Dilip Kumar (1922-2021): The legend's best cinematic tales

Azaad 1955 His name is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for winning the maximum number of awards by an Indian actor Shanti Azaad and Daag were some of his awarded filmsDevdas 1955 Bimal Royrsquos adaptation of the classic novel saw Kumar as the selfdestructive alcoholic lover in an awardwinning performanceNaya Daur 1957 Chronicling the stories of a newly independent India the BR Chopradirected film saw Kumar as a horse cart rider challenging a business ownerrsquos son hoping to modernise his business by replacing carts with busesMusafir 1957 In the 50s he was among the first actors to charge a thenhefty fee of Rs 1 lakh per film Musafir was one of the movies to release in the eraAlso Read Poonam Dhillon When we used to play scrabble he would make up his own wordsMughaleAzam 1960 Director K Asifrsquos epic historical drama that took over a decade to complete saw Kumar as Prince Salim who falls in love with a court dancer against his father Emperor Akbarrsquos wishes It has held the record for being the highest grossing Indian film for 15 years after its releaseKohinoor 1960 Kumar sought psychological help for the tragic roles he played in the 50s He subsequently took on lighter roles and was applauded for his comic skills Kohinoor featuring Meena Kumari was one such offering For this film Kumar invested a fair amount of time in learning to play the sitar Apparently for the Naushad Ali track Madhuban mein Radhika nache re he aced a scene involving the sitar and tarana He asked the director to defer shooting the scene so that he could take a few months to learn itAlso Read Subhash Ghai Dilip Kumar asked me to work on Raaj Kumarrsquos role in SaudagarGunga Jumna 1961 Kumar also wrote the film which is also believed to be his only production It follows two siblings on opposite sides of the law The film inspired Yash Choprarsquos Deewar 1975Ram Aur Shyam 1967 Kumarrsquos rare comic performance saw him play twins separated at birth in a film starring Waheeda Rehman and MumtazAlso Read Javed Akhtar Dilip saab was first method actor in world cinema