Tribute to an actor par-excellence
Words can’t do justice to Dilip Kumar’s melancholic roles and my personal favourite is “Devdas”. Trying to get my two bits’ worth in with someone long ago who couldn’t look beyond Amitabh Bachchan, I said nobody in Indian cinema could emote from the soul like Dilip Kumar. When he said “Paro,” naturally Suchitra Sen melted. He spoke from the essence of his tragic cinematic being. And it showed. But Dilip Kumar did not become his roles like some Western actors and actresses do. He was careful about commercial success which is why he never made a film with Satyajit Ray. He didn’t care for his melancholic roles especially ending in early death and said so in an interview. He said he ticked off a producer who came with such a role. After that, I was left wondering about the man. Was it art or was it the box office?Now actors are not generally writers (and it’s true enough vice versa). Writers live for years with their characters and often become them. I guess the process is a little organic because characters derive from writers who of course have plenty of secondary sources for them. Actors, on the other hand, borrow characters to play. Once the role is done, it’s discarded. Quite natural again, I suppose. But there are exceptions among really sensitive actors and actresses. Vivian Leigh admitted to becoming Blanche Dubois, enacting her brilliantly for film in an Oscar-winning performance. In lesser ways, Marlon Brando and some others were affected, but far less than writers. Dilip Kumar is part of the hardboiled category. For all his legendary acting skills, he never lost himself in roles. Is that good or bad? I don’t know. But I guess that part of Dilip Kumar ought to have a role when praising his stellar performances.
