Dilip Kumar was born in Peshawar in December 1922. His family relocated to Mumbai in the 1930s. PHOTO COURTESY: CULTURAL HERITAGE FOUNDATION
PESHAWAR:
The 91st birthday of silver screen legend Dilip Kumar was celebrated by the Cultural Heritage Council (CHC) on Wednesday at the Peshawar Press Club.
Saira Bano, Kumar’s wife and fellow actor, spoke to the gathering from India via teleconference and thanked Peshawar’s residents for honouring the film actor. Indian comedian Johnny Lever, actor Waeeda Rehman, journalist Pushpinder and director Sagar Sarhadi also participated in the event via telephone.
At the festivities, Waheeda Rehman was all praises for Kumar. Rehman, who has worked with him in four movies, including Dil Diya Dard Liya, Ram Aur Shyam and Aadmi, said she found the star to be a very cooperative artiste. “He was very polite and a true gentleman.”
Johnny Lever appreciated the CHC for taking the initiative to celebrate Dilip Kumar’s birthday. Lever shared he was fortunate enough to go with Kumar on a world tour. “He is an institution and I learnt many things from him,” added Lever.
According to the celebrated comedian, Kumar is also a very charitable person – a trait Lever claims he has seen in only a few actors.
Journalist Pushpinder lauded the effort by Peshawar’s citizens to celebrate Kumar; “a unique attempt to connect the people of both countries.”
Adviser to the Chief Minister on Minorities Affairs Sardar Soran Singh was also present and paid tribute to the veteran actor.
While CHC President Younas Qiasi congratulated the celebrated actor on the occasion and shared his memories of Kumar’s two visits to the city in the past, he also lamented the condition of Kumar’s ancestral home in Peshawar.
Home is where...
According to Qiasi, the CHC had taken up the matter of purchasing Kumar’s ancestral house in Mohallah Khudad, however, it could not be brought to fruition. “We discussed it with leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government but nothing has been achieved from these discussions so far,” Qiasi stated.
The CHC president requested that relevant authorities purchase the Bollywood icon’s house and preserve it as a part of Peshawar’s shared history with the Indian film industry.
As recently as October, Parliamentary Secretary for Culture Arif Yousaf promised, “Dilip Kumar’s house will be preserved at any cost because it is an asset for the province. Yousuf made this statement during a visit to Kumar’s house – a historic structure which has fallen into disrepair due to long-term neglect.
Kumar was born in Peshawar on 11 December, 1922 and named Muhammad Yousuf Khan. His family relocated to Mumbai in the 1930s. Around 1940, Kumar left home for Pune where he started his career as a canteen owner.
In 1943, actress Devika Rani and her husband Himanshu Rai, who owned Bombay Talkies, spotted Dilip Kumar in Aundh Military canteen and cast him as the lead actor in their film Jwar Bhata (1944), which marked Kumar’s entry into Bollywood.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 12th, 2013.
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Congratulations to Peshawar to celebrate the birth day of Dilip Kumar. Yousuf, as he is known, has given us years of his artistic skills, memorable dialogues, speeches , and above all being a gentleman. Who can ever forget his screen presence where he made the audience felt a genius at work. His impeccable delivery of Urdu will always remind us the sweetness and rich heritage of the language. A true legend.