Dilip Kumar – One of the greatest actors of Hindi Cinema

Dilip Kumar turns 89 today. Dlip Kumar started his career with Jwar Bhata in 1944 and his last film was Qila in 1998. He has starred in only 60 films in a career spanning five decades. He was famous for being a method actor. He is considered to be one of the greatest actors in the history of Hindi Cinema. Dilip Kumar was the first actor to receive a Filmfare Best Actor Award and holds the record for the most number of Filmfare Awards won for that category along with Shahrukh Khan; 8 wins. He was honoured with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1991 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994 for his contributions towards Indian cinema.

Dilip Kumar’s acting style has influenced many actors including Manoj Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. In 1976, Dilip Kumar had a five-year break from film performances. In 1981, he returned with a character role in the film Kranti and continued his career playing central character roles in films such as Shakti (1982), Karma (1986) and Saudagar (1991). (Partly from wikipedia)

Filmfare Awards Won
Best Actor
Shakti (1982)
Ram Aur Shyam (1967)
Leader (1964)
Kohinoor (1960)
Naya Daur (1957)
Devdas (1955)
Azaad (1955)
Daag (1952)

Nominated
Best Actor
Dil Diya Dard Liya (1966)
Gunga Jumna (1961)
Best Film
Gunga Jumna (1961)

Here are a few great songs of his. Please post your favorites.

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13 Comments
  1. sputnik 12 years ago

    Happy Birthday Dilip Kumar.

  2. aryan 12 years ago

    Happy Birthday Dilip Saab yours Hair style and acting style still new comers doing.

  3. aryan 12 years ago

    Career

    His first film with Nisar Bhai and Hamed Bhai Jwar Bhata was released in 1944 which went unnoticed. His first major hit was the 1947 film Jugnu. He appeared in many hits thereafter including the romantic melodramas Mela (1948), Andaz (1949), Deedar (1951), Daag (1954), Devdas (1955), Yahudi (1958) and Madhumati (1958). These films established his screen image as the “Tragedy King”.[8]

    He also played lighthearted roles in films such as Aan (1952), Azaad (1955) and Kohinoor (1960). In 1960 he portrayed Prince Salim in the historical film Mughal-e-Azam which as of 2008 was the second highest grossing film in Hindi film history.[9]

    In 1961 he produced and starred in Ganga Jamuna in which he and his real-life brother Nasir Khan played the title roles. This was the only film he produced. In 1962 British director David Lean offered him the role of Sherif Ali in his 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia, but Kumar declined the part.[10] The role eventually went to Omar Sharif, the Egyptian actor. His next film Leader (1964) was below average at the box office.[11] In 1967 Dilip Kumar played a dual role of twins separated at birth in the hit film Ram Aur Shyam. His career slumped in the 1970s with films like Dastaan (1970) and Bairaag (1976) where he played triple roles failing at the box office.[12][13] He took a five year hiatus from films from 1976 to 1981.[7]

    In 1981 he returned with the multi-starrer Kranti which was the biggest hit of the year.[14] He went onto play character roles in hit films including Shakti (1982), Vidhaata (1982), Mashaal (1984) and Karma (1986).[14] In 1991 he starred alongside veteran actor Raaj Kumar in Saudagar which was his last successful film.[15] In 1993 he won the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1996 he was attached to make his directorial debut with a film titled Kalinga but the film was shelved. In 1998 he made his last film appearance in the unsuccessful film Qila where once again he played dual roles as an evil landowner and his twin brother investigating his death. His films Mughal-e-Azam and Naya Daur were fully colorized and re-released in 2004 and 2008 respectively.

  4. sputnik 12 years ago

    Raj Kapoor hits Dilip Kumar

  5. rehan g.k.p 11 years ago

    Happy b’day tragedy king
    kohinoor of d real life.

  6. danish 11 years ago

    the greatest actor ever in world cinema!

    • Ritz 11 years ago

      The most dramatic and theatrical actor in indian cinema. Who made people in my generation wonder why he was called greatest. He looked so damn tired and fake in even MEZ – his most acclaimed movie.

  7. FS 11 years ago

    Yesterday Dilip Kumar’s birthday – Best actor ever in Hindi Cinema
    Today is Rajnikant’s Birthday – Biggest Superstar of India

  8. danish 11 years ago

    @ritz – the guy taught bollywood natural acting man! from the very 1st film. even ashok kumar took to natural acting after dilip kumar came though ashok was a senior.

    • Ritz 11 years ago

      Its the other way around. Ashok Kumar always appreciated Dilip in his interviews. But Ashok was the natural actor.

    • Tulmul 11 years ago

      DK is method actor not natural actor like Moti lal, balraj sahni and sanjeev kumar…

      • FS 11 years ago

        Agreed. DK boss is method actor and not natural actor

  9. Author
    sputnik 3 years ago

    RIP

    Though I found him theatrical he was very influential when it came to acting in Hindi cinema. As I said in the article above “Dilip Kumar’s acting style has influenced many actors including Manoj Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan.”

    Liked him in Shakti, Saudaagar and Mashaal.

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