zen Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 (edited) Superstars come and go, actors have moments/phases, but the trio of Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand & Raj Kapoor have an unmatched position in the Indian film industry, which they helped to define. Today, the last of the trio, Dilip Kumar, has departed. However, through his work and impact on Bollywood, he will remain immortal. Dilip Kumar was also unique in the sense that even in his old age, he got the main roles, which probably no aged actor has managed to do so far in Bollywood. The 60s saw the rise of stars like Rajendra Kumar (fondly called the Silver Jubilee Kumar and poor man's (producers) Dilip Kumar), Shammi Kapoor (Ind's Elvis), Manoj Kumar, etc., and the 70s was divided b/w the popularity of Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan, but the trio was still there whether acting in films and/or making them. Almost all actors were their fans too. In the 70s, Dilip Kumar took a long break (5 years or so) to return in Kranti (1981). When Manoj Kumar went to Dilip Kumar to explain him the role, Dilip Sahab had only thing to say, something to the order, - "role Dilip Kumar ke status ka hona chahiye". He probably did not need to say that as Manoj Kumar himself was a big fan of Dilip Kumar therefore there is no way he could have given him anything less. Dilip Kumar was particular about the impact he made in his roles that he did not do Sangam even when Raj Kapoor gave him the option to pick whichever role he liked (Gopal or Sundar), thinking that in Raj Kapoor films, how could anyone else shine. He was wrong though as Rajendra Kumar's role was widely appreciated and Raj Kapoor character only made an impact once it read the "letter". Dilip Kumar is said to have said "No" to Omar Sheriff's role in Lawrence of Arabia as well as it was not the main character. However, the inclination to make impact through his roles ensured that he continued to get great roles even when he was past his prime in major films like Kranti, Shakti, Vidhaata, Karma & Saudagar. Dilip Kumar toh Dilip Kumar wale hi role karaga. Below are some of my favorite Dilip Kumar films/performances: Aan Foot Path Devdas Naya Daur Madhumati Mughal-e-Azam Ganga Jamuna Dil Diya Dard Liya Ram aur Shyam Gopi Kranti Shakti Vidhaata Karma and many many more Who can forget the sequences like below? Even relatively average films like Izzatdaar became memorable for DIlip Kumar: The passionate sequence in Mughal-e-Azam: Edited July 7, 2021 by zen Mariyam, Ankit_sharma03 and coffee_rules 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted July 7, 2021 Author Share Posted July 7, 2021 Gopi's scene used in Sholay: Also below - replicated in someway in films like Namak Halaal: Mariyam 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariyam Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 (edited) Edited July 7, 2021 by Mariyam nevada and zen 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I6MTW Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 Probably the greatest actor India ever had, if not one of the greatest. Mohan Swamy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 11 minutes ago, I6MTW said: Probably the greatest actor India ever had, if not one of the greatest. To the first point no. 2nd point yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevada Posted July 7, 2021 Share Posted July 7, 2021 (edited) https://twitter.com/sudarsansand/status/1412709928892993536 Edited July 7, 2021 by nevada maniac 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 (edited) I saw some of the scenes posted in the OP, the acting hasn’t aged well there. Looks hammy and over the top. I am sure that is the case with most old actors. The outstanding ones still have 1-2 performances that stand the test of time including Dilip Kumar. Edited July 8, 2021 by maniac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I6MTW Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 (edited) 8 hours ago, maniac said: I saw some of the scenes posted in the OP, the acting hasn’t aged well there. Looks hammy and over the top. I am sure that is the case with most old actors. The outstanding ones still have 1-2 performances that stand the test of time including Dilip Kumar. Over the top? Dilip? Quite contrary. Dilip was known for being grounded and underacting. He was different from his peers. He did method acting. I don't remember Dilip ever overacting. Maybe his character was like that in one of his movies. Dilip was very realistic in terms of approach and not theatrical. Edited July 8, 2021 by I6MTW Mariyam and coffee_rules 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 4 hours ago, I6MTW said: Over the top? Dilip? Quite contrary. Dilip was known for being grounded and underacting. He was different from his peers. He did method acting. I don't remember Dilip ever overacting. Maybe his character was like that in one of his movies. Dilip was very realistic in terms of approach and not theatrical. You didn’t get my post. Look you seem to be a fan and I don’t want to argue especially when he just passed away. I am only going by some of the videos I see posted above. It happens with most old movies they don’t age well, only a few performances stand the test of time. Probably Dilip Kumar has some of those and hence he is considered as one of the best. Probably you needed to be a little hammy back in the day for that era and could be that Dilip Kumar was less hammy comparatively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffee_rules Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 11 hours ago, maniac said: I saw some of the scenes posted in the OP, the acting hasn’t aged well there. Looks hammy and over the top. I am sure that is the case with most old actors. The outstanding ones still have 1-2 performances that stand the test of time including Dilip Kumar. Dude, most directors would give verbal instructions on how to act. This guy made a space for inventing most of his work by himself. Most of his chars feel natural. Hamming is when you can’t emote like SRK, who makes up by being silly. You are the first person to accuse him of hamming. A simple scene in the movie Koshish would have been spoiled by most with overacting, he makes it look good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 25 minutes ago, coffee_rules said: Dude, most directors would give verbal instructions on how to act. This guy made a space for inventing most of his work by himself. Most of his chars feel natural. Hamming is when you can’t emote like SRK, who makes up by being silly. You are the first person to accuse him of hamming. Cmon bro even you didn’t get my post. All I was saying is some old scenes/acting don’t age well. I have no doubt Dilip Kumar was more subtle and underplayed it compared to others of his era but may be the demand back then was to be in your face because most of these guys had stage and drama backgrounds. I find it hard when some 20-30 year old swoons over Dilip Kumar performances. Not so different from listening to KL saigal vs say listening to Arjit Singh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straight Drive Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 (edited) How a person from Muslim community changed his name to get roles in Bollywood and then make a name for himself coming from simple roots is an immense achievement. Will be remembered as one of the top actors of Bollywood. Rajesh Khanna, Dev sahab, Dilip Kumar, AB, Raj Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Ranjeet, Prem Chopra, Amrish Puri, Pran. What a lot of talent in those times. Edited July 8, 2021 by Straight Drive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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