Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow

by Dilip Kumar

  I, however, was scared on two counts. I feared how I would stand in the presence of the actor I had been idolizing for years and appear unmindful of his awesome personality. Secondly, the character of the son nurtured a strong resentment and hostility towards the father. Even though it was all make–believe, I winced at the thought of confronting the man I respected, admired and loved so much.

  To go back in time, I had always admired the actor in Dilip Sahab much before I came across Gunga Jumna. But the film became special to me after seeing Dilip Sahab’s versatility as the villager from UP possessing the perfection of the dialect and its delivery. It was impossible for me to imagine at that time, being from UP, how someone not connected to the state, could deliver a flawless performance, nuances and all, for the character. To me that has been his ultimate performance, one that I have, and shall always, cherish.

  Now, as a member of the same fraternity I can understand the effort and the dedication it must have taken from him to perfect the routine. His performances have all been flawless, and the main reason for this has been two very elementary, yet most important, aspects – the perfection in speech and the ability to listen. A correct diction takes care of almost all that you perform. And the power to listen to what the other character in front of you is saying endorses the genuineness of the moment in cinema. Dilip Sahab possessed both qualities in abundance, which was why I appreciated his greatness.

  I learnt from him the need to work relentlessly till perfection was achieved. I also imbibed from him the importance of respecting one’s co-artistes and their work. I recall an afternoon when we were shooting my death scene for Shakti. For all of us actors the most difficult scene in a film is a death scene. That’s because we have to die in different ways in different films and we have to prepare ourselves mentally for the scene to be performed the way the director has perceived it. As the scene had to be rehearsed at least once, Dilip Sahab and I got moving to go through the rehearsal on the airstrip at Juhu where it was to be shot. There were several members of the crew and the unit at the location and as is always the scenario at a shooting, there was a lot of talking and yelling going on between the lightmen and others. Dilip Sahab noticed that, as is my wont, I had come mentally and emotionally prepared for the scene. As we readied ourselves for the rehearsal he saw that the crew was least bothered about our rehearsal and were causing a lot of commotion. He asked me to wait and summoned them all for a minute. He spoke to them kindly but firmly explaining how an artiste prepares for his work throwing his entire being into the acting and the least he expected from his colleagues on the sets was silence and respect for the work he was doing. ‘Learn to respect artistes,’ he told them and packed them off to do their work. I was moved by the incident and so were the crew members. It was significant because it was my scene all the way and he wanted me to give it my best.

  Dilip Sahab is an exceptionally good human being. He is always playing the father-figure in real life to anybody who seeks his guidance. Perhaps it comes from him being the father-figure at home to his siblings. I remember one late night when the writer duo Salim-Javed egged me on to go with them to Sahab’s house without a prior appointment. I was both embarrassed and reluctant as it has never been my habit to take such liberties, especially with elders. They said it was all right. We drove over to Dilip Sahab’s bungalow; on reaching we learnt from the watchman that Sahab had retired for the day and was in his bedroom. I told Salim-Javed that we should leave but they told the watchman to inform Sahab that some friends were at the gate to see him.

  The next thing we knew was that lights were switched on in the living room and his personal valet was ushering us inside. Sahab came down from his bedroom all smiles and genuinely happy to see us. He was so hospitable and warm even at that unearthly hour. He regaled us with anecdotes from the past and it was only around four or so in the morning that we reluctantly took leave of him. Such is his care and warmth.

  No art in the entire universe can ever exist, flourish, or even take birth without an ‘unconscious assimilation’ of influence that eventually propels it to its creation. Writers, poets, painters, artists of any category need stimulation from what they may have encountered during the process of their creativity. If you attribute my source of influence to be Mr Dilip Kumar, then that would be the biggest compliment you could pay me, because I believe that he is what was and is, correct, right and the best.

  The history of Indian cinema shall in my reckoning be ‘before Dilip Sahab’ and ‘after Dilip Sahab’, because of his impeccable presence. When you measure a journey you never change the milestone. Dilip Sahab to me is that milestone in our film industry. That landmark is permanent, whether you wish to count the miles before, or after, it!

  One can only thank the graciousness of the Almighty when you find that your idol and object of great admiration has such kind thoughts and words to express about you. Dilip Sahab has more than once spoken kindly about my work publicly and personally to me. To me Dilip Sahab has not just been the mammoth performing talent that he is, but also one that has enveloped this great capability of his with supreme eloquence, considerate co-starring and collaborativeness, and a personality that demands immediate respect!

  He graced the premiere of my film Black [2005] and after the film was over he waited outside the theatre till I emerged. Then Sahab walked up to me and took both my hands in his and looked into my eyes for what seemed like an eternity. He did not speak a word but I can tell you those were the most eloquent words that anybody ever spoke to me. Thank you so much Dilip Sahab and thank you for that wonderful letter that you wrote to me after seeing the film. It is a letter that I have framed and put up in my office and it shall remain with me forever.

  JAYA BACHCHAN

  IF THERE IS ONE REGRET I HAVE IN MY professional life, it is that I did not get a chance to work with Dilip Sahab. I regard it as a loss because he is the only actor in Indian cinema whose iconic performances in film after film throughout the 1950s and early 1960s inspired me.

  I began watching his films even before I joined the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, as a student of cinema. As a youngster, I used to watch his films with my father, Tarun Kumar Bhaduri, who was a great admirer of Dilip Sahab. Much later, after I acted in Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar (1963; in Bengali), when serious interest in the medium seized me, I watched all Dilip Sahab’s starrers and each was a revelation.

  I intently observed his body language that conveyed what a torrent of words could not do for other actors, the pain he expressed through his eyes, the way he modulated his voice and never shouted in the dramatic scenes and the simple and natural stance he took in the commanding scenes. As for comedy, he has remained unparalleled from Kohinoor (1960) onwards. He played the anti-hero way back in the 1950s and set the trend for others to follow. His sense of timing was completely different and unique. He never acted. In a scene he listened to his co-star and responded with a mere glance …. Amazing!

  That he conveyed so much without speaking was what inspired me the most. May be, unconsciously, I conveyed the same in my performances.

  In fact, when my son Abhishek took the decision to become a film actor, I told him to watch all of Dilip Sahab’s classics and learn some essential lessons from them without trying to copy him. For instance, how many actors of our cinema know how to use silence to enhance the import of a dramatic or emotional moment? Dilip Sahab has expertly used the eloquence of silence in some of his iconic performances in a way way no actor before him had. I am happy that only one Dilip Kumar classic has been remade. [Dilip Kumar’s 1955 Devdas was remade in 2002 with Shahrukh Khan in the lead role.]

  The Padma Bhushan is too minor a recognition for him. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award too was given very late to him. It is his graciousness that made him accept both without resentment. What he deserves is the Bharat Ratna (India’s highest civilian award) and it should have been given a long time ago. All of us know that such honours matter little to him. An artiste o
f his stature is certainly beyond the lure of glory that such recognitions give. Yet, it is the duty of those who bestow the recognition to have taken note and made us all proud by honouring him.

  On a personal level, I have always found him ever so humble and charming. I joked with him once that I was so smitten by his personal charm that I could surprise him one day with some pure and harmless flirting. He laughed because he has always seen me as a spirited young girl, an ardent fan. The unique thing about Dilip Sahab is that his peers and two generations of actors, film makers and technicians within the industry unanimously love him and admire him. It is easy to win the admiration of filmgoers with your work but it is not easy to win the unconditional love, respect and admiration of the film industry. It goes without saying that future generations too will admire him because he is timeless.

  He is a playful person with people he feels at home with. Once I was shooting at Rajkamal Studios in Mumbai for a film and Dilip Sahab also happened to be shooting on one of the other floors. I went over to meet him and I said something silly on purpose and he chased me all over the premises in mock indignation. There were no snoopy cameras those days. If it were to happen today, you can imagine the inferences that would be drawn and the breaking news it would have made!

  The one compliment I treasure came from Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. They said quite spontaneously that I possessed the same sense of timing in my acting as Dilip Sahab. Dilip Sahab’s acting of course is timeless and so modern that coming generations of actors must necessarily watch all his works and learn from them because I feel no school of acting can teach what a student can learn from his performances. He is a national treasure, an institution to be preserved and revered for generations to come.

  MOIN BEG *

  I HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY OF SPENDING SOME WONDERFUL DAYS travelling with Yousuf Bhai especially during elections, first for Indira Gandhi and then for her son, Rajiv. Those were days of hectic campaigning all over the country, spent travelling far and wide and by almost every mode of transportation. There were many hilarious moments in spite of the situation we were in. It was during these times that I got to know the real ‘Dilip Kumar’ – his real and humorous side. He would always be very caring and thoughtful of the smallest of details with the fun element intact. We were to travel to Jaipur for campaigning, flying first to Delhi and then onwards. We were put up in the splendid Rambagh Palace in Jaipur in their most lavish suite. From there we headed to Sikar in the Shekhawati region [of Rajasthan] by car to address a huge rally. After a point we were shifted onto a truck as the crowds were impossible to control. This was in the peak of the summer and [it] was as hot as hell! We reached the venue of the rally with thousands calling out ‘Daleep Kumar! Daleep Kumar!’ to which laughingly Yousuf Bhai repeated ‘Daleeeeep Kumar!’ We climbed on to the dais where instead of chairs were these mattresses with huge bolsters! We sat down and the minister for whom we were campaigning took the mic and began his speech. Now, the most hilarious part was that we were seated behind the minister at his bum level. And as luck would have it, his itch was not just restricted to his speech, for before we knew it he started scratching his bum in right earnest. The minister was facing the public, which was oblivious to where exactly his itch was but Yousuf Bhai and me were literally facing it! We both tried to keep a very straight face till Yousuf Bhai leaned over to me and said: ‘He’s giving himself a good time!’ I could have died laughing but instead had to sit poker faced. That day I got my very first lesson in acting, and is an experience I will never forget. No one really knows the mischievous side of Yousuf Bhai. He is such fun to be with. At that moment I didn’t know it but there was more in store for me! Yousuf Bhai spoke at length to a thunderous applause and the crowd’s reaction was unbelievable.

  It had been an exhausting day under the sun and we were ready to hit the bed. Ah! At last so I thought! The one thing not many people know about Yousuf Bhai is that neither can he sleep alone in a room nor can he sleep with the lights switched off. This was something I hadn’t known till the time I was with him in the hotel. Bone tired, I got into bed covering my face with the bedsheet to keep out the light as I tried sleeping next to him. I was almost dozing off when I was slapped awake by him. There was this large trophy up on the wall in front of the bed with bulging eyes and huge horns! ‘That fellow is looking at me and I cannot sleep,’ said Yousuf Bhai adding, ‘come on, let’s find something to cover its face.’ Aghast I asked, ‘How on earth do we do that?’ He went into the other room and pulled out the bedsheet from the bed there. Below the trophy head was a console with two tall chairs on either side. Yousuf Bhai climbed on to one chair, gave me one end of the bedsheet and told me to climb on to the other chair. ‘Now all we have to do is throw the bedsheet over the horns and the face is covered … simple.’

  So while we were attempting this extraordinary feat in walked the minister with his entourage. Thanks to our extreme fatigue we had forgotten to latch the door. Our plight can only be imagined! Perched on chairs with a bedsheet stretched between us was funny, but the look on the minister’s face was priceless! But this was not all. Yousuf Bhai, in a matter-of-fact way, let go of the bedsheet, and then hopping off the chair with a straight face said, ‘Dekho, yeh Munoo kya kya karata hai!’ (See what all Munoo makes me do!) Dying of embarrassment, there I stood on the damn chair with this huge bedsheet feeling very much like Draupadi with the unending saree. Later when they had all left both Yousuf Bhai and I were rolling on the floor with laughter. Such times only the fortunate experience.

  At another rally the impossible happened. We were to campaign for a Congress candidate in Pilibhit [in Uttar Pradesh] against whom Maneka Gandhi [of the Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP] was pitted. Both parties had organized rallies at the same spot on either side of the road. Huge pandals, blaring speakers and throngs of people going wild. Seeing Dilip Kumar the crowds surged forward breaking the cordons and before we realized we were wrongly ushered on to the dais from where Maneka Gandhi was to speak. But Yousuf Bhai being as gracious as he is handled the situation deftly. He spoke saying that Maneka was the daughter-in-law of the greatest family and said he knew her parents too. He then walked off across the road to the dais we were supposed to be and gave a speech to a thunderous applause! I don’t know of anyone else who could have handled such a tricky situation with such dignity and grace except Yousuf Bhai. No offence to anyone and rightly handled.

  *Sultan’s brother-in-law.

  MAHESH BHATT

  HOW DOES ONE BEGIN TO TELL THE STORY OF A LEGEND?

  Do I begin with the first memory of him in Devdas, which I saw as a child when I was six years old, where he essayed the role of the tragic lover, who spirals into the abyss of doom? This tale of unrequited love is the greatest tragedy that came out of the golden era of Indian cinema. Dilip Kumar gave the character of Devdas, a man falling apart, a dignity that no one till date has been able to match.

  Or should I begin with that chilly September night of 2004, in Bradford, UK, where at the close of the Bite the Mango film festival, I was given the privilege of interviewing him in front of an eclectic audience of Asian origin, from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh?

  ‘Mr Yousuf Khan, how does it feel to be masquerading as THE Dilip Kumar, who has paved his way into the hearts of millions all over the world?’ I remember asking him. ‘Tell me something about this journey of yours.’

  Dilip Sahab was sitting in his classic Dilip Kumar pose with his hand covering his face. He took a moment to think, and then spoke. ‘It has been enchanting, excruciating and baffling,’ he said candidly, and then turned to look at a giant cut-out of his from Devdas, which was towering behind us. ‘When I look at this person called Dilip Kumar, I don’t know who he is,’ he said. ‘Nothing seems to have added up in my life to deserve this. I don’t know why all of you want to deify me to this extent.’ ‘Perhaps because deifying you is profitable Sir?’ I ventured. ‘Let me explain. Yesterday I took the early morning train to London fro
m Bradford. The attendant on the train was Bangladeshi. Recognizing me, he came forward shyly and asked me if would like something to eat. I asked him for a sandwich. He then asked me who, according to me ‘is the best Indian film actor of all time’. Without a moment’s hesitation, I said: ‘Dilip Kumar, Dilip Kumar and only Dilip Kumar.’ He smiled a broad smile. A few seconds later, I asked him how much I owed him for the sandwich. ‘Nothing at all,’ he said. ‘We share the same love. Even I love Dilip Kumar. Your sandwich is free.’

  The hall erupted in laughter and thunderous applause. But what was uncanny about that moment was the way in which Dilip Saab had been listening to the story. It was as if I was talking about someone else totally and he was a mere spectator. He too smiled warmly and clapped, but his delight was more about the way I had narrated the story and less about the fact that he was the hero in it.

  Unlike most people who are party to their own myth making, Dilip Kumar looked at it as if from a distance, with as much wonderment as perhaps bewilderment at the legend that was apparently him.

  They say the word is not the thing. The Dilip Kumar that enchants me is not only the one who has acted in fifty-seven movies, got countless awards, was once the sheriff of Bombay, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner, or the Rajya Sabha member, or the man who won the Nishan-e-Imtiaz from the Government of Pakistan. He is so much more than these glittery adornments.