Legendary Indian actor Dilip Kumar’s demise on Wednesday triggered a wave of shock and grief among his fans across the world. The thespian, who acted in around 65 films in his over four-decade-long career, breathed his last at the age of 98 due to prolonged illness.
Remembering the iconic Hindi film star, actor Shatrughan Sinha says, “Is there an Indian actor who is not a fan of Dilip Kumar? He was beyond a legend. So many are called legends, icons, etc. after they die, but Yusuf Saab, my favourite one and only Dilip Kumar, was beyond all these done-to-death descriptions.”
Grieving Sinha goes on to add, “We all knew the end was coming. But when it came, we were unprepared to let him go. He was too precious. But he was suffering immensely in his last years. I would say death has come as a relief and a release to this great man, the greatest actor of Indian screen whom everyone from Manoj Kumar to Amitabh to Shah Rukh sought inspiration from.”
Recalling the moments Sinha spent with the acting great on the sets of their 1981 film Kranti, he says, “Kranti was an immense experience. Manoj Kumar had earlier offered me Shor, the role that Ramnath did. But I could not do it because Manoj Saab needed more dates than I could give. In Kranti, I got to work with the greatest actor Dilip Kumar and Manoj Kumar who is the greatest Dilip Kumar fan in the world. I thought Manoj Saab would be too awed to direct the Thespian. Dilip Saab also had the reputation of directing the director. However, when it came to Manoj Kumar, Dilip Saab listened to his directorial instructions very carefully and followed them minutely.”
“I had many powerful scenes with him and Dilip Saab was very fond of me. He would ask me, ‘Why do you report so late?’ referring to my infamous punctuality. I replied. ‘Who have I learnt it from, the greatest acting institution of India?’ I could take liberties with him which none dared. When in Kranti we were supposed to shoot that famous confrontation sequence on the ship, I reached at 5 pm for a 2 pm shift. My heart sank like the ship when I saw him leaving waving goodbye to me from his car with a smile. The next day I came on time.”
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