It was a year back but the absence of any event commemorating the first death anniversary of South Asia’s greatest cinema star of an era, would have been unthinkable even a few years back. There would have been rekindling of mourning and grief all in all the countries of the region. When Dilip Kumar died on July 7, 2021 due to Covid and other complications, the circumstances were not meant for collective mourning and remembering. This year , he is barely remembered providing the all-important lesson that time is amnesia.   Read:A brutal summer of fire and heat: Sitakundu, load shedding… Perhaps a better phrase would be, he slipped away from memory.  At 98, he had left his world behind. Delaying further would probably have meant inviting greater anonymity to a life lived in bright lights. It was time for dimming and putting out the bulbs. He was born in a world in 1922, which can’t be imagined today that it ever existed. A Pathan- Yusuf Ali Khan- was born in Peshawar.  He made it to Mumbai and one day over time reached the top in the cinema world.  On the way Khan morphed into( Dilip) Kumar and that was a recognition of the audience-market- a reality all accepted and ensured that he became a success. He became a super star and didn’t just enthrall his audience with his acting but his leading ladies with his charms as well. His movies are many that haunt us from a time zone far away courtesy the digital world. Whether Anand, Ganga –Jamuna, Mughal-e-Azam and so on , he projected the strong, reliable, honourable man he was paid to play. India needed them under the Nehruvian era where “nation-building” required such heroes and he produced them in one cinema screen after another.   He was as much if not a better politician of India just past. Today, the audience has many channels to switch on and choose their pet love or hate but in his time, all roads led only to the cinema hall, where the hero swayed the audience and swooned the heroines like few did as he did.      And Dilip Kumar had many loves. From Nimmi to Madhubala to Vyjayantimnala and on and on. He finally settled down with the “Kashmir-ke Koli” girl, Saira Bano. Even in this long marriage he had a brief marriage to one Asma for 2 years.  He was never really meant to forget who he was. The charm became a way of life, cheering him to live on and sort of forget that time was always waiting on the street in the dark to take him home. Read:India’s Nupur Sharma battle reaches the judiciary But can a star be ever forgotten in the digital era ? He was always the super star and always did the song and dance routine and they live on. Strangely enough, his entire movies may be rarely seen by today’s audience, but anyone interested in Hindi music will always see him alive and charming the boots off the devil’s foot through the songs, as dramatic as the cinema itself.  In an odd way, the man who now represents the era gone by, has been kept alive by the era that is a stranger to him.   Live on, sing on, play your charm and demeanor.  Dilp Kumars can no longer die.

By any definition, Indian film star Dilip Kumar is a legend. He was famously called the 'Tragedy King' of Bollywood. Dilip Kumar wanted to be a businessman but accidentally became the hero of the Hindi industry. The journey of Bollywood from far away Peshawar, Pakistan, was not easy at all for Mohammad Yusuf Khan, known as, Dilip Kumar. Bollywood has seen his powerful acting for about 5 decades. Read on to know the success story of this 'Tragedy King' Who is Dilip Kumar? Dilip Kumar was a famous Indian actor as well as a film producer. He is widely known for his work and effort in Hindi cinema. His unmatched acting method distinct him from others, and he was considered as one of the pioneers for making a difference in the Indian movie industry. With his charm and talent, Dilip Kumar dominated the industry for more than 50 years. Some of his famous movies are Andaz, Babul, Deedar, Daag, Mughal-e-Azam, and many more. After his debut in 1944, Dilip Kumar appeared in 63 movies until 1998. Read Cannes Film Festival 2021: Movies and Filmmakers under the Limelight Dilip Kumar Life History Dilip Kumar was born on 11 December 1922 in the Kissa Khawani Bazar area of ​​Peshawar, Pakistan, to a Muslim aristocratic family named Mohammad Yusuf Khan. Dilip Kumar's father was a fruit trader, and he also had an orchard. In the late 1930s, Dilip Kumar's father moved to Mumbai with a family of 12 members. Dilip Kumar started his primary education at Deoliar Burns School near Nasik. However, the teenager Yusuf left the house one day as he did not get along with his father from the very beginning. During that time, Raj Kapoor was his childhood friend, who later became his co-star in the Hindi industry as well. After leaving the house, Dilip went to Pune. After reaching there, he met with a cafe owner, and he found an Anglo-Indian couple next to him. With their help, Dilip Kumar opened a sandwich shop near the Army Club. His business also started booming. Read: Rehana Maryam Noor screened at Cannes amid standing ovation Tragedy King's personal life was colorful enough. At first, Dilip Kumar fell in love with actress Kamini Kaushal, but they could not get married. He later fell in love with actress Madhubala, but their family did not agree to the marriage. Then in 1986, Dilip Kumar married Saira Banu, who was 22 years younger than him. However, their marriage faced a critical situation in early eighties. It was rumored that Dilip Kumar gone into a relationship with Asma Rehman, a woman from Hydrabad, Pakistan. However, Dilip Kumar spent the rest of his life with Saira Banu.

Legendary Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar died at a private hospital in India's financial capital Mumbai on Wednesday. He was 98. The 'Tragedy King of Bollywood' was admitted to the premier Hinduja Hospital last week after he complained of breathlessness. In fact, he had been in and out of the hospital over the past few years with age-related illnesses. "Dilip Kumar passed away due to prolonged illness at 7.30 am," Dr Jalil Parkar, a doctor who had been treating the thespian at the hospital, told the local media. Read:Bollywood actor Fatima behind Aamir Khan's divorce? The actor's family friend, Faisal Farooqui, also confirmed the death on his Twitter handle. “With a heavy heart and profound grief, I announce the passing away of our beloved Dilip saab a few minutes ago. We are from  God and to him we return." Prime Minister Narendra Modi too took to social media to offer his condolences to the family and fans of the cinematic legend. “Dilip Kumar ji will be remembered as a cinematic legend. He was blessed with unparalleled brilliance, due to which audiences across generations were enthralled. His passing away is a loss to our cultural world," Modi tweeted. Read:Superstar Aamir Khan, filmmaker wife announce divorce On Monday, his actress-wife of 50 years, Saira Banu, tweeted: “We are grateful for God's infinite mercy on Dilip Saab that his health is improving. We are still in hospital and request your prayers and duas so that Insh'Allah he is healthy and discharged soon.” Born Yusuf Khan in Peshawar (now in Pakistan) in 1922 before the partition of India, Dilip Kumar acted in 65 films in an illustrious career spanning five decades. A trendsetter in Bollywood who inspired generations of actors, Dilip Kumar won hearts of millions in India with his all-time greats like Mela, Naya Daur, Ganga Jumna, Devdas and Mughal-e-Azam. He last acted in a film in 1998. Read: Bollywood: 'There is no life without you' Apart from a number of film awards, Dilip Kumar was conferred with two of India's highest civilian awards. "To us actors, he was The Hero. #DilipKumar sir has taken an entire era of Indian cinema away with him," aptly summed up Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar in a tweet.