May 05, 2007 12:44 PM
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(Updated Dec 09, 2009 02:55 PM)
=The tallest actor of India in terms of stature was the first super star. Even till date he is revered as an Institution by all the members of Indian film Industry and every actor tries to emulate Dilip Kumar in someway or the other.
He is the Bhishma Pitamaha of Film actor’s fraternity and is loved by all his admirers. The younger generation of today unfortunately is not exposed to his good films, nevertheless, my children who are no great fans of Dilip Kumar as I am, have still managed to see most of his recent films on Cable TV.
If you see old movies of Dev Anand, Ashok Kumar, Raj Kapoor and others of the olden era, you feel embarrassed by their moments, gimmicks, body language and also the dialogue delivery. Not so with Dilip Kumar, he looks just natural and normal even in a 50 year old movie. He has been the master of underplaying as well as histrionics.
Many actors were deeply influenced by him and tried copying his scenes. Rajendra Kumar, Manoj Kumar, did that quite often. Amitabh’s mirror scene in AAA was inspired by Dilip Kumar’s Kohinoor act which remains the best comic scene till date.
Dilip Kumar has been a versatile, multi faceted, larger than life performer par-excellence. Whether be it serious tragic roles: Daag, Mela, Dil diya Dard liya, or light hearted Comedies like Kohinoor, Ram aur Shyam, Leader, Happy go lucky village bumpkin of Naya Daur, Gopi, simpleton Sagina, Regal Salim of Mughal- E -Azam ( Only time he played a Muslim character).
When Dilip Kumar ruled the waves, only Om Prakash, & Moti Lal were two actors who could not be over awed by Dilip Kumar’s aura. Sanjiv Kumar in Sunghursh and Amitabh in Shakti too were able to hold their ground and give good performances with Dilip Kumar.
There have been many good actors of equal caliber , be it Nageshwar Rao, Ashok Kumar, Naseeruddin Shah, Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh, Uday Kumar , Uttam Kumar, Soumitra Chaterjee, Utpal Dutt, etc. but none of them have been able to match the enigma, charisma, aura, mystique and the unique stature of Dilip Kumar, the legend.
I have been a great fan of him and have seen all his movies many times over. Some of his scenes( There are plenty of them) are unforgettable. A few of them are;
1. The fierce determination & grit when he walks over to shake hands with Jeevan in Naya Daur.
2. The Royal demeanor and contempt when he walks down the stairs as the newly anointed Prince in “Dil Diya” in front of Rehman &Shyama. Who used to spurn him.
3. The fear & anger when confronted by angry mobs in Gunga Jamuna.
4. The sheer joy & relief when he meets his lost brother & bhabhi in “ Gopi”.
5. The anger, disgust & rage he feels towards Manoj in Aadmi when he comes to know of his affair with Waheeda.
6. The dignity & concern he shows for his misguided son when he confronts Amitabh in Shakti to inform of Rakhi being sick.
7. The determination & contempt he has when he slaps Dr, Dang in Karma.
There are thousand of his best scenes which are the treasured legacy & heritage of the Hindi film Industry which has been fortunate enough to have produced such great thespian as Dilip Kumar who is not just an individual, but an Institution , who gives a sense of pride to all his fans in India, Pakistan & Bangladesh.
