Dilip Kumar left no lessons for future actors: Naseeruddin Shah

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, in an opinion piece for The Indian Express published on July 10, lamented that Bollywood pioneer Dilip Kumar, despite being a powerhouse of talent, left behind no lessons for youngsters.

While Shah maintained that the late Kumar’s contribution to Indian cinema remains unparalleled, he also questioned whether “Kumar helped push the envelope toward progress or whether he facilitated the downward spiral of popular Hindi cinema into the total star-centricity in which it wallows today.”

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Rightfully lauding Kumar’s acting prowess, Shah detailed how his “mesmeric stillness and impeccable poise established a paradigm for good acting in Indian films… and his movement and gesture seemed to be little understood by his peers.”

Yet, despite all that, “He (Kumar) didn’t do enough apart from acting,” said Shah.

“He never passed on the benefit of his experience, didn’t bother to groom anyone, and apart from his pre-1970s performances, left behind no significant lessons for future actors,” Shah wrote.

Shah ardently also questioned: “It’s incomprehensible why an actor of such immaculate craft, one whose very presence elevated any film he was in, one who just had to nod his head to set any project he fancied into motion, one justly acclaimed as the finest in the country, one financially secure for several generations, chose to play safe the way he (Kumar) did.”

You can read the complete opinion piece here.

Kumar passed away last week on July 7. He was 98.

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According to reports, Kumar passed away at Hinduja hospital in Mumbai at 7:30 am on Wednesday, due to prolonged illness. He was admitted to Hinduja hospital in Mumbai after he complained of breathlessness.