Legendary actor of the subcontinent Dilip Kumar has breathed his last on Wednesday. Dilip Kumar died at a Mumbai hospital around 7:30 in the morning (local time) on Wednesday. He was 98.
The Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has expressed deep shock and sorrow over death of Dilip Kumar. In her condolence message, Sheikh Hasina prayed for the salvation of the departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family members.
“Dilip Kumar Ji will be remembered as a cinematic legend. He was blessed with unparalleled brilliance, due to which audiences across generations were enthralled. His passing away is a loss to our cultural world. Condolences to his family, friends and innumerable admirers. RIP,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter.
Indian President Ram Nath Kovind said: "Dilip Kumar summarised in himself a history of emerging India. The thespian's charm transcended all boundaries, and he was loved across the subcontinent. With his demise, an era ends."
"He will live forever in the heart of India," Kovind added.
As soon as the news of Dilip Kumar's death spread, Bollywood went into mourning. Tributes poured in from the Indian actors and actresses, sports personalities, politicians and people from different walks of life.
Actor Akshay Kumar lamented and said, “He (Dilip Kumar) was a protagonist to actors like us. He has taken an era of Indian cinema with him. Om Shanti.”
Sharing a picture of a moment with Dilip Kumar, Ajay Devgan wrote, “I spent a lot of time with the legendary actor - some personal, some on stage. But I was not ready for his passing. He is an institution, a timeless actor. My deepest sympathies are with Sairaji."
Director Manoj Bajpayee, Madhur Bhandarkar, Subhash Ghai and others expressed their condolences over the death of Dilip Kumar.
The proverbial Bollywood actor was born in 1922 in the house of Lala Golam Sarwar Khan and Ayesha Begum, businessmen of Qissa Khwani Bazaar in undivided India. Although he was born Muhammad Yusuf Khan, he was widely known on the silver screen as Dilip Kumar.
After a quarrel with his father, Yusuf left his home in Peshawar, Pakistan and moved to Mumbai.
As a teenager, Yusuf Khan moved from Mumbai to Pune and worked in a canteen for British troops.
In 1943, Yusuf Khan went to 'Bombay Talkies' to look for a job, but his proprietor Devika Rani offered him to become an actor. She then suggested him to change his name to Dilip Kumar.
Actor Dilip Kumar made his Bollywood debut in 1944 with the movie 'Jwar Bhata'. However, he was introduced as the protagonist in the 1947 film 'Jugnu'.
This legendary actor also acted in more than 60 films including 'Aan', 'Azaad', 'Devdas', 'Andaz', 'Mughal-E-Azam', 'Gunga Jumna', 'Kranti', 'Karma', 'Shakti', 'Saudagar' and 'Mashaal'.
Dilip Kumar acted in the Bengali film 'Sagina Mahato' directed by Tapan Sinha. His heroine in that film was his wife Saira Banu.
He has won eight Filmfare Awards in Best Actor category. He was also honored with the ‘Dadasaheb Phalke’ award, the highest honour in Hindi cinema. In 2015, the government honoured Dilip Kumar with the country's second highest honour, the Padma Bhushan..
Dilip Kumar married actress Saira Banu in 1966. Dilip Kumar was with his wife Saira Banu till the last day of his life. Bollywood's Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu's pair is considered to be one of the ideals.
Dilip Kumar leaves behind a legacy of films that spanned six decades, and gave Hindi cinema some of its most enduring classics.
