Zee Classic celebrates Dilip Kumar’s 95th Birthday with a day-long film fiesta on 11th December

Mumbai: Truly the first Khan of Indian cinema if only he hadn’t adopted the screen name ‘Dilip Kumar’, Yousuf Khan was an original in every sense. A Tragedy King, born on 11th December 1922, Dilip Kumar is undoubtedly the best known actors of his generation. Dilip Kumar’s erudition and vast learning helped him establish a new code for acting in Indian cinema. The thoughtful pauses, dignified silences and the poetic dialogue delivery became the hallmark of his minimalist style. Satyajit Ray hailed him as the ‘ultimate method actor’. Lyricist and writer JavedAkhtar has pointed out that even before Marlon Brando, considered the godfather of method acting, Dilip Kumar was already pioneering it, unknown to the Western world. His nuanced performances were fine-tuned with every passing film and became an inspiration for many. To celebrate India’s first-ever superstar’s 95th birthday, Zee Classic, with its proposition WohZamanaKareDeewana, has curated a special line-up of Dilip Kumar’s evergreen hits.

Dilip Sahab, as he is fondly known as, has given to the world of cinema, many beauteous and resplendent movies that will be remembered for a lifetime. On the occasion of his 95th birthday, watch some of his finest performances.

The day will kick-start with one of the best performances of Dilip Sahab with Devdas. Also starring Vyjayanthimala as Chandramukhi and SuchitraSen as Paro, Devdas is based on the Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay novel of the same name. Dilip Kumar coined the term ‘Tragedy King’ through his magnificent role of a heartbroken and an addicted lover to the hilt. Devdas is known as the movie which showed the world what Dilip Kumar is really capable of as an accomplished actor.

This will be followed by two back to back episodes of Zee Classic’s special series Classic Legends. Writer-cum-story teller JavedAkhtar will reveal some unknown aspects about the legendary actor’s life.

Up next is one of the biggest hits from the 60s – Ganga Jumna written and produced by Dilip Kumar. This film is known for its use of Bhojpuri dialect and its rustic settings. It features real-life brothers Dilip Kumar and Nasir Khan in the title role and is the story of two brothers, Gunga and Jumna, on the opposite sides of the law. The film also starsVyjayanthimala, and is best known for Helen’s item number ‘Tora Mann BadaPaapi’.

Next in line is Nutan and Dilip Kumar’s first movie together – Karma. The movie also features an ensemble cast comprising of Naseeruddin Shah, Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, PoonamDhillon, Sridevi and AnupamKher. Karma is a thrilling story of revenge by a jailor who trains three criminals to kill the villain Dr. Dang. Karma also features the popular patriotic song ‘Aye WatanTereLiye’.

Having taken a sabbatical from films, Dilip Kumar returned to Bollywood with Manoj Kumar’s 1981 epic historical drama Kranti. The film consisted of a stellar supporting cast featuring actors Manoj Kumar, ShashiKapoor, HemaMalini, ShatrughanSinha, ParveenBabi, Sarika, Prem Chopra, MadanPuri, Paintal and Pradeep Kumar. The film is set in the 19th century British India and is the story of independence from the British from 1825 to 1875.

Wrapping up Dilip Kumar’s 95th birthday celebrations will be the super hit movie Saudagar which also stars Raaj Kumar and VivekMushraan. In true SubhashGhai style, Saudagar aims to be a larger-than-life coming together of two heavyweights – Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar – playing the proverbial friends turned foes.