Dilip Kumar, the final of a triumvirate of actors who dominated Hindi cinema within the Nineteen Fifties and ’60s, died on Wednesday in Mumbai, India. He was 98.
His loss of life, at a hospital, was confirmed by Faisal Farooqui, a household buddy, who posted a short assertion on Mr. Kumar’s official Twitter account.
In post-independence India, Mr. Kumar and two different stars set about defining the Hindi movie hero. Raj Kapoor mirrored the newly minted Indian’s confusion: his signature position was that of the Chaplinesque naïf negotiating a world that was dropping its innocence. Dev Anand, referred to as the Gregory Peck of India, embodied a Western insouciance that also lingered; he turned a classy matinee idol.
Mr. Kumar, although, delved deeply into his characters, breaking free from the semaphoric silent-movie model of appearing popularized by megastars like Sohrab Modi and Prithviraj Kapoor.
As one of many nation’s earliest Technique actors, he was typically in comparison with Marlon Brando, one other early adopter of the method, despite the fact that Mr. Kumar claimed he had used it first.
“I realized the significance of finding out the script and characters deeply and constructing upon my very own intestine observations and sensations about my very own and different characters,” Mr. Kumar mentioned in his autobiography, “The Substance and the Shadow” (2014). “The reality is that I’m an actor who advanced a way.”
His preparation for roles turned the stuff of legend. For his loss of life scene within the 1961 megahit “Gunga Jumna,” he ran across the studio in order that he may enter the set on the level of exhaustion.
For a track sequence within the 1960 movie “Kohinoor” (“Mountain of Mild”), he realized to play the sitar. For emotional sequences within the 1982 film “Shakti” (“Energy”) and the 1984 film “Mashaal” (“Torch”), he drew from recollections of when his brother died, recalling the ache that registered on his father’s face.
Mr. Kumar was born Yousuf Khan in Peshawar (then a part of British India, now in Pakistan) on Dec. 11, 1922, the fourth of Ayesha and Mohammad Sarwar Khan’s 12 youngsters. His father, a fruit service provider, moved the household to Bombay, now referred to as Mumbai, after which to Deolali, in west India, the place Dilip attended the Barnes Faculty earlier than enrolling in Khalsa Faculty in Bombay.
He wished to play soccer or cricket professionally, however the household’s financial state of affairs pressured him to search for work elsewhere. For a time he was an assistant at a military canteen in Poona (now Pune).
An opportunity encounter with a former trainer modified his life. When he mentioned he was on the lookout for a job, the trainer launched him to the pioneering Indian actress Devika Rani, who, together with Himanshu Rai, had established the Bombay Talkies studio. The concept was to get a job, any job, however Ms. Rani requested if he would take into account changing into an actor.
Mr. Kumar, who had seen just one movie in his life — a battle documentary — was flummoxed, however the cash persuaded him. Ms. Rani mentioned that taking over a Hindu display title to obscure his Muslim background would assist his profession. He turned Dilip Kumar.
His first movie, “Jwar Bhata” (“Ebb and Stream”), launched in 1944, was a flop; Baburao Patel, the acerbic critic of Movie India, known as him “anemic.” However three years later his efficiency in “Jugnu” (“Firefly”), alongside Noor Jehan, obtained extra favorable consideration. By the point “Shaheed” (“Martyr”) was launched in 1948, Mr. Patel was singing his praises: “Dilip Kumar steals the image along with his deeply felt and but pure delineation of the primary position.”
The hits saved coming, together with “Nadiya Ke Paar” (“Throughout the River”), “Shabnam” (“Dewdrops”) and Mehboob Khan’s “Andaz” (“Type”), through which Mr. Kumar was forged with Mr. Kapoor and the actress Nargis. In 1954, Mr. Kumar gained the newly instituted Filmfare Award for finest actor for his efficiency as an alcoholic within the tragic love story “Daag” (“The Stain”). He gained seven extra Filmfare statuettes for finest actor along with a lifetime achievement award. Guinness World Data honored him on his 97th birthday for his “matchless contribution” to Indian cinema.
A lot of his early movies had him chasing unattainable ladies. The 1950 melodrama “Jogan” (“Nun”) ends with him weeping at his lover’s grave. That very same yr, he performed a Heathcliff-like character in “Arzoo” (“Need”), considered one of three variations on “Wuthering Heights” through which he acted.
He earned the nickname Tragedy King after showing in a sequence of dramas {that a} psychiatrist later mentioned took a toll on his well being. Within the 1951 film “Deedar” (“Sight”), he performed a blind man whose eyesight is restored by surgical procedure however who blinds himself once more when he realizes that he and the surgeon are in love with the identical lady. (To arrange for the position, Mr. Kumar noticed a blind beggar on the Bombay Central railway station.)
Certainly one of Mr. Kumar’s best-known tragedies is Bimal Roy’s “Devdas” (1955), a couple of man who turns into an alcoholic when his childhood sweetheart deserts him.
Mr. Kumar’s love life made information; he had relationships with the actresses Kamini Kaushal, Madhubala (they co-starred within the 1960 blockbuster “Mughal-e-Azam,” about thwarted lovers, lengthy after they broke up) and Saira Banu, whom he married in 1966 when he was 44 and he or she was 22. Within the Eighties, whereas nonetheless married to Ms. Banu, Mr. Kumar married the socialite Asma Rehman in secret. The information shortly got here out, and the wedding turned a scandal, however Ms. Banu caught with Mr. Kumar, who ended the second marriage.
He’s survived by Ms. Banu.
Professionally, Mr. Kumar’s report was spotless, with movies that haven’t solely been profitable however have left an enduring impression. Movies like “Naya Daur” (“New Period”) in 1957, “Yahudi” (“The Jews”) in 1958, “Madhumati,” additionally in 1958, and “Ram Aur Shyam” (“Ram and Shyam”) in 1967 are nonetheless remembered.
Mr. Kumar discovered fewer roles within the Seventies, with youthful, extra agile actors being forged as heroes, and he took a break.
He returned in 1981 with a blockbuster, “Kranti” (“Revolution”), which reshaped his display persona as an older ethical heart. He had related roles in star-heavy mega-productions like “Vidhaata” (“The Creator”) in 1982, “Karma” in 1986, Saudagar (“The Service provider”) in 1991 and particularly “Shakti,” through which he was forged for the primary time reverse the reigning Bollywood famous person Amitabh Bachchan.
Mr. Kumar’s final movie was “Qila” (“Fort”), launched in 1998. By then, a reviewer wrote in India In the present day, his model felt “extra than simply outdated, it’s prehistoric,” including, “Dilip Kumar’s long-drawn-out dialogue supply is out of sync with the instances.”
Mr. Kumar obtained the Padma Bhushan, considered one of India’s highest civilian awards, in 1991; the Dadasaheb Phalke, India’s highest award for cinematic excellence, in 1994; and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015. From 2000 to 2006, he served as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the higher home of Parliament.
However these honors from the Indian authorities consumed far much less newsprint than the choice by the Pakistani authorities, in 1998, to confer on him its highest civilian honor, the Nishan-e-Imtiaz. Amid heightened spiritual tensions, Mr. Kumar was branded an anti-national by Hindu politicians who requested him to return the award to Pakistan. He didn’t. He mentioned in his autobiography that returning it “may have solely soured relations additional and produced dangerous vibes between India and Pakistan.”
These phrases proved that Mr. Kumar was a tactful diplomat off display.
On the display, his characters would launch into extra rebellious rhetoric. Within the 1974 interval drama “Sagina,” when labeled a traitor, his character responded, “Should you’ve drunk your mom’s milk” — which means, in case you’re man sufficient — “then come get me.”
Even on this larger-than-life context, there was a touch of the realism that outlined him.
Mujib Mashal contributed reporting.