Dilip Kumar, legendary Indian actor known as the “Tragedy King” of Hindi cinema was born on December 11, 1922, in Peshawar, Pakistan (pre-independence India). Dilip began his acting career in ’Jwar Bhata’ in 1944. His first hit was ‘Jugnu’ in 1947. In his early days, he worked for Bombay Talkies, the top studio at the time. While there he was greatly influenced by Ashok Kumar, a top star who was not overly dramatic as was the style of the day but had a natural acting style.  Kumar’s style developed into the “method” style of acting, where an actor gets totally immersed in the character he is playing.  It is said that Dilip played so many tragic characters in the 1940’s, 50’s, and 60’s that it affected him personally. He eventually began to do lighter roles and excelled at comedy as well. Some of his well-known movies are: ‘Andaz’ (1949), ‘Aan’ (1952), ‘Devdas’ (1955), ‘Azaad’ (1956), ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ (1960), and ‘Ganga Jamuna’ (1986).  Dilip was the first recipient of the Filmfare Best Actor Award in 1954 and holds the record for the Best Actor awards from Filmfare with eight. Among the many awards Dilip has won during his lifetime was India’s second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, awarded in 2015. In 1966, Dilip married actress Saira Banu, 22 years his junior, was his partner and caretaker until his death after a prolonged illness at the age of 98 on July 7, 2021.