It was a star studded event when the big wigs of Bollywood graced the launch of veteran actor Dilip Kumar’s autobiography titled ‘Substance and Shadow’. Celebs like Subhash Ghai, Madhuri Dixit, Aamir Khan and Jeetendra, Vijayanti Mala, Zeenat Aman, Javed Akhtar, Salim Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Raju Hirani, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Riteish Deshmukh and Kiran Rao, Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan were present at the event.
As always, the thespian was accompanied by his wife Saira Banu. All the celebs present showed their respect for one of India’s finest actors who has given hits like Andaaz, Devdas, Shaheed, Amar and Saudagar to name a few.
Talking to media, the thespian’s wife Saira Banu said, “Yusuf Sahib’s autobiography is being released today. All of you please pray that the amount of efforts we have put in this for all of you gets successful and you all like it even more”. (sic) The book has been written by the actor’s friend Uday Tara Nayar and captures the life of one of India’s finest actors, right from his childhood his career, and the ups and downs in his life, his family and more. And on such an occasion, how could the Shahenshah of Bollywood not be there? It was delight to see the two legends of Hindi cinema together after a long time under one frame. Talking about legends and superstars, we take a look at who has been Bollywood’s greatest superstar: Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan or Rajesh Khanna?
Over the decades, superstars and cinema have both changed. When Dilip Kumar aka Muhammad Yusuf Khan made his debut in 1944 with Jwar Bhata, Bollywood would have a new tragedy king! He went on to give classic performances in films like Andaz (1949), Aan (1952), Devdas (1955), Azaad (1955) and the epic film Mughal-e-Azam (1960). Over a period of time, he became a legend of his era. So popular was Dilip Kumar that every aspiring actor wanted to be like him and many till date, ape his style of acting. Recipient of many prestigious awards including the Padma Bhushan, Dilip Kumar was also the highest paid Hindi actor in the 50’s and early 60’s. He is reported to hold a Guinness World Record for winning the maximum number of awards by an Indian actor. A super star had certainly arrived.
