Dilip Kumar’s biography to be launched by Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan

‘Substance and Shadow’ to release on June 9.

By Tathagata Mitra

BANGALORE: Bollywood legend Dilip Kumar’s long awaited biography titled ‘Substance and Shadow’ will be jointly launched by Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan on June 9, in Mumbai.

Kumar’s biography is being written by a close friend Uday Tara Nayar. It was earlier set to release on Kumar’s 91^st birthday, but the release date was shifted.

The last time an old timer from Bollywood created a buzz with his biography was in 2007, when Dev Anand, who passed away in 2011, released his biography titled ‘Romancing with Life’. The book became an instant hit with the critics and the general populace.

Recently, one of the most popular baddies of Bollywood, Prem Chopra released his biography, ‘Prem Naam Hai Mera… Prem Chopra’ in Dubai. The title was inspired by one of the actor’s most popular lines from a film, Bobby (1973). Commenting on the title of his biography, the actor told City Times, “I had no idea that this line will become synonymous with my name. It’s been 41 years but it is so popular even today. I had no idea at that time.” The biography was written by the actor’s daughter, Rakita Chopra.

Dilip Kumar was born as Muhammad Yusuf Khan in Peshawar in 1922. He has had a long and prosperous career spanning 54 years; he has acted in over 60 films. He is the first actor to win the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and to this day holds the record for the maximum number of wins in that category (tied with Shah Rukh Khan). He has been called the ‘Tragedy King’ of Bollywood, and director Satyajit Ray has called him the ‘ultimate method actor’.

Kumar had been unwell of late, with Bachchan visiting him in hospital. Kumar and Bachchan are considered widely as two of the most popular actors of Bollywood of all time. Although they have been seen together in many off-screen events throughout the years, the two went toe-to-toe on the screen only once, in the film Shakti (1982), where Kumar played Bachchan’s father. Kumar’s last screen appearance was in Qila (1998).

The book will be launched by Bachchan and Khan in the presence of Kumar, his wife and retired actor, Saira Banu Khan, singer Lata Mangeshkar and Nayar.