Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan, 11 December 1922 — 7 July 2021) started his career in Bollywood in 1944 and retired in 1998. He was considered the Marlon Brando of Bollywood for his brooding, Method Acting-influenced performances. After being romantically linked to several of his costars, most famously Madhubala, he married b-list actress Saira Banu, and had stayed married to her up until his death. He is perhaps best-known for Devdas (1955), the reincarnation romance Madhumati, and Mughal-e-Azam (1960).
He won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor eight times, a record that is shared with Shah Rukh Khan.
He was honored with the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award, in 1991, and the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award, in 2015.
He passed away on 7 July 2021 at the age of 98, due to a prolonged illness.
Notable Films
- Jwar Bhata (1944) — Film debut
- Tarana (1951)
- Sangdil (1952)
- Daag (1952)
- Aan (1952)
- Amar (1954)
- Devdas (1955)
- Naya Daur (1957)
- Madhumati (1958)
- Kohinoor (1960)
- Mughal-e-Azam (1960)
- Gunga Jumna (1961)
- Leader (1964)
- Dil Diya Dard Liya (1966)
- Ram Aur Shyam (1967)
- Shakti (1982) — Notable for being a Dueling-Stars Movie, as it was the only time Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan ever acted together on-screen
- Karma (1986) — Another Dueling-Stars Movie, as it was the only time Kumar and fellow veteran actress Nutan ever acted together on-screen
- Qila (1998) — Final film role
Associated Tropes
- Acting for Two: He played dual roles in Ram Aur Shyam (1967), among others.
- Those Two Actors: He and Madhubala starred together in four films: Tarana (1951), Sangdil (1952), Amar (1954), and Mughal-e-Azam (1960).
- What Could Have Been:
- David Lean offered him the role of Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia, but he turned it down. In his 2014 autobiography, he stated that Omar Sharif had played the role better than he himself could have.
- Lean also considered casting Kumar opposite Elizabeth Taylor in a film called Taj Mahal, but the project was cancelled.
- Kumar nearly worked with Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan in a war film called Mother Land, but the project was shelved after Khan departed from it.
