Born as Muhamed Yusuf Khan on the 11th December 1922 in Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, British India, Dilip is an actor, producer, and an activist, best known to the world for his roles in such Indian films as “Madhumati” (1958), “Gunga Jumna” (1961), and “Shakti” (1982), among many others, earning the nickname “Tragedy King”, and “First Khan”, due to his extreme popularity.
Have you ever wondered how rich Dilip Kumar is, as of mid- 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Kumar’s net worth is as high as $65 million, an amount earned through his successful career in the entertainment industry, which started in 1944 and ended in 1998. While his career lasted, Dilip received numerous prestigious Hindi Film Awards, including eight Filmfare Awards for Best Actor, among many others.
Dilip Kumar Net Worth $65 Million
Dilip is one of 12 children born to Lala Ghulam Sarwar and his wife. Dilip went to Barnes School, Deolali, Nashik, but then in the ‘30s, he and his family moved to Bombay. However, while in his teens, Dilip and his father got into a fight that resulted in Dilip leaving home and moving to Poona. He knew nobody, but his knowledge of English language helped him a lot, when he met an Iranian café owner, and an elderly Anglo-Indian couple who helped him meet a canteen contractor. He started up a sandwich stall at the army club, but after two years when his contract ran out, he decided to go home, as he had saved Rs. 5000. He wanted to help his father with the financials and looked to start a business venture on his own. He met Dr. Masani at Churchgate Station, with whom he went to Bombay Talkies, in Malad, and there he met the owner of Bombay Talkies, actress Devika Rani, who offered him a job at the company for Rs. 1250 per month, which he accepted and there met another Indian celebrity, Ashok Kumar, who later had a great impact on Dilip’s acting style. Also, he befriended Sashadhar Mukherjee, who also helped him in his early career.
Then, Devika Rani asked Dilip to change his name from Yousuf to Dilip, and then gave him one of the lead roles in the film “Jwar Bhata” (1944), which marked the start of Dilip’s professional acting career.
However, the film didn’t receive much attention, but then in 1947 with the lead role in “Jugnu”, Dilip’s career started to improve, and was followed by “Jugnu” and “Shaheed” (1948), and “Mela” (1948), while in 1949 he made his breakthrough with his role in “Andaz” (1949). That same year, DIlip starred in another box office success, “Shabnam”, which further increased his wealth.
Having established himself as a successful actor already in the ‘40s. Dilip went on to have to successful decades in Indian cinematography, appearing in numerous box office hits, such as “Daag” (1952), “Azaad” (1955), “Naya Daur” (1957), “Madhumati” (1958), “Gunga Jumna” (1961), “Leader” (1964) and “Sunghursh” (1968), among many others, which increased his wealth to a large degree. It was during this time that he earned the nickname “First Khan”.
From the start of the ‘70s, Dilip’s popularity began to decline, and he decided to take a break from acting in the mid- 70s, returning in 1981 with the lead role in “Kranti”, which became popular, and then continued with successful films such as “Vidhaata” (1982), and then “Mashaal” (1984). Two years later he starred in the action film “Karma”, which became one of the highest grossing films of the ‘80s. Dilip retired from acting in the late ‘90s, but not before making a couple more successful appearances, such as in “Saudagar” (1991), and “Qila” (1998), which was his last appearance on the screen.
Aside from acting, Dilip has also had success in politics, as he was a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India from 2000 to 2006.
Regarding is personal life, Dilip has been married to Saira Banu since 1966; at the time of their marriage, Dilip was 44, while Saira was only 22 years old. The two are childless, but Banu was pregnant in 1972, however, due to her high blood pressure, the child died in the womb. He was also briefly married to Asmaa from 1979-82.
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