Veteran actor Saira Banu, who recently joined Instagram, recently shared an anecdote from her late husband and actor Dilip Kumar's life. In her latest post, Saira shared an unseen picture of Dilip and Ashok Kumar and revealed how both the actors got their first break under Devika Rani. She also shared the biggest acting lesson Ashok gave Dilip.
She wrote in her post, "One morning Sahib ran into Dr Masani, his father’s acquaintance, told him that he was in search of a job. Dr Masani suggested that he should go with him and took him along to meet Mrs Devika Rani, the boss of Bombay Talkies Studio. Devika Raniji, a picture of elegance, welcomed them and took them personally to the floor where a shooting was going on. She led him to a man who was well-dressed and looked distinguished. His dark hair was combed back and he smiled through his eyes at Sahib. He held his hand in a warm handshake that marked the beginning of a friendship that was to last a lifetime. He was Ashok Kumar, the superstar who soon became 'Bhaiyya' to Sahib. He said that he knew why he was there, You are a handsome man and I can see you are eager to learn well, It’s very simple. You just do the scene given to you as you would behave in a real-life situation if you were really in it be natural if you try to act it out, it will look silly."
Saira added, "Ashok Bhaiyya lived close to the Studios those days and Raj and Dilip Sahib were always welcomed in Bhaiyya’s home to savour hot Bhajiyas made by his wife Shoba Bhabhi. Raj Kapoor would often join Sahib and hug him excitedly saying that he's happy to know that he had joined the acting profession. Bhaiyya sometimes arrived while they were having Bhajiyas and demanded that they should play badminton with him. He would chide them jokingly, You come here and flirt with my wife, eat nice Bhajiyas and you don’t want to accompany me in playing badminton. Later, when they worked together, on Ashok Bhaiyya’s order there would be a 'Dawaat' at lunchtime with delicious food like Biryani and homemade icecream."
She concluded her caption by saying, "Many years later when Bhaiyya was at home out of health problems, Sahib used to visit him frequently at his Chembur house where he would be resting in bed very much his ebullient self but naturally weaker, and Sahib took it upon himself to regale him with Urdu couplets and wicked jokes. He would respond marvellously and cheer up. Sahib and I visited him regularly while Bhaiyya’s man Khurshid followed us out and told us that ‘Dada Moni’ really perks up and livens up with your coming. This was a great camaraderie in bad times."
Dilip and Saira were married for 55 years, until his unfortunate demise. When the couple tied the knot, Dilip was reportedly 44 and Saira was 22.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)