Dilip Kumar at 90: Wife Saira remembers 46 years of love

He never allowed her to hold his hand in public but 46 years of marriage has changed many things, says Saira Banu lovingly of husband- actor-legend Dilip Kumar who turns 90 Tuesday. The celebrations for the landmark birthday will be quiet given the death of some of their closest friends this year. 

"This year was a sorrowful year. We lost many dear friends from the industry. So it will be a small celebration at our place with only close friends, " Saira, 68, told in an exclusive conversation. 

The family is grieving the death of friends and associates like Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, former union minister N. K. P. Salve, filmmaker Yash Chopra, and actors Rajesh Khanna and Dara Singh, among others. 

The Saira Banu-Dilip Kumar story is what Bollywood films are made of - 46 years of togetherness and getting better with time. 

"I fell in love with Dilip saheb when I was 12 years old. Beyond my own romance (with him), I can't see anything. In real life, he is very loving, very polished and a sophisticated man, " Saira told. 

They have a 22-year age gap, and have stood like strong pillars of support for each other through thick and thin. 

"Since the day Dilip saheb proposed to me, it's been great... He is the strongest person in my life. He never allowed me to hold his hand in public, but 46 years of our marriage has changed many things. Now we only live for each other, " added the one-time screen scorcher, who still steals romantic moments like an occasional dinner with her husband. 

For his milestone birthday, she wishes him a good, healthy and long life. 

"I want him to be healthy and happy forever. He is the best person in this world. Dilip saheb is the golden man that god has created. My effort is to keep him and his family happy. 

"He is my sartaaj... as you all say, he is my 'pati parmeshwar'. I am a traditional woman by heart and Dilip saheb is supreme to me, " she said. 

Dilip Kumar, a.k.a. Mohammed Yusuf Khan, started his memorable Bollywood journey with the 1944 release "Jwar Bhata". Thereafter, he went on to give classics like "Madhumati", "Shaheed", "Devdas", "Andaz", "Amar", "Mughal-E-Azam", "Ram Aur Shyam", "Karma" and "Saudagar". 
He was crowned the Tragedy King of Bollywood for playing a doomed lover in films like "Andaaz", "Baabul", "Mela", "Deedar", and "Jogan". His last film was "Quila" in 1998. 

The icon that he is, celebrations for his 90th birthday are being planned the world over, says his wife, but he wants it to be a sober affair in Mumbai. 

His birthday will be celebrated in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where he was born before he migrated to India by the Cultural Heritage Council (CHC) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

"In Pakistan, where he used to live, now that place belongs to someone else. But obviously, the people there are very happy and will have a celebration there. 

"Not only there, even in London and many other places, people love him and will have a celebration for him. As far as Dilip saheb is concerned, we will have a small get-together with our close family members, " said Saira.

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Dilip Kumar's biography delayed

Thespian Dilip Kumar's biography was due to be launched on his 90th birthday Tuesday, but it has been delayed, says wife Saira Banu

'We will not be launching his biography on his birthday as the book needs some polishing. His biography will be a kind of look into what Dilip Kumar is. This book will not be filled with gossip, but it will be about his journey,  Saira told IANS.

The biography is penned based upon Dilip Kumar's narration to veteran film journalist Uday Tara Nayar. It is said to be a two-part book focussing on the actor's nine-decade-long journey, his love story with Saira, some untold stories as well as rare pictures of the thespian and his family members.

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Dilip Kumar's 90th birthday to be celebrated in Pakistan

Veteran actor Dilip Kumar's 90th birthday Tuesday will be celebrated in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province where he was born before he migrated to India

The Cultural Heritage Council (CHC) of Khyper Pakhtoonkhwa will mark the occasion in Peshawar, an Indian peace activist said. 'The CHC has decided to celebrate the 90th birthday of the legendary actor for the first time ever, ' Jatin Desai told IANS.

He said CHC had invited prominent personalities including film personalities, journalists, lawyers, peaceniks and commoners to celebrate the birthday of Dilip Kumar a.k.a. Mohammed Yusuf Khan. Ironically, Dilip Kumar will not celebrate his birthday in Mumbai as he is still grieving the death of several prominent personalities in the past few months.

These include Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, former union minister N.K.P. Salve, filmmaker Yash Chopra, Rajesh Khanna, Dara Singh and others. On his 89th birthday last year, he had a mega bash at his Pali Hill residence that attracted, among others, Yash Chopra and Rajesh Khanna. In July, a public effort was initiated to conserve Dilip Kumar's ancestral home, now in a dilapidated condition in Peshawar.

It was launched by civil society groups in Pakistan and Bangladesh and other organisations. The Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa administration recently planned to acquire the ancestral homes of Dilip Kumar and another Indian legend, Raj Kapoor, and preserve them as national heritage monuments. Locals have urged the authorities to rename certain parts of Peshawar after Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor.

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Madhubala was very vivacious: Dilip Kumar

Bollywood-Stop speaks to Dilip Kumar interview onughal e Azam. his 90th Birthday...

You turn 90 on December 11. 90 is just a number specially when one considers a life as well-lived as yours. Sir, as you look back what do you feel about the first 90 years of your life? 
I can look back at my life with a sense of satisfaction and some surprise at certain events that have added the twists and turns to an otherwise normal, serene life. 

Dilip Saab, in the 90 years which events would you regard as the greatest events and milestones in your astounding life? 
My entry into the profession of acting which was most unexpected. My marriage to a beautiful girl two score years younger with whom I had declined to co-star because she was too young to be my leading-lady, my decision to challenge myself by switching over to comedy when I was being hailed for my intense tragic roles that had evoked public esteem and adulation. 
Every actor wants to be like you. You have defined fine and brilliant acting for 6 decades. You have spawned generations of admirers from Mr Bachchan to Shah Rukh Khan. How do you evaluate your own contribution as an actor? 
I have seriously pondered over this because the question has been put to me so many times. I guess it is a normal instinct to follow an example if you are drawn to it for whatever attributes you admire in that example.

An actor should possess a strong instinct, besides a mind of his own and a striking personality. He should be able to absorb the positive and delete the negative from the influences that are bound to crowd his mind. The mind has to be respected and obeyed when it tells you to accept or reject an influence. 
What qualities should an actor cultivate? 
It is not for me to generalize on the dos and don'ts. Every actor I watched in my formative years had his own individualistic qualities and assets. I had the discrimination fortunately at that age-I was only 20---to decide that I had to be patient and pick only those films I liked to work in. 

There were times in the early phase of my career when I needed the big money that was being offered to me after some of my films became box office hits. But I resisted accepting them because I did not relate to those scripts and propositions. 
Your refusal must have upset a lot of producers? 
The producers who came to me with those offers felt they had the role of a lifetime for me, a newcomer. They advised me that it was foolish to refuse the offers when the going was so good because in show business you have to show that you are in great demand and you are extremely busy. 

I could have been swayed by the talk but it was my basic strength of discrimination that helped me to be firm and go by what my mind told me to do. So if you judge from my career it is the quality of patience and discrimination that paid off. 

It cannot be the general thumb rule because I know of actors who worked in six films simultaneously and were gloriously happy and relaxed. 
Dilip Saab, you have worked with the most exquisite actresses, from Madhubalaji to Sairaji. Who were your favourites, and why? 
I was never the one to choose my co stars. That prerogative was the producer's and director's. When I teamed with Meena Kumari in Azaad she was also changing gears (from serious roles to comedy). 

We hit it off in light-hearted acting and it encouraged the makers of Kohinoor to cast us again in lively roles. She made a delightful co-star and we got along well outside our work because we shared a taste for good Urdu poetry. 
And Madhubala? 
Madhubala was very vivacious as an artiste and person. It was in Tarana that our pairing became noticed, though most film lovers cherish her gorgeous screen presence in Mughal e Azam. 

Waheeda Rehman was wonderfully sprightly in Ram aur Shyam and equally intense in Dil Diya Dard Liya. As for Saira, it was only when we began work in Sagina that I realised how capable Saira was. 

She handled the dramatic scenes with amazing confidence and with little help from me. It clearly demonstrated her latent potential that had remained untapped in all the romantic musicals she came to be adored for. 
Who was your favourite co-star? 
I have consistently rated Nalini Jaywant as a formidable co-star. She was the only actress who could take me by surprise in the final take if I was not alert enough thanks to the natural spontaneity she possessed.

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Dara Singh had heart of gold: Dilip Kumar

Bollywood thespian Dilip Kumar has described late wrestler-actor Dara Singh as a "gem" with "a heart of gold".

"Dara was a gem of a man, earthy and robust, with a heart of gold. I pray for his soul and for the family to bear the loss with fortitude," tweeted Dilip Kumar. Dara Singh, considered Bollywood's first macho man, died here Thursday morning following a brief illness. He was 84.

The man of steel was last seen in the Kareena Kapoor-Shahid Kapoor starrer "Jab We Met" as the stern, lovable 'Daarji'. Several fans and tinsel town celebrities paid their last respects to the star at his funeral Thursday afternoon.

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Row hits heritage plan for Dilip Kumar's Pakistan house

The government's plan to turn the ancestral home of Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar in Pakistan's Peshawar city into a heritage site has come a cropper because there are too many claimants to the property.

The culture department was keen to preserve the ancestral home of the legendary actor and convert it into a heritage site, reported Dawn Tuesday.

The house is located in Mohalla Khudadad near Qissa Khwani Bazaar. A dingy building, it located at the end of a narrow street.

The authorities have been planning since February this year to buy the house where Dilip Kumar was born in Dec 11, 1922.

Yusuf Khan, who later took on the name Dilip Kumar, stayed in the house till the age of 12 before moving to Mumbai with his family.

The plan was also to bring Dilip Kumar's personal belongings to the house from India to put it on display for visitors. A library of his films was also in the works.

But the plan hit a roadblock as government failed to buy the house as there were many claimants to the property.

"Now there are legal complications and till the time the rightful owner is not known, the directorate would not go ahead with the plan, " Culture Director Pervez Khan was quoted as saying.

The building is now being used as a warehouse.

The media report said that chances of getting old houses of Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Raj Kapoor, also located in Peshawar, have gone down.

"The extended family of Shah Rukh Khan is living in his ancestral house whereas a local family owning Kapoor's house is not ready to sell it to the government, " Pervez Khan said.

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Untold stories, rare pictures in Dilip Kumar's new biography

Uday Tara Nayar has written Dilip Kumar's biography, set to be launched on the legendary actor's 90th birthday in December. The author says the two-part book focuses on the actor's nine-decade long journey, his love story with Saira Banu, some untold stories as well as rare pictures of the thespian and his family members.

"The book has two parts. The first part is about Dilip saab where he has spoken about his career. And the second part is where various people have talked about him. People like Yash Chopra and Subhash Ghai, who have worked with him, have spoken about him," Nayar told.

Dilip Kumar teamed up with Chopra in "Mashaal" and with Ghai in "Saudagar".

"Yes, you all will also see rare pictures of Dilip saab and his family members in the biography. Earlier, many books on him came in the market, but this is the first authentic book where Dilip saab has told his story in his own words from the day he was born in Peshawar (now in Pakistan) till now," said Nayar.

"There are a lot of untold stories that one will get to read in this biography. Of course, you will also read about his love story with Saira Banu. It has been the longest lasting love story," she added.

Earlier, three books on Dilip Kumar by Vinita Lamba, Sanjit Nawrekar and Lord Meghnad Desai were published.

The biography by Nayar, which is yet untitled, will be launched on Dilip Kumar's 90th birthday on Dec 11, 2012.

Dilip saab's wife, actress Saira Banu, is deciding on a title for the biography, she said.

"2013 marks the 100 years on Indian cinema and this book will be a tribute. Dilip saab has completed sixty-eight years in the industry...," she added.

The 1944 release "Jwar Bhata" was his first film and after that he went on to give classics like "Madhumati", "Shaheed", "Devdas", "Andaz", "Amar", "Mughal-E-Azam", "Ram Aur Shyam", "Karma" and "Saudagar".

His last film was "Quila" in 1998.

He was crowned the Tragedy King of Bollywood for playing doomed lover in films like "Andaaz", "Baabul", "Mela", "Deedar", and "Jogan".

While many were keen to pen Dilip Kumar's biography, Nayar says she was the fortunate one to get the chance.

"I consider myself fortunate that Saira Banu and Dilip saab chose me to write the biography. We didn't start writing it yesterday or day before yesterday, I have been writing this for three years. Right now the production work is going on," said the author.

The book will be published jointly by Saira's entertainment enterprise Sharp Focus and New Media, one of the largest bilateral trade magazine publishing house.

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