New Delhi: Theirs was not a life that was merely lived together but one that was fulfilled, actor Saira Banu said Tuesday as she remembered her companionship with Dilip Kumar on the great actor’s fifth death anniversary.
In an emotional Instagram post, Banu, 81, fondly remembered Kumar, whose real name was Mohammad Yousuf Khan. Kumar died July 7, 2021, at the age of 98 at a Mumbai hospital after prolonged illness.
“Ours was not merely a life lived together, but a life fulfilled. Such was the generosity of his spirit and the grace with which he carried every responsibility that he allowed me the rare privilege simply to be his companion.
“The world shall forever remember him as one of the greatest artists to have adorned the silver screen. Yet those who truly knew him shall remember a gentler greatness: a philanthropist, a cherished friend, and above all, a human being whose compassion was as boundless as his dignity,” Banu shared in a long post that was accompanied with pictures.
Banu and Kumar married in 1966 and were together for 55 years until the actor’s death and the actor said she is happy that she has a “treasure beyond measure” of rich memories.
“The most beautiful thing about life is that it never truly departs. It lingers in memories. And memories, unlike time, are faithful companions. They return unbidden, carrying every smile, every glance, every word, as though nothing has ever truly been lost. To remember someone is perhaps the purest proof that they have never been forgotten,” she said.
She said Kumar was cherished by family, friends, admirers and brethren in cinema who were left with “an emptiness words can never quite describe” after his death.
Regarded one of the finest actors of Indian cinema, the popular actor’s film credits ranged from the mammoth period drama Mughal-E-Azam, Shakti, a father-son story set in the world of crime and Ram Aur Shyam, a story about twin brothers with diametrically opposite personalities.
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“Five years have passed since Sahib departed from my sight, yet never from my life. Love of such depth does not submit to time, nor does companionship of such grace surrender to absence. He resides wherever my memories wander, and they wander to him every single day…If I have been fortunate in this lifetime, it is because I was granted the immeasurable honour of loving, and being loved by, Dilip Kumar,” she added.
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