Report by Tribune International, 7 July 2021: Mohammed Yusuf Khan known as Dilip Kumar who sadly passed away today (7/07/2021), at the age of 98 at Hinduja Hospital Mumbai. The Son of Peshawar was born Peshawar in 1922. He moved with his parents to India when he was a teenager.
Besides being the best legendary film actor India has ever produced, he was a great human being, an intellectual and very kind soft-hearted man. He spent his free time helping people and taking part in and humanity-related fundraising campaign.
I had an opportunity to meet him and his wife Saira Bano in 1995 when he came to Chicago in a fund-raising dinner for Bosnian Muslim support where I was a part of the organizing committee. What a great and impressive personality I ever met in my journalism career. I was excited before meeting him that I would be seeing a great actor but when I met him, I found he was not just a great method actor but a great human being carrying pain and love for human beings around the world especially Muslims.
Yusuf Khan received the biggest Indian civilian award, Padma Bhushan in 1991 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994 for his contribution to the Bollywood Cinema. He carries Guinness’s world record for having received the most awards among Indian actors.
Yusuf Khan (Dilip Kumar) started his film career in 1944 when he worked in Hindi film, Jwaar Bhata. His last film was Qila in 1998.
Not only the Indian film industry will always remember him as a great method actor of Bollywood but as a great human being and an intellectual.