Taking aback, Dilip’s father asked his friend: “has he began offering Nawaz?”. “oh no”, said the friend, “he is acting in films”. An orthodox Muslim, Sarvar Khan, a five-time Namazi, had no love for films and he never visited a cinema house but his fiend persuaded him to see “Saheed”. The old man sat through the movie spell-bound and started crying when he saw his son being hanged on charges of treason against the British Raj and his body taken in procession by freedom fighter. The film over, Sarvar Khan scolded his son and asked him not to play a tragic role of this type. The film, released in early fifties, proved to be a turning point in Yusuf Khan’s (Dilip Kumar’s original name) career and established his credentials in public mind as a patriot.

The icon of a martyr continued when, at the height of popularity in the fifties, he offered his services to Jawaharlal Nehru who used it for many popular causes. In 1962 war with China Dilip Kumar raised funds for the Jawans and in 1965 clashes with Pakistan, the patriot in him was roused again and he channelized the energy and popularity in him for the welfare of soldiers.

Dilip Kumar campaigned actively for Krishna Menon against Acharya Kripalani, in prestigious Lok Sabha election from Bombay North East in 1962. Nehru had, in fact, written to Dilip asking him to campaign for Menon and at the bidding of Yusuf Bhai entire film industry turned up in Menon’s support. It was during the campaign that Dilip Kumar had a glimpse of his would be bête noir, Bal Thackeray who was at that time busy laying foundation of Shiv Sena.

They did not have any ill-will against each other. Thackeray, also a cartoonist, while little known then, and Dilip Kumar was a household name. They met even after election but there was no hostility. As a matter of fact, Thackeray’s wife, the late Meena Tai, evinced great interest and was a fan of Dilip Kumar and a friend of Nargis. The Shiv Sena Supremo took cudgels against matinee idol during the Bombay riots.

Thackeray again picked up on Dilip Kumar on Deepa Mehta’s controversial film ‘fire’. Yusuf Bhai did not find anything objectionable in the film nor did he consider it obscene. What followed was, in fact, more objectionable; Shiv Sena sent a band of goons who striped underwear in front of his house. Thackeray’s charge was that Dilip Kumar masterminded the pro-Fire campaign since the actor was only one from the film world who campaigned in support of Deepa Mehta when she was facing Sena onslaught.

As if this was not enough, seeking to drive political mileage out of Kargil conflict, the Shiv Sena dictator demanded that Dilip Kumar return the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, highest civilian award of Pakistan, conferred on him previous year. Dilip Kumar’s close friends advised him not to join issue with Thackeray.

Born in pre-partition Peshawar, Yusuf Khan, came to Bombay, when he was very young. His father, was a merchant of dry fruits and his area of operations were, besides Peshwar, the fruit growing towns of Baluchistan and Afghanistan. Bombay had a thriving dry fruit market and Sarvar Khan procured dry fruits from the Mandis of North-West Frontier Province and sold them in Bombay. He finally made Bombay his headquarters and shifted his establishment there.

Yusuf Khan was introduced to the film industry by the legendary, Devika Rani, who saw a talent in the young man. “Jawar Bhatta” (tides) was the first film in which he got a minor role and after that there was no looking back for him. How Yusuf Khan became Dilip Kumar is a mystery? According to one version the new name was given to him by Devika Rani. Some film critics say a Hindu name in the film those days had more acceptability and, therefore, Yusuf Khan became Dilip Kumar. Many of his fans for years did not know his religion that he was a Muslim. In his various roles too, he would sing Bhajans in temples and accept prasad offered by poojari.

Dilip Kumar developed leftist leanings quite early in film career and best of his friends came from communist movement. When the CPI split and the hard-liner formed the CPI-M, he was very upset. He made a film – “Sagina Mehto”— in which he attacked the hardliners for dividing the movement--- Sagina Mehto, a tribal working in coal mines revolted against modus operandi of Marxist. Earlier, another film –“Footpath” too was inspired by the leftist movement. It was directed by Zia Sarhadi, a hard core member of the communist party. Dilip Kumar played the role of a reporter, who exposed capitalist ideology. (IPA Service)