Dilip Kumar’s life story in Marathi

Deepa Venkatraman

The book, tailored around the actor’s birth, family, career path and his heroines is slated for release in December

He has seen his favourite star many a time, seen all his movies right from Mela to Jugnu and Naya Daur to Saudagar. But this take is different for Prasannakumar Daniel Farande as he’s turned author of Dilip Kumar Bhartiya Cinenayakache Charitra, the Marathi version of the biography on Dilip Kumar in English, Star Legend of Indian Cinema- Dilip Kumar written by Bunny Ruben years back.

“Sanjay Nahar of Chinar Publication approached me to do the project and I didn’t think twice when I came to know it was on the legend whom I have been tracking since my childhood. Now even the Puneites and all the Marathi readers can get an in-depth information of their favourite hero,” says Farande who started the translation about two years back.

The book, tailored around the actor’s birth, family, career path, and his heroines, is slated to release in December 2007. The book also states that Kumar spent a brief period in Pune before entering the film world. “From Peshawar, Kumarji’s family came to Mumbai and started a fruit business. He later came down to Pune after his studies and worked as a canteen manager in the military mess for a year. He made a lot of friends and enjoyed living in the city,” says Farande.
Although a versatile actor who gave a new dimension to Indian cinema, Kumar had his own share of troubles at the start of his film career.

“Kumarji wanted to become a journalist but was destined to meet actor Devika Rani of Bombay Talkies and thus got the first role in Jwar Bhata followed by Pratima Swarna, which received a lot of criticism for his physique. But the turning point in his career was his subsequent movies Mela and Jugnu where he was recognised as an actor. Although Jugnu was banned in for a while Kumarji’s acting was applauded,” he says.

Farande unearthed many anecdotes that made the legend popular amongst his peers in the industry. Farande says, “Once when Bimal Roy was going through a financial crunch just before the release of Madhumati , Kumarji talked to the distributors and got the finances arranged. He also gave a considerable amount of cash for the repair work of a temple and a masjid during one of his shoots in North India.”

There was a writer too hidden inside the versatile actor. “ The creative spark was the result of a fire burning in his belly as he was refused a role in Mother India. That’s not it, Bhojpuri dialect was introduced in Hindi cinema for the first time in Ganga Jamuna.”
Although Kumar was known for his affairs with his heroines, his true love was only one-Kamini Kaushal. Farande says, “In the book, Kumarji has

confessed that he loved only once and the first flame of love cannot be copied. He was totally heartbroken when Kaushal was forced to give up the relationship and left for London to get over it.” But cupid struck him once again in the form of Saira Banu.