The love story of these two Bollywood stars is as timeless as time. They were once the biggest stars of Bollywood and their love story is still cherished by all. But did you know that the actor had once rejected the actress for a film?
Old stories about top Bollywood stars make for an interesting read. Here's a story about an actress who was rejected by a top Bollywood star for a film. Later, she became his wife and was among the top heroines of her time. The story is about Saira Banu and her 'Kohinoor' Dilip Kumar.
Dilip Kumar - the tragedy king - of Bollywood delivered several blockbuster hits. From Shaheed, Hulchul, Devdas to Mughal-E-Azam, Kranti and more - Dilip Kumar enjoyed the greatest stardom ever achieved by a Bollywood star. In 1966, he married actress Saira Banu.
Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu's love story is eternal. But did you know that Dilip Kumar once rejected to cast Saira Banu in a film? The mention of this is in his autobiography.
In his memoir for book The Substance And Shadow, Dilip Kumar revealed why he was against Saira Banu's casting in Ram Aur Shyam. He played a dual role in the film and Waheeda Rehman was already cast. The hunt was for second heroine and director Nagi Reddy suggested Saira Banu's name. However, Dilip Kumar was against it.
In his book he wrote, 'Since it was my practice to take an active interest in the making of my film, I voiced my opinion that I did not agree with Nagi Reddy on this issue because I felt she was too delicate and innocent in appearance for a character that had to have loads of seductive appeal and a bold, buxom appearance.'
Later, Mehmood suggested Mumtaz' name for the film and she came on board as the second heroine. He wrote, 'He (Mehmood) was so sincere in his recommendation of her that he even carried tins of film reels depicting Mumtaz to exhibit how talented she was. Mumtaz eventually bagged that role.'
Though they may have not shared screen space in Ram Aur Shyam, they became partners for life. When Dilip Kumar tied the knot with Saira Banu, he was 44 and she was 22 years old. The age gap did not cause any hindrance in their love story.
In fact, in one of the interviews, Saira Banu confessed that she admired Dilip Kumar from the age of 12. She had also manifested of becoming his wife.
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