Flashback Friday: When Dilip Kumar met Alfred Hitchcock during the latter's India visit in 1955

Dilip Kumar and Alfred Hitchcock

It's been two years since legendary actor Dilip Kumar bid us farewell. The actor led a very rich life as an artist and left us with many memories. Today, on his death anniversary we look back at the time when Dilip Kumar met the Hollywood legend filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock.

Indian filmmaker Sudhir Mishra had long back shared a picture of Dilip Kumar and Alfred Hitchcock sharing the frame. The picture was clicked in 1955 when the 'To Catch a thief' maker visited India. Sharing the throwback black and white photo on Twitter, Mishra captioned: "Taken during Hitchcock's 1955 visit to India (Sent to me by Bhuvan Lall)."

"Hitchcock was on a promotional tour for his film 'The Trouble With Harry'. He attended the Bombay premiere of the film," Mishra informed in a separate tweet.

Shortly after Dilip Kumar's death in 2021, travelling down memory lane, Mishra had tweeted: "Many many years ago Dilip Saab had called some of us to his house. I remember Ketan Mehta and Govind Nihalani being there among others. He wanted us to make short films on communal harmony. I wish we had taken a picture! What a man. What an actor ! Thank you , Sir!"

Sharing words of appreciation for the late actor, the filmmaker had again tweeted on the same day, "Very few actors had to be skill set of Dilip Saab. He could you to so many places with his voice. He could take an over-the-top scene and play it, always balancing perfectly on the edge, never once falling over. Think Ganga Jumna, Andaz, Gopi."

Revered as the 'Abhinay Samrat' (The Emperor of Acting), Dilip Kumar, with his unparalleled talent and contribution to Indian cinema, remains an icon of the 50s-60s era. Born as Mohammad Yusuf Khan in 1922 in Peshawar, Pakistan, Dilip Kumar adopted his stage name, given by actress Devika Rani, and etched his name in the annals of Indian cinema as a pioneer of method acting.

Having debuted with the film 'Jwar Bhata' in 1944, Dilip Kumar's breakthrough came with the 1947 hit 'Jugnu', which established him as India's biggest star at the time. Over the course of his illustrious five-decade-long career, he acted in 60 films and earned the title of 'Tragedy King' for his intense and dramatic portrayals. Even today, his fans and the film fraternity celebrate and cherish Dilip Kumar's legacy.