heart and profound grief, I announce the passing away of our beloved Dilip Saab, a few minutes ago. We are from God and to Him we return."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in mourning the demise of the legendary actor. He also spoke to the late actor's wife Saira Banu
Known as the 'Tragedy King' of Bollywood, the veteran actor's career spanned over six decades.Â
Starting his career in 1944, Dilip Kumar was part of some of the biggest commercially successful films between 1949-1961. He acted in over 65 films in his career and was hailed for his iconic roles in films Devdas (1955), Naya Daur (1957), Mughal-e-Azam (1960), Ganga Jamuna (1961), Kranti (1981), and Karma (1986).Â
Dilip Kumar's last appearance was in 1998 when he played a villainous role in box office flop Qila.
He was the first actor to receive a Filmfare Best Actor Award. He holds the record for the most number of Filmfare Awards won for that category.
How a star was born
He was born as Muhammad Yusuf Khan in Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar, Pakistan, in a Hindko-speaking Awan family. He was one of twelve children in the family.Â
The family relocated to Mumbai in the 1930s. Ghulam Sarwar, his father, was a fruit merchant and owned large orchards at Devlali in Maharashtra near Mumbai. In the early 1940s, Yusuf Khan moved to Pune. In Pune, he started his canteen business and supplying dry fruits.
Devika Rani, a leading Bollywood actress of the time, spotted Yusuf Khan and helped him step foot into the industry. Devika, the wife of the founder of Bombay Talkies Himanshu Rai, also gave him the screen name of Dilip Kumar.
Even though some of his initial films failed to make an impact, Dilip Kumar tasted success in 1947 with the film Jugnu and then followed it up with Shaheed (1948). And then he never turned back.
Dilip Kumar married actress Saira Banu in 1966 at the age of 44. Saira Banu was 22 years old then. At the time, Bollywood pundits predicted that the high-profile couple would not last long. However, the couple proved them all wrong.
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