This refers to the article “Raj Kapoor: Showman of Indian cinema” (June 14) by Farouk Luqman.
Luqman is an amazing columnist, writing informative articles in a lucid style. Indeed, the late Raj Kapoor is a big name in the Indian film industry along with Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand who are towering personalities in their own right and an inspiration to budding actors.
When Raj Kapoor was making Sangam, he first offered one of the character roles to Dilip Kumar who turned it down mentioning that he had already acted as a side hero with Raj Kapoor in Andaaz. It was then that Raj Kapoor asked Rajendra Kumar to do the role. He accepted and throughout the movie, one could catch glimpses of Dilip Kumar which earned Kumar a lot of fame.
Although Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand are stalwarts of Bollywood as the Indian film industry is popularly known, respect for Dilip Kumar and recognition for his unique acting and dialogue delivery is unsurpassed. Dilip Kumar is the epitome of the Indian film industry. When Raj Kapoor was making ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili, he asked his son to act with the same intensity as Dilip Kumar. When Shakti was released in 1982 starring Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan for which Dilip Kumar won the best actor award, Raj Kapoor congratulated him saying, “Lale, there is only one actor in India and that is Dilip Kumar.”
Amitabh Bachchan has also praised Dilip Kumar on numerous occasions saying that when the history of Indian cinema will be penned, it will start with Dilip Kumar and end with him. Considering that this is being said by one of the finest actors that India has ever produced speaks volumes for the caliber of Dilip Kumar. He has received compliments from nearly everyone worth his name in the industry and all recognize his remarkable work as an actor. Although Raj Kapoor has produced many box office hits, none of his characters come across with the intensity of Dilip Kumar’s.
Dilip Kumar has many credits to his name: Mughl-e-Azam, Devdas, Madhumati, Deedar, Aan, Ram Aur Shyam, Leader, Paigham, Aadmi which all encapsulate Dilip Kumar as the ultimate perfectionist; he acts for the sake of acting and is not greedy for money like others in the industry. Raj Kapoor is indeed a great showman, but Dilip Kumar will always be the name of the greatest actor that India has ever produced. — Anees Lokhande, Alkhobar
