Shatrughan Sinha calls Dilip Kumar ‘the last Moghul of cinema’, wonders why he was not given Bharat Ratna

Dilip Kumar was 98 years old and is regarded by many as the first method actor of Bollywood, who made realistic and nuanced style of acting popular.

Twitter and Reuters

New Delhi: Actor Shatrughan Sinha is deeply saddened by the demise of legendary actor Dilip Kumar on Wednesday (July 7). Kumar was 98 years old and is regarded by many as the first method actor of Bollywood, who made realistic and nuanced style of acting popular.

Shatrughan Sinha who worked with Kumar in Kranti took to his Twitter account to share his deep pain at the passing away of the legend. “Grieved beyond words on the passing away of our thespian, legendary, tragedy king, 'bestest of the best' @TheDilipKumar. An institution & era in the history of Indian cinema has ended. Prayers & thoughts are with the woman of substance,  elegant #SairaBanu who has lost her true soulmate of over 50yrs. May the Almighty give all the strenght to bear this humungous & tragic loss. Rest in eternal peace,” wrote actor.

Grieved beyond words on the passing away of our thespian, legendary, tragedy king, 'bestest of the best' @TheDilipKumar. An institution & era in the history of Indian cinema has ended. Prayers & thoughts are with the woman of substance, elegant #SairaBanu who has lost her true — Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) July 7, 2021

soulmate of over 50yrs. May the Almighty give all the strenght to bear this humungous & tragic loss. Rest in eternal peace — Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) July 7, 2021

Shatrughan considers Dilip Kumar 'The last Moghul of cinema’ and in an interview with ETimes wonders why he was not bestowed with Bharat Ratna. “I don't want to compare Dilip saab to many others who have got the prestigious award," touted Shatrughan.

The thespian was conferred with the Padma Bhushan in 1991, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015.

Talking about Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand, Sinha shared, “The last Moghul of cinema has gone. We lost Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand in 1988 and 2011 respectively, and mind you, the wounds of those losses haven't yet healed. These three had such strong personalities. With the passing away of the rarest of rare actor Dilip Kumar, the show will go on but will never be the same again.”

Shatrugan says Dilip Kumar who was known as the ‘Tragedy King’ for his spectacular portrayal of a star lover in films was a versatile actor who performed amazingly well in any genre that he did. “He was a master at timing. And when you talk of timing, it means comedy; Dilip saab was equally good at comedy if you have seen 'Azaad' and 'Ganga Jamuna'. to name just two,” tells Sinha.

Dilip Kumar was buried Wednesday (July 7) at Juhu Qabristan with full state honour.