It is the 101st birth anniversary of Bollywood’s legendary superstar, Dilip Kumar. Dilip Kumar’s name goes complimentary with many hit movies like Devdaas, Mughal-E-Azam, Shaheed, Mela, Shakti, and many more. Many of you have heard him speak very authentic Urdu. But do you know where this fluency came from? Dilip Kumar was born into a Pathan family as Mohammad Yusuf Khan and later changed his name to Dilip Kumar. How did this transition happen?
In a very old interview from 1970, Dilip Kumar revealed the story behind his industry name. Dilip Kumar changed his name in the Bollywood film industry to save himself from his father’s scolding. Yusuf Khan’s father, Lal Ghulam Sarwar Ali Khan didn’t like films; he was a hardcore hater of movies. Dewan Basheswarnath Singh Kapoor was really close to Yusuf Khan’s father, and Basheswarnath Singh’s son, Prithviraj Kapoor, was already working in the film industry. Thus, Lal Ghulam Sarwar, Yusuf’s father, always used to complain to Basheswarnath about the work Prithviraj Kapoor was doing. His concern was to make his friend aware of his young and fit son, who was on the wrong path, according to Lal Ghulam Sarwar.
Muhammad Yusuf Khan was very well aware of all this, and he knew his father in detail. So when he started working in the film, he knew that this work would make his father upset. and thus, to hide his works and fims from his father, he decided to change his name. There were three options he had: Yusuf Khan, Dilip Kumar, and Basudeo. He clearly refused the first option and told the filmmakers to keep any other one they would like. After 2-3 months, when Mohammad Yusuf Khan saw his name, it was Dilip Kumar, which he later continued in the Bollywood film industry.
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