********************

 Dilip Kumar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Early life
He was born as Muhammad Yousuf Khan, in Peshawar, (British India), now capital of NWFP, Pakistan, in a Pakhtun family of twelve children. His father relocated to Bombay (now Mumbai). The handsome young man was spotted by a filmmaker who gave him his first job and his entry into the Bollywood film industry. He abandoned his real name, Muhammad Yousuf, after a Hindi novelist suggested that he would have more success under the screen name Dilip Kumar.
Career
His first film. Jwar Bhatta, was released in 1944. In 1949, he co-starred with Raj Kapoor in the film Andaz, which went to become a major success and made him a star. Tragic roles in popular films such as Deedar (1951) and Devdas (1955) earned him the title of "tragedy king". The film Mughal-e-Azam (1960), in which he played crown-prince Jehangir, the son of Akbar, was also a huge hit. He produced and starred in the 1961 hit Ganga Jamuna. Despite the success of the movie, he did not produce another film.

In the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Dilip Kumar acted in fewer films. Newer actors had taken the spotlight. However, his many fans were still willing to go see him in the character roles he increasingly favored. His notable films in the 1980s and early 90s included Vidhaata (1982), Shakti (1982), Karma (1986) and Saudagar (1991) which were huge hits at the box office.

After his last film Qila (1998) he retired from the film industry and hasn't appeared in any film since.
Some of his older films have achieved the status of "evergreen classics", shown over and over again on television or cherished on videotape and DVD. A few of them, such as Devdas, Ram aur Shyam, and Ganga Jamuna, have been re-made several times. His film Mughal-e-Azam, which was originally released in black-and-white with several color scenes, was colorized in 2004 and re-released. It did well at the box office.
Public life
Dilip had a narrow brush with wider fame in 1962, when Hollywood director David Lean offered him the role of Sherif Ali in his 1962 blockbuster, Lawrence of Arabia. However, Kumar declined the part. The role eventually went to Omar Sharif, the Egyptian actor.
He was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1995. In 1998 he was awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, the highest civilian award conferred by the government of Pakistan. He is the second Indian to receive the award; the first was former Indian prime minister Morarji Desai. Hindutva politicians like Bal Thackeray objected strongly to the award, and asked him to return it, but Mr. Kumar held his ground.
In 1980, he was appointed Sheriff of Mumbai, an honorary position.

Personal life
Kumar was said to be romantically linked to the actress Madhubala. It is claimed that Madhubala's family would not allow the couple to marry; some conjecture that this was because Madhubala was the main source of income for her family. [1]
Kumar and Madhubala were to appear together in Naya Daur, but Madhubala's father refused to allow his daughter to act with Kumar. The producer B.R. Chopra took Madhubala to court and Dilip Kumar testified against her. The former sweethearts were now on extremely bad terms. This complicated work on the film Mughal-E-Azam, which had started filming before the court case. It is said that Kumar and Madhubala, who were supposed to portray persecuted lovers, resisted filming any more love scenes.
Dilip Kumar married actress and "beauty queen" Saira Banu in 1966 when he was aged 44 and she 22. At the time, gossip columnists predicted doom for the high-profile couple, but Dilip and Saira have proved them wrong. Their union has been one of the longest lasting marriages in Bollywood.
He has been active in efforts to bring the people of India and Pakistan closer together. He has been a member of the upper house of Parliament since 2000 and is known for his extensive charity work.
Trivia
Dilip Kumar's younger brother was the late Nasir Khan. He was less successful in acting and appeared opposite Kumar in Ganga Jumna (1960). Nasir Khan's son Ayub Khan is also currently an actor in the industry but has not been notably successful.