1940
Dilip Kumar became India's First Star with the success of Andaaz
Dilip Kumar made his debut with Jwar Bhata (1944) though the film was a failure and like Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar gave a series of flops and eventually after 2 years in 1947 his fortune shined when his film Jugn .. Read More
1940
Dilip Kumar became India's First Star with the success of Andaaz
Dilip Kumar made his debut with Jwar Bhata (1944) though the film was a failure and like Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar gave a series of flops and eventually after 2 years in 1947 his fortune shined when his film Jugnu (1947) opposite 40's top female star Noor Jehan became a huge hit.
Soon, Dilip Kumar gave 2 consecutive hit films Shaheed and Mela in 1948! He was noticed by Movie Monarch Mehboob Khan and he signed him in his film Andaz (1949), India's First Multi Star Film! The film had top stars Raj Kapoor, Nargis, and Dilip Kumar. The film was a huge hit. After the success of Andaz, Mehboob Khan made another magnum opus Aan (1952), India's First Technicolor Film! The film broke all box-office records and made Dilip Kumar India's First Star!
1950
Dilip Kumar became the First recipient of Filmfare Best Actor Award
In the '50s Dilip Kumar got established as a ‘Tragedy King' due to his commanding performance as a tragedian. His towering performance as a depressed lover in romantic films like Jogan (1950), Babul (1950), Deedar (1951) won him huge applause. In the film, Daag (1952) Dilip Kumar played zealous alcoholic with such perfection that he went on to receive the First Filmfare Best Actor Award instituted by The Times Of India Group of Newspaper.
Dilip Kumar creates history –Wins a Hat-trick of Filmfare Best Actor Award
In the '50s Dilip Kumar was at his peak of career and doing quality cinema with renowned filmmakers. This was the year he gave several hit films like Amar (1954), Uran Khatola (1955), Insaniyat (1955), Devdas (1955), Naya Daur (1957), Yahudi (1958), Madhumati (1958) and Paigham (1959). Interestingly in the mid-'50s Dilip Kumar hit a hat-trick and won 3 Filmfare Award Best Actors in a row for Azaad (1956), Devdas (1957) and Naya Daur (1958)!
1960
Dilip Kumar Ruled the 60's as Super Star
Dilip Kumar rose to the dizzy height of stardom in the '60s. With K.Asif's big-budget epic historical film Mughal-e-Azam, Dilip Kumar rose from Star to Super Star! The film till date is regarded as India's First Highest-grossing Indian film of all time! Dilip Kumar repeated success with Ganga Jamuna (1962), Ram Aur Shyam (1968). In the '60s Dilip Kumarwon 3 more Filmfare Award - Best Actor for his marvelous performances in films like Best Actor for Kohinoor (1960), Leader (1964) and Ram Aur Shyam (1967).
1970
Dilip Kumar 's charisma declined
With the Rajesh Khanna phenomena at its peak, the charisma of Dilip Kumar lost sheen in the '70s. He gave a series of flops like Dastaan (1972), Gopi (1970), Sagina (1974) and his career's most ambitious film Bairaag (1976) in which he played the triple role for the first time on screen! He had high hope from the film but it was a huge disaster at the box-office!
Shattered by failures, Dilip Kumar took self-imposed exile from Bollywood.
1980
Dilip Kumar returned with a bang
After a 5 year retirement, Dilip Kumar returned to Bollywood with a bang playing Lead Character Roles. His comeback film Kranti (1981) was the biggest hit of the year. Further with Ramesh Sippy's blockbuster Shakti in which Dilip Kumar was paired opposite Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar won his 7TH Filmfare Award for Best Actor thus proving his mettle as an actor par excellence.
Dilip Kumar gave the Greatest Emotional Scenes ever Filmed On Indian Screen!
Later, in 1984, Dilip Kumar clashed with upcoming star Anil Kapoor in Yash Chopra's Mashaal. The tragic scene from the film - Ae bhai koi hai…Zara Gadi Roko Bhai… where a broken Dilip Kumar appeals for help for his dying wife on the deserted streets of Mumbai shall always remain immortal in the annals of Indian cinema! In fact, renowned filmmaker Yash Chopra, who directed the film, believes that it is one of the Greatest Emotional Scenes ever Filmed On Indian Screen!
Filmmaker Subhash Ghai tapped the genius of Dilip Kumar
Film director Subhash Ghai tapped the hidden talent of Dilip Kumar in the '80s. For the first time, Subhash Ghai broke the ‘Tragedy Image’ of Dilip Kumar and gave him a new image of the Angry Old Man typical to Amitabh Bachchan’s Angry Young Man. Subhash Ghai gave Dilip Kumar sophisticated urbane characters like the role of an underworld don in his film Vidhaata (1982). To make the movie impressive Ghai clashed Dilip Kumar with Indian cinema's great actor Sanjeev Kumar.
Ghai repeated the idea of giving tailor-made role to Dilip Kumar in Karma (1986) and clashed Dilip Kumar against another brilliant actor Naseeruddin Shah and in his next film Saudagar (1991), Ghai created history by casting Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar after a gap of 30 years!
1990
Dilip Kumar proved his versatility
Dilip Kumar has been a versatile actor and kept doing a verity of roles in the late ‘90s. In his last film Qila (1998) he played dual roles of an evil landlord and an honest lawyer. He played a typical Brahmin speaking chaste Hind in the film Dharm Adhikari (1986). Besides, in the '50s after being stereotyped in tragedy roles Dilip Kumar experiment different roles and did fantastic comedy in films like Azaad (1955), and as a royal prince in the romantic musical Kohinoor (1960) and the twin brothers in Ram Aur Shyam (1969).