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Icon to 3 generations: Saira Banu writes about Dilip Kumar's contribution to Bollywood

The legendary actor passed away at 98 earlier this year.

The greatest contribution of Dilip Kumar to the Indian film industry was the change he brought in histrionics at a time when actors were being applauded for their loud and theatrical acting, said Saira Banu, the late actor’s widow.

In a special article on her late husband, published to coincide with the International Film Festival of India currently being held in Goa (November 20 to November 28), Saira said that “with his subtle acting, his refined body language, his facial expressions and the intensity of his soft, beautifully modulated voice he conveyed the feelings and thoughts of the characters he portrayed on the screen in a way that pleased the viewers and touched their hearts.”

Dilip Kumar, who was 98, died earlier this year. The IFFI honoured him along with Canadian actor Christopher Plummer, French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo and Indian stars Surekha Sikri and Puneeth Rajkumar, all of whom passed away in 2021.

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“While his friend and colleague Raj Kapoor was closely following the great Charlie Chaplin and Dev Anand was looking up to Gregory Peck, there was no one to whom he could turn simply because he was determined to be his own teacher and mould himself in his own way,” said Saira. “Little did he know then that he would be the icon to three generations of actors in the country.”

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