Dilip Kumar was asked how he was handling two wives by a brazen Ashok Kumar in front of everyone: ‘I braced myself for an outburst’

Rishi Kapoor, in his biography, recalled how Dilip Kumar was asked an embarrassing question about his two marriages by Ashok Kumar in front of everyone.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | Updated: October 25, 2024 12:03 PM IST

3 min read

Dilip Kumar and Ashok Kumar shared a warm friendship. (Photo: Saira Bano/Instagram)

Dilip Kumar had been married for 16 years to actor Saira Bano when he shocked the world by his second marriage to a woman named Asma Rehman. Dilip’s secret marriage to Asma was a shock for his first wife Saira, his colleagues in the film industry, his friends and his fans and at this point, Dilip had to go through some embarrassing incidents at work as well. Rishi Kapoor, who witnessed one such incident, recalled it in his memoir Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored and called it an “awkward, disconcerting” story.

Rishi recalled that they were on the sets of the 1984 film Duniya, directed by Ramesh Talwar, when the news of Dilip’s marriage to Asma had just come out. “I have an awkward, disconcerting story from our days on the set of Duniya,” Rishi shared and recalled that the veteran actor had “got embroiled in a scandal during this time.” He wrote, “His secret marriage to a lady named Asma was the talk of the town.”

Rishi then recalled that on this particular day, he was on set with the entire cast of the film which included Dilip Kumar, Pran, Ashok Kumar, Amrish Puri, Prem Chopra, Amrita Singh and Rishi himself and they were all there to film an “intense scene.” Dilip Kumar was getting ready for the scene and was completely immersed in the mood, when suddenly, out of nowhere, Ashok Kumar yelled across the floor and asked him how he was managing two wives.

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“Dilip Kumar, who was an exponent of method acting, was totally prepared to deliver a dramatic dialogue when suddenly Ashok Kumar asked him, ‘Yusuf, mujhe yeh batao, humse ek biwi sambhali nahin jati, tum kaise do biwiyon ko sambhalte ho? (We can’t handle one wife, how are you managing two of them?)’,” Rishi wrote and mentioned that they were all quite shocked with the brazenness of Ashok’s question. However, Dilip Kumar maintained his calm and responded by deflecting the question. “We were all stunned and I braced myself for an outburst. Unbelievably, Dilip Kumar, completely unruffled, replied calmly, ‘Ashok bhaiya, let me finish this scene and then we can talk about it.’ The two stalwarts had a long-standing camaraderie – Ashok Kumar could say literally anything to Dilip Kumar and get away with it,” Rishi wrote.

Dilip Kumar, in his autobiography, wrote that marrying Asma was a “grave mistake.” He divorced her soon after. Dilip and Saira stayed married until his death in 2021.

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