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The Real Superstar
Amazingly, he had seen only two Hindi movies, Mehboob's Ek Hi Raasta and Bombay Talkies's Basant before he himself made debut as a film star. Bombay Talkies, under the guidance of Devika Rani, was looking for new young talent. She met Yusuf through a mutual friend and was so impressed by him that, without even the usual screen test, she hired him on the spot for Bombay Talkies's new venture Jawar Bhata opposite another newcomer Mridula. For obvious reasons, many screen names were proposed including, Jahangir, Vasudev and Dilip Kumar, the last by the famous Hindi writer Bhagavaticharan Varma. And that was Yusuf Khan's first step towards the giant leap of superstardom as Dilip Kumar. After the movie was released, one reviewer wrote, "Do not give up your business yet". It was an insignificant start. But veteran Motilal told him that he is quite good and should make acting his career. He was given a two-year contract. The next picture that followed was Ghar Ki Izzat (1944). Abhi Bhattacharya's first Hindi movie Milan (1946) was his first hit and also a turning point in his career. He says that before this movie, acting for him was, 'turn this side', 'smile', 'heave a sigh of relief', 'laugh heartily' etc. Nitin Bose taught him a new conception of acting that he has not forgotten to this day. The two pictures in which he was universally admired and established him as a box-office star were Jugnu (1947) and Shaheed (1948). This was followed by all-time grosser Mela (1948) and Andaz (1949). And with the characters he played, Dilip Kumar stirred the fancy of millions of Indians as the "Tragedy King". In the 50s he moved out of his 'tragic mould' to successfully try his hand at comedy in films like Azad and Koh-i-Noor. Gunga Jumna, Naya Daur, Mughal-e-Azam and Ram aur Shyam were further proof of his versality and rage as an actor. After the comic triumph of Ram Aur Shyam in 1967 his career seemed less prominent, but with outstanding performances in Kranti, Shakti. Vidhata, Karma, Dharam Adhikari and Saudagar the decade of 1981-1991 brought him back into the reckoning in a big way to prove that real talent knows no age. In 1995
Dilip Kumar was awarded the coveted Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his
years of unparalleled contribution to the Indian cinema.
Five generations of actors have made a comfortable living by copying his style, and they are still at it. |
Yusuf
Khan,
the 3rd of the 12 children of a successful fruit trader,
was born at Peshawar on December 11, 1922. After passing from high
school, he studied at Wilson College, and then went to Poona to
work with British Army canteen where he became a successful manager
after 3 months on job. In 1942, he landed in Bombay. 
