Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021) was an Indian actor, screenwriter, and film producer. He made his acting debut in 1944 with Jwar Bhata. The 1947 drama Jugnu opposite Noor Jehan was his first major success. Nadiya Ke Par was similarly that year's highest grossing Indian film. In 1949, he featured alongside Raj Kapoor in Mehboob Khan's Andaz opposite Nargis. This love triangle at the time of its release was the highest-grossing Indian film ever.
The 1950s saw Kumar in a number of popular films playing a variety of roles. Kumar won the first-ever Filmfare Award in the Best Actor category for his performance in 1954 release Daag. Two years later, Kumar played the title character in the drama Azaad, which earned him his second Filmfare Best Actor Award. His title role in Devdas (1955) earned him his third Filmfare Best Actor Award. Some of these films established his screen image as the "Tragedy King" because of his ill-fated characters in films. He also appeared alongside Dev Anand in Insaniyat (1955). Nine of Kumar's films were among the Top 30 highest-grossing films of the decade.
In 1960, Kumar appeared in K. Asif's big-budget epic historical film Mughal-e-Azam. He played Mughal Prince Salim, who falls in love with Anarkali (a court dancer, played by Madhubala), and later revolts against his father Akbar (Prithviraj Kapoor). The film was successful at the box office earning a net revenue of 55 million (US$11,530,000). The film became the highest-grossing Indian film of all time. He played dual roles in the drama film Ram Aur Shyam (1967) which earned him his seventh Filmfare Award for Best Actor.
In 1981, Dilip Kumar appeared in historical drama Kranti, in the role of a revolutionary fighting for India's independence from British rule. He collaborated with director Subhash Ghai in films Vidhaata (1982), action film Karma, and Saudagar. He made his last film appearance in Qila. His two films Aag Ka Dariya and Kalinga are completed but remain unreleased.
In total, Kumar worked as a lead in 57 films. Also he was doing many cameo/guest appearances and many unreleased films in his 54 years film career. He also worked off-screen as a background narrator, ghost director and ghost editor as well, without taking credits for them. He was the most choosy and selective actor at that time. He earned 19 nominations for best actor at the Filmfare Awards in his career, winning 8, three of them back to back (which is a record in itself). He received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994.
Films + List of performances in feature films Year Title Role Notes 1940s1944Jwar BhataJagadishDebut film; Credited as Dileep Kumar1945PratimaRajanCredited as Dileep Kumar1946MilanRamesh1947JugnuSurajFirst credit as Dilip Kumar1948Ghar Ki IzzatChandraShaheedRamMelaMohanAnokha PyarAshok Nadiya Ke ParKunwar SinghCredited as Dileep Kumar1949AndazDilipShabnamManoj 1950s1950JoganVijayArzooBaadalBabulAshok1951HulchulKishoreDeedarShyamuTaranaDr. Motilal1952DaagShankarFilmfare Award for Best ActorAanJai Tilak HadaSangdilShankar1953ShikastDr. Ram SinghFootpathNoshu1954AmarAmarnathAngareyNarratorUncredited1955DevdasDevdas MukherjeeFilmfare Award for Best ActorUran KhatolaKashi AzaadKumar alias Azaad alias Abdul Rahim KhanFilmfare Award for Best ActorInsaniyatMangal1957MusafirRajaNaya DaurShankarFilmfare Award for Best Actor1958YahudiMarcusMadhumatiAnand (previous birth) and Devendra (present birth)Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor1959PaighamRattan LalNominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor 1960s1960KohinoorYuvraj Rana Dhivendra Pratap Bahadur "Kohinoor"Filmfare Award for Best ActorMughal-E-AzamSalimNominated — Filmfare Award for Best ActorKala BazarHimselfCameo appearance as one of the stars in the premiere scene of Mother India (1957)1961DharmputraNarratorUncredited; Gunga JumnaGungaramNominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor 1964LeaderVijay KhannaFilmfare Award for Best Actor1966Dil Diya Dard LiyaShankar alias Raja SahibNominated—Filmfare Award for Best ActorPaariJailorGuest appearance; Bengali film1967Ram Aur ShyamRam and Shyam (Double Role)Filmfare Award for Best Actor1968AadmiRajesh alias Raja SahibNominated—Filmfare Award for Best ActorSunghurshKundan Prasad alias BajrangiNominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor 1970s1970GopiGopiram "Gopi"Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best ActorSagina MahatoSagina MahatoBengali film1972DastaanDiwan Anil Kumar / Sunil Kumar alias Judge Vishnu Sahay KoshishHimselfGuest appearanceAnokha MilanJailorGuest appearance; Hindi dubbed version of the Bengali film Paari (1966)1974Naya Din Nai RaatBackground narratorUncredited; didn't act in this filmSaginaSagina MahatoNominated—Filmfare Award for Best ActorPhir Kab Milogi Teja Singh Guest appearance1976BairaagKailash, Bholanath "Bhola" and Sanjay (Triple Role)Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor 1980s1981KrantiSanga1982ShaktiDCP Ashwini KumarFilmfare Award for Best ActorVidhaataShamsher Singh / Shobhraj1983MazdoorDinanath SaxenaFilm Hi FilmRamFootage of his shelved film Shikwa (1954) were used in the film1984MashaalVinod KumarNominated — Filmfare Award for Best ActorDuniyaMohan Kumar1986Dharm AdhikariDharamrajKarmaJailor Vishwanath Pratap Singh alias Rana alias Dada Thakur1989Kanoon Apna ApnaCollector Jagatpratap Singh 1990s1990IzzatdaarBrahma Dutt1991SaudagarThakur Veer Singh "Veeru"Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor1998QilaJudge Amarnath Singh and Jagannath Singh (Double Role)Final film
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