RIP Dilip Kumar: 5 onscreen pairings of the 'Tragedy King'

July 7, 2021, will be remembered as one of the saddest days in Indian cinema. Legendary actor Dilip Kumar passed away at 98 after a prolonged illness. From 1944 to 1988, the 'Tragedy King' of Bollywood enthralled the audience with his impeccable performances in many memorable movies. Apart from playing iconic characters, Dilip Kumar was also loved for his onscreen pairings with his female leads back in the golden era.

A few of his memorable onscreen romances were with divas of Bollywood namely Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Saira Banu, Vyjayanthimala, Waheeda Rehman among others. Read on to know about these iconic pairings and the movies they starred in together.

The duo was among the most loved onscreen pairings in the 50s. Their first outing together was Tarana (1951). The adored onscreen couple then worked together in Sangdil (1952) and Amar (1954).

Their last outing together in K Asif’s 1960 magnum opus Mughal-E-Azam became the most iconic one. In the epic period drama, Dilip Kumar played the role of Mughal Prince Salim and Madhubala was seen as beautiful court dancer Anarkali. Their palpable chemistry in the film has gone down in the history of Indian cinema as it also was the epitome of their real-life tragic love story.

After parting ways post a legal case, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala continued shooting for Mughal-E-Azam as professionals. In his memoir Dilip Kumar: The Substance And The Shadow, the late actor had penned, "The classic scene with the feather coming between our lips, which set a million imaginations on fire, was shot when we had completely stopped even greeting each other."

One was called a 'Tragedy King' while the other was remembered as a 'Tragedy Queen'. Both came together in four films which were released between the 1950s and the 60s. Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari were loved for their onscreen romance in movies namely Footpath (1953), Azaad (1955), Yahudi (1958) and Kohinoor (1960).

A real-life couple whose love story became a saga for five decades worked in innumerable films which are unforgettable. Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu's first outing in the movies was in 1970 with the films Gopi and a Bengali film Sagina Mahato. However, they entered marital bliss much before that in 1966. Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu also starred together in Jwaar Bhata (1973), Duniya (1984), Bairaag (1976) and Sagina (1974).

Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala-starrers are unforgettable. The legends first worked together in Devdas (1955) where he played the titular role and Vyjayanthimala essayed Chandramukhi. They went on to star in another iconic film together titled Naya Daur in 1957. Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala were also seen in Madhumati, which was based on reincarnation. Their other films include Paigham (1959), Gunga Jumna (1961), Leader (1964) and Sunghursh (1968). It was also rumoured that there was an existing off-screen romance between Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala.

Dilip Kumar and Waheeda Rehman's onscreen pairing was truly loved by their fans. However, the actors only starred in a handful of films namely Kala Bazar (1960), Dil Diya Dard Liya (1966), Ram Aur Shyam (1967), Aadmi (1968) and Mashaal (1984).