Dilip Kumar: The Tragedy King of Indian Cinema

1.1 Who was Dilip Kumar?

Dilip Kumar was one of Hindi cinema’s greatest actors. His birth name was Muhammad Yusuf Khan.

He was born in Peshawar in 1922. He died in Mumbai on 7 July 2021.

1.2 Why does he come up in exams?

In 1998 Pakistan gave him the Nishan-e-Imtiaz. Sources call him the second Indian honoured after Morarji Desai.

Desai had received a different Pakistani honour, the Nishan-e-Pakistan, in 1990. So never write that Dilip Kumar was the only Indian honoured by Pakistan.

2.1 Where did he come from?

He was born on 11 December 1922 in Peshawar, then part of British India. He was the fourth of twelve children.

His father, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, ran a fruit business. His younger brother Nasir Khan also became an actor.

The family home stood in the Qissa Khwani Bazaar. He lived there for 12 years before moving to Mumbai. Pakistan has since notified the house as a protected monument.

2.2 How did he get his screen name?

Most accounts say actress Devika Rani of Bombay Talkies pushed him to change his name. This was in 1944, when he entered films.

Some sources credit the writer Bhagwati Charan Varma instead. So use words like “reportedly” in answers.

His debut film was Jwar Bhata (1944).

2.3 How did his story end?

His last film was Qila (1998). He died in Mumbai on 7 July 2021, at the age of 98.

Dates from Britannica and Al Jazeera.

3.1 Why was he called the Tragedy King?

His roles took on a mournful tone. People came to call him the king of tragedy.

He won a Filmfare Best Actor award for Devdas (1955). In Mughal-e-Azam (1960) he played Crown Prince Salim.

3.2 Which other films matter?

Andaz (1949) paired him with Raj Kapoor, in a film by Mehboob Khan. Madhumati (1958) was directed by Bimal Roy.

Naya Daur and Ram Aur Shyam also won him Filmfare Best Actor awards. He acted in nearly 60 films in all.

With Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor, he was one of the three big names of the golden age. That age ran from the 1940s to the 1960s.

3.3 How many Filmfare awards did he win?

He won the Best Actor award at the 1954 ceremony, for Daag. That was the first of his eight.

Counted from the Filmfare winners list.

4.1 Whom did he marry?

In 1966 he married the actress Saira Banu. There was an age gap of 22 years between them.

4.2 What public roles did he hold?

He was appointed Sheriff of Mumbai in 1980.

From 2000 to 2006 he served in the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra. Reports say the Congress party nominated him.

5.1 Which honours did he receive?

The Padma years come from the official gazettes. The Phalke and Pakistani years come from The Hindu.

The Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, presented the Padma Vibhushan at his home in Pali Hill, Mumbai, on 13 December 2015.

5.2 What happened in 1999?

In 1999 India and Pakistan were fighting the Kargil conflict. Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray demanded that Dilip Kumar return the Nishan-e-Imtiaz.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee backed the actor. He told him it was wrong to raise doubts about his loyalty to India.

6.1 Which facts do students mix up?

• Dilip Kumar got the Nishan-e-Imtiaz (1998). Morarji Desai got the Nishan-e-Pakistan (1990).
• Padma Bhushan 1991. Dadasaheb Phalke Award 1994. Padma Vibhushan 2015.
• Birth name Muhammad Yusuf Khan. Screen name Dilip Kumar.
• Eight Filmfare Best Actor wins, level with Shah Rukh Khan.