Saira Banu and Dilip Kumar got married on October 11, 1966. The actress was only 22 and Dilip Kumar was 44. It's been a year since Dilip Kumar passed away. Let's take a look at sweet pictures of the duo (All photos/mid-day archives)
Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu have had many successful films as a pair in the '50s and '60s. "I am very headstrong and once I made up my mind, there was no stopping me. I knew many beautiful women wanted to marry Saab, but he chose me. It was my dream come true and that's what my marriage has been, a perfect dream," Saira Banu further added in the mid-day interview.
Saira Banu, who has acted in films such as 'Junglee', 'Purab Aur Paschim', Hera Pheri, said, "If you have read Dilip Saab's autobiography, you would be familiar with his quote... That the warmth of the clasp of the hand of strangers who approach him to tell him how much they liked his work is bigger than any award for him
Emotional about her husband and the love of her life, Saira Banu told mid-day, "Seriously, there is no woman as blessed as I am... I thank my Allah every day for this. It has been my good fortune to be able to do anything for the man I love intensely. For me, it was always Saab, no one else. I was his fan from the time I can remember. While still a teenager, I wanted to be his wife"
Saira Banu, from Dilip Kumar's Twitter account, always thanked Dilip Kumar's friends, fans and well-wishers for their prayers for his well-being
"Looking after Saab, his life and his home come naturally to me. All Indian wives look after their husbands. In my family, I've seen women being devoted to their husbands. I grew up watching that," said Saira Ji.
Talking about Dilip Ji, Saira Banu mentioned, in a social media post, "Sahab believes that to be surrounded by family and friends who love him unconditionally is a therapy by itself. He is blessed with the prayers and love of his millions of fans, admirers, friends and well-wishers. Dilip Sahab himself will be back on Twitter soon, Insha'Allah"
Dilip Kumar has been conferred with the 'Dadasaheb Phalke Award' and 'Padma Vibhushan' for his work in films like 'Mughal-e-Azam', 'Devdas' among others
Despite many believing that the age difference between the couple would not make their marriage a success, Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu are still going strong and married for over 50 years
When Dilip Kumar was being treated for mild pneumonia in 2017, Saira Banu tweeted, from Dilip Kumar's official Twitter handle, "Every year on Saab's birthday our house is open all day for friends and family to come and spend quality time with Dilip Saab. But this time it will be a bit restricted as doctors have advised Saab to be protected from any infection"
On Dilip Kumar's 95th birthday, his evergreen wife Saira Banu said her marriage to him has been a perfect dream
Unfortunately, the doctors couldn't save the baby, which had been strangulated by the umbilical cord. After that, the couple never had children, believing that it was God's will!
Dilip Kumar's real name is Yusuf Khan. After working for six decades, Dilip Kumar bid adieu to the arclights in 1998. His last movie was 'Qila'
Dilip Kumar had revealed in his 2014 memoir 'Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow' that in 1972, Saira Banu developed high blood pressure in her eighth month of pregnancy
There is almost a generational 20-year age gap between Saira Banu and Dilip Kumar, but Indian filmdom's highly regarded couple have enjoyed a blissful married life ever since tying the knot in 1966
In a rare look back into her past life, Saira Banu said in an informal chat with IANS: "I have no regrets of not doing too many films post my marriage. Whatsoever, the greatest thing was to be together with Dilip Saab. From the day Dilip Saab proposed to me, it has been great. He is the strongest person in my life"
Saira Banu happily gave up the arclights and grease paint to revel in her role as a wife and a homemaker
"I worked for three-and-a-half to four years in showbiz and then I got married to Dilip saab. I decided not to work after marriage as I thought it would not work out as Dilip saab was a constant traveller. I wanted to be at home and spend some good time with him," said the actress
Her career was on the rise and Dilip Kumar wanted her to take it forward. "Dilip saab never said I should not work. In fact, when Dilip sahib saw the rushes of 'Shagird' before its release, he was so impressed by it that he said it's a pity that I stopped working. I did some selective films after my marriage but it's been a wonderful journey"
We truly miss you, Dilip Kumar!
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