As he would be turning 80 on Tuesday, Saira Bano, who would also be celebrating her wedding anniversary tomorrow with the late actor Dilip Kumar, recalled some fond memories.
During an interview with ETimes, the former actress revealed that there used to be an exchange of flowers between them as the date held a special significance in their respective lives.
She said, “Honestly speaking, all were wonderful and equally special. Our house used to be full of flowers. And you know, Amitabh Bachchan used to send us a lot of lovely flowers. We also used to send him on the same day, as October 11 is his birthday. When Amitabh and I worked together in ‘Zameer’, he’d told me that though he didn’t know either of us, neither Dilip saab nor I, when he was working in Kolkata, he yet for some inexplicable reason felt a warm sense of belonging towards us. There was also an exchange of letters from Dilip saab and Amitabh. I have preserved those letters very carefully. I treasure those letters.”
The Shagird actress also shared that the late Dilip Kumar wasn’t fond of the spotlight or any kind of acknowledgement for his work. Instead, he had always wanted to lead a philanthropic life. She said, “My husband never liked the spotlight to be on him. He didn’t want any road to be named after him. He didn’t want any statue of his made. What he liked was to be in the forefront of social causes, whether it meant that he had to travel in trucks in those donation drives. Once he went abroad too to lead a cause when Sunil Dutt could not travel due to some reason, but he made it clear to the organisers that he didn’t want the proceedings/event to bear his name.”
While Big B was referred as the ‘Angry Young Man’, Dilip Kumar was fondly called ‘Tragedy King’ for his portrayal of tragic roles. The actor also holds the record for most wins of the Filmfare Award for Best Actor which was later equalled by Shah Rukh Khan. The actor passed away on July 7, 2021 at the age of 98.
