Muhammad Yousuf Khan

Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from late 1940s throughout 1960s,
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* See Dilip Kumar section,
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* being referred to as ''"Abhinay Samrat"'' (Hindi for "Emperor of Acting") by the audience. Kumar holds the record for most wins for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (eight, which was later equalled by Shah Rukh Khan) and was also the inaugural recipient of the award. He holds the best box-office record for a star (male or female) in Hindi cinema with over eighty-percent box-office successes."The best box office record for a star(male or female) in hindi films is held by the legendary Dilip Kumar."

*"Based on purely box office record Dilip Kumar stands way ahead as his is by far the best box office record with 80% of his films being successes and nearly 50% outright hits."
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In a career spanning over five decades, Kumar worked in around 60 films in a variety of roles. He debuted as an actor in the film '' Jwar Bhata'' (1944), produced by Bombay Talkies. Following a series of unsuccessful ventures, he had his first box office hit in '' Jugnu'' (1947). Kumar found further success with the romantic '' Andaz'' (1949), the swashbuckling ''Aan'' (1952), the social drama '' Daag'' (1952), the dramatic ''Devdas'' (1955), the comical '' Azaad'' (1955), the romantic social ''Naya Daur'' (1957), the noir mystery ''Madhumati'' (1958), the comedy-drama ''Paigham'' (1959) the epic historical ''Mughal-E-Azam'' (1960), the social dacoit crime drama ''Gunga Jumna'' (1961), and the comedy drama ''Ram Aur Shyam'' (1967). All three ''Andaz'', ''Aan'' and ''Naya Daur'' briefly became the highest-grossing Indian film up to that point, a feat later achieved by ''Mughal-e-Azam'', which sustained the record for 15 years. As of 2021, the latter remains the highest-grossing Indian film when adjusted for inflation.

The 1970s saw Kumar's career take a downturn, marked by three consecutive commercial underperformers, namely ''Dastaan'' (1972), ''Sagina'' (1974) and ''Bairaag'' (1976). In 1976, he went on a five-year hiatus from film performances and returned with the revolutionary drama ''Kranti'', which was the highest-grossing Indian film of the year. He continued to play leading roles in films such as ''Shakti'' (1982), ''Karma'' (1986), and '' Saudagar'' (1991). His last on-screen appearance was in the commercially unsuccessful ''Qila'' (1998), which saw him in a dual role. Kumar later served as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's parliament, from 2000 to 2006.

Kumar's personal life was the subject of much media attention, however, he himself had largely avoided media limelight and endorsements. He was in a long-term relationship with actress and frequent co-star Madhubala that ended after the ''Naya Daur'' court case in 1957. He married actress Saira Banu in 1966 and resided in Bandra, a suburb of Mumbai, until his death in 2021. For his contributions to film, the Government of India awarded him with the Padma Bhushan in 1991 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015, the country's third and second-highest civilian awards respectively. He was also awarded India's highest accolade in the field of cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994. In 1998, the Government of Pakistan conferred Kumar with Nishan-e-Imtiaz, their highest civilian decoration, making him the only Indian to have received the honour. The house that Kumar grew up in, located in Peshawar, was declared a national heritage monument in 2014 by the Pakistani government.

Early life

Dilip Kumar was born as Mohammad Yusuf Khan on 11 December 1922, into a Hindko-speaking Awan Muslim family at his family home in the Qissa Khawani Bazaar neighbourhood of Peshawar, a city in the North-West Frontier Province of British India. He was one of the twelve children of Lala Ghulam Sarwar Khan and his wife Ayesha Begum. His father was a fruit merchant.

Khan was schooled at the Barnes School in Deolali (now in Maharashtra), where his father owned orchards. He grew up in the same neighbourhood in Peshawar as Raj Kapoor, his childhood friend, and later his colleague in the film industry. In 1940, he moved to Pune and set up a dry fruit supply shop and a canteen. Despite hailing from Peshawar, Khan's family decided to remain in Bombay following the partition of the India in 1947.

Khan never acted under his birth name, debuting in ''Jwar Bhata'' in 1944 under the stage name Dilip Kumar. In his autobiography, '' Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow'', he wrote that the name was a suggestion from Devika Rani, who was one of the producers on ''Jwar Bhata''. In an interview in 1970, he said that he adopted this name out of fear of his father, who never approved of his acting career because of the general poor image of cinema back then.

Career

1940s: First film roles and initial success

Kumar's first film was '' Jwar Bhata'' in 1944, which went unnoticed. After two more unsuccessful films, it was his fourth film '' Jugnu'' (1947), in which he starred alongside Noor Jehan, that became his first major hit at the box office. His next major hits were the 1948 films ''Shaheed'' and '' Mela''. Both ''Jugnu'' and ''Shaheed'' were the highest grossing Hindi films of their respective year of release.

He got his breakthrough role as an actor in 1949 with Mehboob Khan's '' Andaz'', in which he starred alongside Raj Kapoor and Nargis. At the time of its release, ''Andaz'' was the highest-grossing Indian film ever, until its record was broken by Kapoor's '' Barsaat'' that same year. ''Shabnam'' was another box office hit that was also released in 1949.

1950s: Breakthrough years

The 1950s was Kumar's most successful and prolific decade with him playing leading roles in several box office hits such as '' Jogan'' (1950), '' Babul'' (1950), '' Deedar'' (1951), ''Tarana'' (1951), '' Daag'' (1952), ''Aan'' (1952), ''Uran Khatola'' (1955), '' Insaniyat'' (1955), ''Devdas'' (1955), ''Naya Daur'' (1957), ''Yahudi'' (1958), ''Madhumati'' (1958) and ''Paigham'' (1959).
He formed popular on-screen pairings with many of the top actresses at the time including Vyjayanthimala, Madhubala, Nargis, Nimmi, Meena Kumari and Kamini Kaushal.
Together with fellow contemporaries Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand, he dominated the 1950s which is considered a part of the golden era of Hindi cinema. Though the three did not appear in any one film together, Kumar did appear with Raj Kapoor in '' Andaz'' (1949) and Dev Anand in ''Insaniyat''.

Several of his films established his screen image as the "Tragedy King". Kumar briefly suffered from depression due to portraying many tragic roles and on the advice of his psychiatrist, he also took on light-hearted roles. Mehboob Khan's big-budget 1952 swashbuckling musical ''Aan'' featured him in one of his first lighter roles and marked his first film to be shot in technicolor. ''Aan'' was the first Indian film to have a wide release across Europe with a lavish premiere in London. ''Aan'' was the highest-grossing Indian film ever at the time, domestically and overseas. He had further success with lighter roles as a thief in the comedy '' Azaad'' (1955), and as a royal prince in the musical ''Kohinoor'' (1960). By this time, he had developed his distinct, signature style of understated acting of mumbling his dialogues while giving myriad expressions and meanings to lines that his characters uttered.

He was the first actor to win the Filmfare Best Actor Award (for ''Daag'') and went on to win it a further seven times. 9 of his 21 films in the 1950s were ranked in the Top 30 highest-grossing films of the decade.

In the 1950s, Kumar became the first Indian actor to charge per film.

1960s: ''Mughal-e-Azam'' and venture into production

In 1960, he portrayed Prince Salim in K. Asif's big-budget epic historical film ''Mughal-e-Azam'', which was the highest-grossing film in Indian film history for 15 years until it was surpassed by the 1975 film ''Sholay''. If adjusted for inflation, ''Mughal-e-Azam'' was the highest-grossing Indian film through to the early 2010s, equivalent to over 1000 crore in 2011.

The film was originally shot in black and white, with only two songs and the climax scenes shot in colour. 44 years after its original release, it was fully colourised and theatrically re-released in 2004 and was once again a box office success.

In 1961, Kumar wrote, produced, and starred in ''Ganga Jamuna'' opposite his brother Nasir Khan, playing the title roles. Kumar produced the film under his production company Citizens and it would be the only film he produced. He chose the shade of saree that his co-star Vyjayanthimala would wear in every scene. The film received the National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film in Hindi, the Paul Revere Silver Bowl at the Boston International Film Festival, the Special Honour Diploma from the Czechoslovak Academy of Arts in Prague, and the Special Prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

In 1962, British director David Lean offered him the role of "Sherif Ali" in his film ''Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962), but Kumar declined to perform in the movie. The role eventually went to Omar Sharif, the Egyptian actor. Kumar commented in his much later released autobiography, "he thought Omar Sharif had played the role far better than he himself could have". Kumar was also being considered for a leading role opposite Elizabeth Taylor in a film that Lean was working on called ''Taj Mahal'', before the project was cancelled.

His next film ''Leader'' (1964) was a below-average grosser at the box office. Kumar was also credited with writing the story of this film. His next film ''Dil Diya Dard Liya'' (1966) was Kumar's first box office flop in a decade. It was rumoured that he had ghost directed the film but the final credit was given to Abdul Rashid Kardar of twins separated at birth in the hit film ''Ram Aur Shyam''. In 1968, he starred alongside Manoj Kumar in '' Aadmi'' which was an average grosser at the box office. That same year, he starred in ''Sunghursh'' with Vyjayanthimala which was their last film together which created a total of seven hit films together.

1970s: Career slump

In 1970, Kumar played the title role in ''Gopi'' which marked his first pairing with wife Saira Banu and was a box office success. That same year, he acted opposite Banu again in the Bengali language film ''Sagina Mahato''. This was his only appearance in a Bengali film. In 1972, he once again played dual roles as twin brothers in '' Dastaan'' which was a box office flop and began a decline in Kumar's career as a leading man. A Hindi remake of ''Sagina Mahato'', simply titled ''Sagina'' was made in 1974 with both Kumar and Banu reprising their roles which also failed to do well at the box office. In 1976, he played triple roles as a father and twin sons in ''Bairaag''. Though his performance in triple roles was acclaimed, the film was his third consecutive failure at the box office. He personally regarded M. G. Ramachandran's performance in ''Enga Veettu Pillai'' better than his role in ''Ram Aur Shyam''. He regards his performance in ''Bairaag'' much higher than that of ''Ram Aur Shyam''. The rise of actors like Rajesh Khanna , Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjeev Kumar led to Kumar losing film offers from 1970 to 1980. He took a five-year hiatus from films from 1976 to 1981.Meghnad Desai, Baron Desai (2004), ''Nehru's hero Dilip Kumar in the life of India'', Lotus Collection, Roli Books, .

1980s: Return to success

In 1981, he returned to films as a character actor playing mature elderly roles. His comeback film was the star-studded historical epic ''Kranti'' which was the biggest hit of the year. Appearing alongside an ensemble cast including Manoj Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Hema Malini and Shatrughan Sinha, he played the title role as a revolutionary fighting for India's independence from British rule.Top Earners 1980–1989 (Figures in Ind Rs)
Box Office India. Retrieved 31 July 2011. In the post-''Kranti'' phase, Kumar reinvented himself to play the "Angry Old Man" to great effect in a series of films like ''Vidhaata'' (1982), ''Shakti'' (1982), '' Duniya'' (1984), etc''.'' In 1982, he collaborated with director Subhash Ghai for the first time with ''Vidhaata'', in which he starred alongside Sanjay Dutt, Sanjeev Kumar and Shammi Kapoor. ''Vidhaata'' was the highest grossing film of the year. Later that year he starred alongside Amitabh Bachchan in Ramesh Sippy's ''Shakti'', which was an average grosser at the box office, but won him critical acclaim and his eighth and final Filmfare Award for Best Actor. In 1984, he starred in Yash Chopra's social crime drama ''Mashaal'' opposite Anil Kapoor, which failed at the box office, but his performance was critically acclaimed. He also appeared alongside Rishi Kapoor in '' Duniya'' (1984) and Jeetendra in ''Dharm Adhikari'' (1986).

His second collaboration with Subhash Ghai came with the 1986 ensemble action film ''Karma''. ''Karma'' marked the first film which paired him opposite fellow veteran actress Nutan, although they were paired in an incomplete and unreleased film in the 1950s titled ''Shikwa''. He acted opposite Nutan again in the 1989 action film ''Kanoon Apna Apna'' which also reunited him with Sanjay Dutt.

1990s: Directorial debut and final works

In 1990, he co-starred with Govinda in the action thriller ''Izzatdaar''. In 1991, Kumar starred alongside fellow veteran actor Raaj Kumar in '' Saudagar'', his third and last film with director Subhash Ghai. This was his second film with Raaj Kumar after 1959's ''Paigham''. ''Saudagar'' was to be Kumar's penultimate film and last box office success. In 1994, he won the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the industry.

In 1991, producer Sudhakar Bokade who had previously worked with Kumar in ''Izzatdaar'' announced a film titled ''Kalinga'' which would officially mark Kumar's directorial debut after he had allegedly previously ghost directed ''Ganga Jamuna'' (1961) and ''Dil Diya Dard Liya'' (1967). Kumar was also set to star in the title role with the cast including Raj Babbar, Raj Kiran, Amitoj Mann and Meenakshi Seshadri. After being delayed for several years ''Kalinga'' was eventually shelved in 1996 with 70% filming completed.

In 1998, Kumar made his last film appearance in the box office flop ''Qila'', where he played dual roles as an evil landowner who is murdered and as his twin brother who tries to solve the mystery of his death.

2000s–2021: Shelved projects and political career

In 2001, Kumar was set to appear in a film titled ''Asar – The Impact'' alongside Ajay Devgan and Priyanka Chopra, which was shelved due to Kumar's declining health. He was also set to appear in Subhash Ghai's war film ''Mother Land'', alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, but this film was shelved after Khan decided to leave the project.

His classic films ''Mughal-e-Azam'' and ''Naya Daur'' were fully colourised and re-released in cinemas in 2004 and 2008 respectively. An unreleased film he had shot and completed titled ''Aag Ka Dariya'' was set for a theatrical release in 2013 but has not been released to date.

Kumar was a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's parliament, from 2000 to 2006. He was nominated by the Indian National Congress to represent Maharashtra. Kumar utilised a significant portion of his MPLADS fund towards the construction and improvement of the Bandstand Promenade and the gardens at Bandra Fort at Lands End in Bandra.

Personal life

Kumar and Madhubala were drawn to each other during the shooting of ''Tarana'' (1951). They remained in a relationship for seven years until the Naya Daur court case, during which Kumar testified against Madhubala and her father, ending their relationship. They never worked together again after ''Mughal-e-Azam'' (1960). Kumar later expressed in his autobiography, "Was I in love with Madhubala as the newspapers and magazines reported at that time? As an answer to this oft-repeated question straight from the horse’s mouth, I must admit that I was attracted to her both as a fine co-star and as a person who had some of the attributes I hoped to find in a woman at that age and time...She, as I said earlier, was very sprightly and vivacious and, as such, she could draw me out of my shyness and reticence effortlessly." However, Kumar shared in his biography that contrary to popular notion, Madhubala’s father Ataullah Khan wasn’t opposed to their match but instead, wanted to turn this marriage into a business venture which did not land well with him. In the late 1950s, Vyjayanthimala was linked by gossip magazines to Kumar, who has acted with her the most compared to any other actress, which resulted in great on-screen chemistry between them. While working for his home production ''Gunga Jumna'' (1961), Kumar reportedly handpicked the shade of sari that Vyjayanthimala would wear in every scene.

In 1966, Kumar married actress Saira Banu, who was 22 years younger than him. He later married Hyderabad socialite Asma Sahiba, taking her as a second wife in 1981. That marriage ended in January 1983. Banu and he lived in Bandra. They did not have any children. In his autobiography, ''Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow'', he revealed that Banu had conceived in 1972, but developed complications in the pregnancy, leading to the child's death. Following this, they did not try to have children again, believing it to be God's will.

Kumar was fluent in his native Hindko as well as Urdu

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