DILIP -SAIRA- DIVINE : MEMORIUM HONOURS

Dilip Kimar, one of Bollywood's biggest stars who dominated the golden age of Indian cinema from the 1940s to the 1960s, died Wednesday morning at the age of 98.

Dilip had been ill for some time and was in and out of the hospital the past month. ''With a heavy heart and profound grief I announce the passing away of our beloved Dilip Sahib, a few minutes ago,'' Faisal Farooqui, a relative of Dilip, said on Twitter, referring to the actor with a term of total endearment.

Now, a doctor from PD Hinduja hospital has claimed that Dilip's wife Saira Banu broke down in tears after the actor's demise.

''God snatched away my reason for living. Without Dilip Sahab, I won't be able to think about anything. Everyone, please pray,'' Peeping Moon quoted the doctor as saying.

Born Mohammed Yousaf Khan in 1922 in Peshawar, present day Pakistan, the late thespian was known by the screen name of Dilip Kumar once he entered Bollywood.

Saira and Dilip tied the knot in 1966, when she was just 22. Dilip was 44 at the time. in an old interview, the now widow recalled the moment when she first met Dilip. She had said, '' When he smiled and remarked that I was a pretty girl. I could feel my whole being taking wing and flying rapturously. I knew somewhere deep within me that I was going to be his wife.''

In his autobiography, Dilip Kumar : The Substance and the Shadow, the actor wrote that his thoughts about Saira Banu changed suddenly one day when he saw her in a beautiful brocade saree outside her house.

The age difference ceased to matter and he fell in love with Saira. An extract from his biography reads, '' I was taken aback because she was no longer the young girl i consciously avoided working with because I thought she would look too young to be my heroine. 

She had indeed grown to full womanhood and was in reality mor beautiful than I thought she was. I simply step forward and shook her hand and for us time stood still.''

The World Students Society thanks The Express Tribune.