He has been one of the most enigmatic characters to have ever graced the silver screen, perhaps and therefore it was high time that Dilip Kumar unraveled himself through a book to perhaps satisfy, satiate or increase the curiosity associated with his persona. The curtain would be raised on this enigma on 9th June when his autobiography written by Udaya Tara Nayar a close family friend of Dilip Kumar would fittingly be launched by arguably two of the most enigmatic legends of cinema Big B aka, Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan.
For a man who started his career in cinema in the black and white era, when Hindi cinema was gaining ground and being a part of its growth and diversification for more than 50 years, his autobiography indeed would be a heady combination of veritable tome of information and collection of anecdotes that would regale the fans of cinema for all times to come. The choice of title ‘SUBSTANCE AND THE SHADOW’ indeed is apt as Dilip Kumar has rarely revealed any sliver of his personal life for public consumption though quite a lot of salubrious details associated with his career and his persona have been a part of the grapevine for quite a long time.
For the aficionados of cinema a sense of excitement indeed would be on offer, whether through ‘SUBSTANCE AND THE SHADOW’ Dilip Kumar would be commenting on his relationship with Madhubala, as this aspect has been dealt at great length in the autobiography of Madhubala and so far Dilip Kumar has maintained a stoic silence on the matter.
Dilip Kumar hailed from an era where love happened but it could not be consummated as it was in case of Bimal Roy’s PARINEETA and how this portrayal in a way got manifested in his persona in such a manner that he came to be known as Tragedy Kumar and for the fans subsuming of the cinematic identity into the persona of Dilip Kumar through the various roles that he enacted in the black and white era which were predominant with a sense of melancholy and its after effects would be the area that they would be hoping, would get appropriate attention in the book.
It indeed is a monumental step forward by Dilip Kumar as he is perhaps the only living legend of Hindi cinema and his book, one hopes would inspire others as well to document their cinematic journey for the fans of cinema to savor it for all times to come.
