A life in elements

Halfway by way of the manufacturing of the epic Mughal-e-Azam (1960), its lead pair Dilip Kumar and Madhubala fell out with one another. “The classic scene with a feather coming between our lips, which set a million imagination on fire, was shot when we had completely stopped talking,” writes Dilip Kumar in his autobiography, The Substance and the Shadow (2014). But that didn’t are available the way in which of their professionalism. Till at present, this gorgeously picturised scene stays a traditional. It is feasible that Kumar, extensively appreciated as the person who modernised appearing by bringing in realism and nuance, had internalised the character of Salim to such a level that he was unaffected by private discord.
The display screen icon and cultural ambassador, who has impressed generations of actors, handed away on Wednesday. He was laid to relaxation at Juhu Kabristan with full state honours.
Born Muhammed Yusuf Khan in Pakistan’s Peshawar in 1922, the actor debuted in Jwar Bhata in 1944. He appeared in a string of profitable films similar to Mela (1948), Andaz (1949), Deedar (1951), Devdas (1954) and Naya Daur (1957), cementing his fame as a celebrity. Despite his phenomenal success, he remained all the way down to earth. “From the most exalted admirer, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, to the lowest paid studio worker, who waited to say salaam to him, the warm extension of his hands in greeting was the same,” wrote actor Dharmendra in one of many articles by eminent colleagues in Kumar’s autobiography.
Kumar obtained quite a few awards, together with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1994), Padma Vibhushan (2015) and Nishan-e-Imtiaz (1998), Pakistan’s highest civilian honour. “Without exaggeration, I can say that every actor who came into the business after him and who is continuing to seek employment in the industry has emulated him,” wrote Dharmendra about Kumar’s legacy.