Veteran actress Vyajayanthimala worked with late actor Dilip Kumar in movies like Devdas, Ganga Jumna, Madhumati, Naya Daur, and many others. The actress recalled the memories of their shoot days for the 1961 movie, Ganga Jumna, in one of her interviews.
Talking to Pinkvilla, she said, “We have worked very closely, and in quite a number of films – eight films, that is quite a lot to work with one hero, and for him also one heroine he worked maximum with. We combined well, our films became good hits, and we became a good team. That’s what Saira always says… she calls me Akka which means sister in Tamil. She says ‘Akka you and Dilip Saab make the best team’. We made some quite successful hit films.”
She further talked about the helpful nature of Dilip Kumar and said, “In Gunga Jumna, where I had to speak Bhojpuri – first of all, a South Indian speaking good Hindi without the accent was something, and on top of that to speak Bhojpuri, but he was a great help. He helped me a lot to speak and even recorded dialogues for me. It was a wonderful character to play and I was greatly helped by Dilip Saab. I got an award also for that. He was very polite, gentlemanly, and very well behaved. He had no airs, and never threw his weight around.”
After the news of Dilip Kumar’s death was out, Vyajayanthimala told ANI, “It’s absolutely devastating and I have no words to say. Having worked with Dilip Saab in several successful films, he and Saira were almost like a family. Even after leaving films, every time I would go to Mumbai, Saira would always send me a car to come to their house and spend some time.”
Dilip Kumar died on Wednesday morning in the PD Hinduja hospital. The entire Bollywood industry as well as the Prime Minister mourned the demise of the legendary actor.
