Function held to mark 94th birthday of Dilip Kumar at his birthplace

PESHAWAR: The Peshawarites celebrated on Sunday the 94th birthday of the cinema legend from Peshawar Muhammad Yousaf Khan who is popularly known by his screen name of Dilip Kumar.

The members of the Cultural Heritage Council (CHC) had arranged a function at the Peshawar Press Club to mark the day. A cake was cut on the occasion.

A known film historian from Peshawar, Muhammad Ibrahim Zia, journalists and culture-lovers were present at the function. Speaking on the occasion, Shakeel Wahidullah of the CHC said Dilip Kumar was a living legend of the film industry, who was proud of his birthplace Peshawar where he had spent early part of his life as well.

Muhammad Ibrahim Zia termed Dilip Kumar the greatest cinema stars. He said he had dwelt at length at this cinema icon in his book “ Peshawar Key Funkar - Theatre Aur Cinema Mey” that highlights the contributions of Peshawar to the cinema. He said the people of Peshawar love Dilip Kumar and express this attachment by celebrating his birthday every year.

The participants of the function offered prayers for the early recovery of the veteran actor who has not been keeping good health for quite some time and is nowadays admitted to a hospital in Mumbai.

It may be mentioned here that Dilip Kumar is acclaimed among one of the greatest actors in the history of the Indian cinema. He was born as Muhammad Yousuf Khan into a Hindko-speaking Awan family on December 11, 1922 at Mohallah Khudaad, at the back of Qisaa Khwani in Peshawar. His father, Lala Sarwar Khan, was a fruit merchant. The family later moved to other cities which are now sited in India.

He debuted as an actor in the film Jwar Bhata in 1944 produced by Bombay Talkies. His career has spanned over six decades and with over 60 films.

The thespian starred in films of a variety of genres such as the romantic Andaz (1949), the swashbuckling Aan (1952), the dramatic Devdas (1955), the comical Azaad (1955), the historical Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and the social Ganga Jamuna (1961).

Dilip Kumar is the winner of 9 Filmfare Awards. He still holds the record for the most number of Filmfare awards.

The government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1991, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994 and India’s second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan in 2015 for his contributions towards Indian cinema.  The government of Pakistan honoured him with the Nishan-e-Imtiaz in year 1998.