Actor Anil Kapoor opened up about his memories attached to Dilip Kumar after he heard the news of the cinematic legend’s demise on Wednesday morning. Dilip was 98.
According to Anil, Dilip was not just an actor, but an acting institution who revolutionized Bollywood by bringing realism to it. The Welcome star went as far as calling Dilip the “pioneer” of realism in India.
In the legendary actor’s honor, Anil said: “[Dilip] is the pioneer of what we call realistic acting. He was the first one who brought the element of realism in acting in Bollywood. Till he made an entry, the acting used to be theatrical, loud, and artificial. But he made his characters look and feel real in the true sense. And that’s why everyone was mesmerized by his work.”
“That’s what acting is all about. For a few years, he became famous as the ‘tragedy king’, but he also showed his superb comic timing in films like Kohinoor (1960) and Ram Aur Shyam (1967). Also, there’s not one genre – be it romance, comedy, or drama – that he didn’t master,” he added.
Anil grew up in close proximity to Dilip as Anil’s father, filmmaker Surinder Kapoor, was the late actor’s close friend. While remembering Dilip as he left for his heavenly abode, Anil recalled his fond childhood memories associated with him.
"Dilip was my father's very close friend. So, I have all these childhood memories because my father was associated with Yusuf Saab, the great Dilip Kumar, for over a decade during Mughal-e-Azam. Our childhood memory is about Mughal-e-Azam. It is my one of the most favorite films of Yusuf Saab, and we used to call him Yusuf uncle."
Dilip Kumar’s funeral will take place on Wednesday.
