Dilip Kumar needs no introduction. He is a top notch actor who has held sway on the Hindi screen for close to 3 decades. But one aspect of his behaviour has intrigued me. This was highlighted to me by a friend in the course of a beer drinking session at the Army Club.
Let us now see what bugs some people.In 1962 the Chinese waged a war with India and Dilip Kumar and the film industry roared their support for India. Dilip also took part in various programs that glorified the Indian army. Everybody thought he was a true nationalist. For a time Dilip basked in the glory of patriotism. This was however short lived as close on the heels of this war came the 1965 war with Pakistan.
This period saw Dilip Kumar go into a shell and he refused to condemn Pakistan. It will be recollected that the 1965 war was started by Pakistan to wrest Kashmir from India. Dilips silence then was baffling. Even during the 1971 war when Pakistan was roundly defeated , he remained silent. This again baffled many of his supporters as they could not reconcile that a man so vociferous in India’s support against China, kept mum in the case of Pakistan.
Much later a Shiv Sena member of parliament, if I remember it was Sanjay Nirupam ( now in the Congress) who called him a Pakistani in the precept of Parliament. The matter was compounded when he was awarded the Nishan-e- Pakistan the highest civil award given in Pakistan. He accepted the reward, though at that time many people asked him not to accept it. The Kargil war again found him wanting. Despite a plea by Bala Sahib Thackeray to return the Pakistan award, he refused and took refuge behind cliches. These acts of Dilip Kumar are to say the least baffling and one wonders what is the essence of patriotism of Dilip.
This is not to suggest that Dilip Kumar was anti-national, but his actions to say the least have been odd for a man who was loved by the Hindu masses.
No comments:
Post a Comment