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First Person Singluar
Dilip Kumar on Dilip Kumar
Aroon Sharma
Oct 2011
Oct 2011
The 1922 born groom, at 44, was past his prime, yet the most eligible bachelor in the filmdom, the lone 'actor' who stood tall among the 'stars.' The 1941 born bride, 20 years younger, had just about flapped wings. How her mother Naseem Banu schemingly middled the match merits another write-up. ( Later ! - that's an assurance from the author ) But, she, a match maker to perfection, even went along with the newly-weds on their honeymoon to Darjeeling. It led to loose talk !
Today, Dilip Kumar has aged. And is ailing, I learn. He's 89. The news that Mrs Sonia Gandhi had quietly called on him last winter, wasn't played up much by, either the electronics or the print media. Dilp Kumar hasn't authored an autobiography. I am not aware if an authorized biography is in the book stores. For long, I haven't read about him. Last summer, I set about sourcing 'nuggets': How he saw himself; how others saw him. The column is a waft and warp at random for posterity.
His no-nonsense paternal grandmother: “Jab who mehfil mein aati thi, toh sannata ho jata tha !”
His indulgent paternal grandfather: “He was very fond of Persian poetry, particularly poet Hafiz, so the home had a cultured atmosphere “not the ujaarr kism ka mahaul as one tends to associate with Afghans !”
His family: “I am very emotionally attached to my family (6 brothers; 6 sisters), and that's what keep me going !”
On soccer: “Soccer, has been my first love, my passion. It inspires a spirit of healthy combat, to lead your way through odds. There is a grace in losing and modesty in victory. Playing the game has also helped me tremendously, it has given me a strong flexible body. Considering my age (he was 70 then), it has served me pretty well.”
Cricket: I have a secret wish: “I am playing for the Indian cricket team against West Indies and everyone gets out for a duck while I score a century !”
His film name: “I was given a choice of three names (1940) – Dilip Kumar, Jahangir, Vasudev. I was not impressed by any of them. My guess is that ,perhaps, it was Devika Rani of Bombay Talkies (who made the choice) !”
His first shot in the first film 'Jwar Bhata': “The director told me to run there and rescue the heroine. So I ran, but before I reached her, the director shouted 'cut ! – you are running too fast. Our cameras cannot catch you at that speed'. So I slowed down for the retake but even that was too fast. Only after three or four takes did I reach the right slowness, a sort of a gentle gallop, and the director okayed it.”
Mukesh: “Actually I had fallen in love with Mukesh's voice from the moment Anil Biswas recorded it ( 1947 ) to go with me in those lovely numbers from 'Anokha Pyar'. In all those songs you will get the distinct feel of the timbre of Mukesh's voice. His range might have been limited but within that range, Mukesh was superb……How can I forget what Mukesh accomplished for me in 'Andaaz'. Those legendary numbers created by Naushad which Mukesh sang for me – 'Hum aaj kahin dil kho baithe', 'Tu kahe agar jeevan bhar, Toote na dil toote na, Jhoom jhoom ke nacho aaj'….the whole nation came to sing with Mukesh what I sang on the screen on piano.”
Album in his voice: “Oh it's late ( 1992-95 ) for such indulgences now. I am much old for all that.”
Mughal-e-Azam: “Prince Salim as a character was a big problem for me. I couldn't possibly know how a Mughal prince speaks, walks, behaves. I asked K. Asif ( the producer ) to set up a tent in which I used to rehearse my scenes, wearing those ostentatious costumes. Yet, within me, I used to find that I was alien, somehow I wasn't getting into the soul of the script and the character. That's why there was a sadness, a sense of despondency about the prince !”
Sholay ( to its producer Ramesh Sippy ): “In the very opening shot, you started with a dacoit attack. The robbing of the train and the way it was mounted, I felt these boys have gone crazy, they have started the film with a climax, how will they maintain the pace ?” ( Yet it was Dilip Kumar who forecast that it would be a hit though it was running to empty halls in the first week )
Affairs: “Actors getting attracted to actresses was not an uncommon occurrence in our time, it isn't uncommon now, but you can't let yourself go….Today you may feel attracted to one heroine, tomorrow another. One has to be disciplined… I shared a great relationship with Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Kamini Kaushal, in fact with all leading ladies of that time….I was aware that it could easily change into love.”
Meena Kumari: “A very intelligent woman with a lot of guts. But she needed somebody who could be her man, she needed to depend on somebody. Unfortunately, she couldn't get the man she wanted, so she leaned on the wrong shoulders and there were times I got angry with her.”
Romance: “It has been a many splendoured affair, this life. It took me a while to be at ease with people. I was too intense as a young man. Life has been a great experience., delightful at times, a sprinkling of anguish and pain at other times.”
Fewer Films: “I can't have Dilip Kumar for breakfast, Dilip Kumar for lunch and Dilip Kumar for dinner.”
Flop Films: “I've rarely been satisfied with any of my performances, but then that is the case with most creative people. I may have done bad films but what I've tried to see is that I give my best. I've never dashed off bad performance.”
Acting: “Sahib bahut mushkil hai !” ( in the beginning )
Tragic scenes: (on being asked by the director to think of his mother's death) “Its all a pretense, so how can one pretend to be pained, and why ? Is this any way to live, pretending all the time ? The mind is not some reasonable creature, which will operate and yet remain still. No, it acts up at the oddest moments, and I would have the director to let me step aside and quieten the chaos unleashed inside. Only after that you can get into the spirit of pretense….But please remember that the tussle with the spirit is a continuous thing, the peace over chaos is always temporary.”
Romantic Scenes: “I have always preferred to use as few words as possible in romantic scenes and often had trouble with scripts for that reason. Words, which read well on paper, don't necessarily sound convincing when rendered as a dialogue. In fact, they sound pretentious, excessively poetic, you know. A few basic heart-felt worlds, the correct tone and expression, is all you need for a power love scene. One thing I learnt from Nitenda (Nitin Bose) at Bombay Talkies was the value of silence at certain moments When combined in the right doze with words and background music, it can go straight to the viewers soul, something you'll remember for a long time.”
Parallel Cinema: “If I have not been able to do anything in the parallel cinema, it's because there have never been serious offers. Perhaps, I have learnt a lot from looking at Satyajit Ray's films….But then Dilip Kumar is a major liability for any film, and only devoted friends can afford to take him. I like to know what I am doing, I like to tender suggestions and now (1991), I can't change. I can't go with a begging bowl to good directors saying give me a good role. I'd rather sit at home.”
Imitators: “I take this with a pinch of salt. I don't think Dilip Kumar is imitated on a scale as it is made out to be. But from time to time, yes, I've been confronted with people who use the same approach, the same grammar and tonal rhythms as I do. In that case, I just alter my own key. I am neither happy nor distressed about being imitated. Even while working, I have come across a few co-artistes trying to ape me. In such situations, I have changed my own rhythm, timing and throw off my voice instead of asking them to change their act.”
Ganga Jamuna: “I did (direct the film). But Nitin Bose's name was given because I have always regarded him as my mentor.”
Interference: “If I kept interfering, I could not have got away, and the fact that I was respected by most of my directors means that directors either learnt to say no to my suggestions or at time took them for the betterment of the film….I offer my suggestions and the director has the option of disagreeing, but most directors were happy to let me have a free hand. Only if the films did not do well did they complain about interference.”
Involvement: “I was frankly very much involved in the films, I worked as an actor. I gave more time to films. I wasn't interested in only my part in the films but the film as a whole which left me with little spare time. I have a single-track mind and am always completely involved with what I take up….I like them (directors) to send me the script for my creative satisfaction, and I like there to be an unhindered exchange of views.”
Success: “One of them is just good luck; even if I don't think so, I'ld like to say so. Then there are factors like dedication, adjustments, readjustments, stubbornness and a reluctance to be bought over. An actor has to be convinced that he is making the right choices otherwise he's just a piece of expensive merchandise.”
Do's and Don'ts: “While performing, you have to master the common man, you can't give every whim of his, the common man may want you to run or the common man may want you to dress like women. Don't do that, never do that. It may be the fag end of my career, but to be honest, I feel good (mid 90s). That's because I never had any illusions….Im afraid, I belong to the old school of but without bias or prejudice. Live and let live.”
Bachelorhood: “I used to have a very wild life-style with no one to control me. I used to be on outdoor locations for a fortnight in a month and I would be upto all sorts of 'awara-gardi'. I did not surrender my freedom at one go but over the years, I have forfeited it, slowly, but surely.”
Co-Stars on Dilip Kumar: 'A Touchstone'
V. Shantaram: “Had Shakespeare met Dilip Kumar, he would have added one more character to the already well defined ones he created.”
Amjad Khan: “Had Dilip accepted David Lean's 'Lawrence of Arabia”, 'Dr Zhivago' would have followed.” ( Both films won Oscars ).
Dev Anand: “Dilip in his early years was a romantic, sentimental person who was the kind to fall deeply in love.”
Rajesh Khanna: “My inspiration was Dilip Kumar's intensity and dedication, Raj Kapoor's spontaneity and Dev Anand's style.”
Amitabh Bachchan: “Dilip Sahib continues to be the touchstone for every Indian actor.”
Prem Chopra: “I was so over-awed by Dilip Sahib that just the thought of facing the camera ( 'Dastaan' ) with him gave me high blood pressure. But when the great man saw my discomfort, he came to me and gave a long lecture in chaste Urdu on how to get along in life. He made me understand that I, too, was an actor just like him.”
Dilip Kumar's Worst Critic Does a U-Turn
1944-'Jwar Bhata'-Baburao Patel, Film India: “Dilip Kumar (24 then) the new hero of Bombay Talkies is an anaemic addition to our film artistes. He needs a lots of vitamins and a prolonged treatment of proteins before another picture can be risked with him. He looks gaunt and famished and strikes one as a long ill-treated convict who had escaped from jail. His appearance on the screen creates both laughter and disappointment. His acting effort in this picture amounts to nil.”
1948-'Shabnam'-Baburao Patel, Film India: “Made under the banner of Filmistan….the love story was enacted within the backdrop of exodus of Indians from Burma and the escapades and adventures of Kamini Kaushal (disguised as a boy) and Dilip Kumar…..(he) was very good in the lighter moments as well as the romantic scenes. Kamini looks charming….gives an excellent performance. And so does Dilip Kumar. Their love scenes give glimpse of realism and both artistes seem to enjoy their romantic scenes.”
1955-'Insaniyat'-Baburao Patel, Film India: “From the players (Dilip Kumar, Devanand and Bina Rai) no one comes within a mile of Dilip Kumar. In the rustic and sympathetic role of Mangal, this great artiste gives one of his best portrayals on the screen. Living the rustic role from foot to foot of this fast action drama, Dilip Kumar is paid a tribute in tears from the audience as he lays dying in the lap of his mother.”
(Acknowledgements: Advocate and author Urmila Lanba; critic Khalid Mohammed and pale yellow, brittle old issues of Filmfare, Film India, Cinema in India, NFDC Annual, The Sunday Review, Star & Style, Movie Magazine, Stars' Life, Sun Weekly, Stardust, The Times of India)
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