Remembering a Memorable Meeting with Dilip Kumar
By Zafar K. Yousufzai
Fremont, CA
Back in 1983 while I was studying for my MBA degree I used to host a weekly radio show Subrung for the South-Asian community of the San Francisco Bay Area.
At that time, almost every month Bollywood promoters used to come to San Francisco or Los Angeles on the west coast with a variety of celebrities in the showbiz.
Kefayat Yusuf, who was in the travel agency business and hosted a weekly Indian radio show, soon became a good friend of mine. He called me one day to inform that Dilip Kumar was coming to San Francisco with many Bollywood celebrities, including his wife Saira Banu and her mother, Naseem.
I soon learnt that Dilip Kumar was leading the group to raise funds for the blind and to establish a hospital in India.
Kefayat called me soon after to know if I was interested in joining him. I understood he was among the local promoters to stage the event.
On the day of the concert, Kefayat and I picked up the celebrities from their respective hotels and drove them straight to the Circle Star Theater not too far from San Francisco.
As soon as we stepped out of the limousine, Kefayat introduced me to Dilip Kumar who I vividly remember was in a black suit with a smile on his face and in the company of his elegant wife and her mother. "He is Zafar Khan and hosts a radio show in San Francisco for the Indo-Pak community". Dilip Kumar smiled with a gracious “Wonderful!” remark. “May I have your autograph, please?” I asked and instantly passed on my book with a pen. He readily obliged and signed his name as Dilip Kumar. He then chatted about the flight, and so the usual pleasantries followed.
In the meantime, Kefayat took a couple of pictures of the great star shaking hands, giving autographs, etc. to the crowd that had turned up on the memorable day. They included his own and my picture with the legendary actor.
Before the concert, Dilip Kumar delivered a philosophical speech explaining the reasons for his visit and the motivation for his fundraising campaign. He outlined a grave and pathetic picture of the blind in India which touched everyone in the audience.
I must confess I had not seen too many of his movies but can recall having seen Aan, Andaaz, and Mughal-e-Azam during my school/college days. And what I discovered in the 'King of Tragedy' in a twenty-minute meeting that memorable day convinced me of his outstanding intellect and humane self.
To my knowledge, Dilip Kumar did not go to a convent or an elite grammar school in India but presided over the best Urdu mushairas at home and in the Gulf states. He also delivered English speeches with confidence in a philosophical tone on most European and America trips.
Shama Delhi magazine once reported that during a movie premiere late prime Minister Pandit Nehru was sitting next to Dilip Kumar. He told Dilip, "You will be the next prime minister of India". The remark made in jest by a sitting prime minister was an acknowledgement of the love and popularity enjoyed by the son of a fruit merchant from Peshawar in India.
Aankh say dour sahi Dil say kahaN jaega
Jaanay walay tou HumeiN Yaad bohut Aegaa.
May Allah rest his soul in eternal peace.
