Filmmaker Savita Oberoi pays tribute to Dilip Kumar with documentary on late legend's life

Savita Oberoi, a Delhi-based independent filmmaker from Pune, who has made several documentaries, also made one on the life of the late legend Dilip Kumar, as a tribute for him.

The unreleased documentary titled 'Dilip Kumar' is an attempt to provide an insight into the life and works of the megastar and to capture certain facets of his personal and professional life.

Savita, who is the daughter of a Marathi film producer, has made several short films as well as documentaries. Her films are diverse in subjects and her love for cinema stems from the time when she was a child and used to go on the sets of her father's films, which made her more fascinated by the medium.

Savita has also made documentaries on several other legendary Dada Saheb Phalke awardees like B.R. Chopra, Yash Chopra, Asha Bhosle, and Ashok Kumar.

Speaking about what led her to delve into the life of the 'Tragedy King', she said, "I have totally been in love and awe of Dilip Kumar and his work from a very young age. When I met him for the first time, it set me thinking that I wanted to do a film on him."

She further expressed gratitude by saying, "I have simply been lucky and blessed to be able to make a film on him because as far as I know, Dilip Kumar was not easily available to the media."

The film, which has been directed, produced and researched by Savita, focuses on the birth of the great actor, his gradual acquisition of stardom and the factors responsible for influencing his acting. It also contains a complete filmography of Kumar and an array of photographs that chronicle his life and films.

Remembering the time when she first talked to the legend, Savita said, "When the first time I spoke to Dilip Kumar and said that I would like to do a film on him, the only thing he asked me was a questionnaire and I just started working on the film."

The 45-minutes-long film even contains a rare interview with Dilip Kumar in which the actor talks about his entry into the film industry, his roles, directors he has worked with and enlightens the viewer about his method of acting.

Dilip Kumar, who was known for his unique style of 'method acting', had told the filmmaker that he used to observe life with the minutest details. She further revealed, "He used to prepare for the minutest incidents in the film, well rehearsing for it, for a long time."

Step by step, the documentary film traces Kumar's legendary career, which started by pure chance when he was barely 22 and with no interest in cinema.

In the documentary, speaking about his initial days during the interview, Kumar had divulged that "I wish I had some training in acting, it was painfully difficult for me to face the camera."

The film also attempts to showcase the fact that Dilip Kumar was a learned person with excellent command over languages such as Urdu, Hindi, or English, in addition to his achievements.

"He could own any subject whether it was Urdu poetry or English or even Wordsworth. Poetry was in his tips and in his blood," Savita said.

Reminiscing a personal instance with the ace actor, Savita recalled, "After I did the interview with him, he had said to me that you speak in a slow pace, just like Paaro. So, I think I got a compliment of a lifetime from him."

Dilip Kumar was a very private man living in a very public industry. His cultured dignity and grace gave him credibility that transcended the silver screen and made him a public figure who will always be widely admired and respected.

'Dilip Kumar' concludes by touching upon certain aspects of this great human and artist, thereby enlightening the audiences regarding certain known and certain lesser-known things about one of the world's greatest actors.

Dilip Kumar passed away at the age of 98 and was laid to rest with full state honours at Juhu cemetery in Santacruz, Mumbai on Wednesday. Industry bigshots like Shah Rukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Vidya Balan, Karan Johar, and Dharmendra among others paid their last respects to the 'Tragedy King' at his Bandra home.

Kumar's career spanned over six decades, during which he acted in over 65 films and is known for his iconic roles in movies like 'Devdas' (1955), 'Naya Daur' (1957), 'Mughal-e-Azam' (1960), 'Ganga Jamuna' (1961), 'Kranti' (1981), and 'Karma' (1986).

His last film was 'Qila', which was released in 1998. The evergreen icon is now survived by his wife and veteran actor Saira Banu.

( With inputs from ANI )