“I think Dilip Kumar gave up 40 years too early, thereby, depriving us of many path-breaking performances that may have happened” – Kamal Haasan pays tribute

By Subhash K. Jha -

July 7, 2021 - 9:28 AM IST

India’s most cherished actor Dilip Kumar is no more. Kamal Haasan, who idolizes him, reveals he wanted to remake one of his most beloved Tamil films Thevar Magan into Hindi with Dilip Saab and himself as father and son. But Dilip Kumar declined.

“I think Dilip Kumar gave up 40 years too early, thereby, depriving us of many path-breaking performances that may have happened” – Kamal Haasan pays tribute

“I even offered to move out of the project, thereby foregoing the pleasure and honour of working with my idol. I thought Dilip saab was not comfortable with the Tamil-Brahmin ambience of the original. So I offered to turn the father and son’s characters to Pathans and cast Shah Rukh Khan as Dilip saab’s son. But, he still declined.”

It was then that the mighty Thespian came out with the real reason for his reluctance to do the Thevar Magan remake.“He found the theme too violent. And he has sworn never to do violent films,” reveals Kamal Haasan.

The ultimate method actor who regaled audiences with his pitch-perfect performances in Bimal Roy’s Devdas, Nitin Bose’s Ganga Jamuna and K Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam couldn’t bring himself to do violent roles and films.

Reveals Haasan, “As a child, he had witnessed the savagery and brutality of partition in his home town in Peshawar. His family was butchered. He escaped the bloodshed by hiding under a bed without food and water for many days. And you know what kept him alive? A little sparrow that perched itself near his hiding place and reminded him there was life outside. But, Yusuf saab could never face violence after that even on screen.”

Kamal Haasan is very upset with the awesome Dilip Kumar for giving up too early. “He had no right to retire so early. I think he gave up 40 years too early, thereby, depriving us of many path-breaking performances that may have happened if he hadn’t lost interest. But what he has done in the past is staggering. Mughal-e-Azam and Ganga Jamuna make my jaws drop every time I view them. I can’t see a single flaw in his performance. Best actor this country has ever produced? Hands down! He is beyond a national treasure.”

Also Read: Film legend Dilip Kumar passes away at 98