‘Fear of getting beaten up’: Why Yusuf Khan adopted stage name Dilip Kumar

Legendary film and stage actor Prithviraj Kapoor famously worked with Dilip Kumar in K Asif’s 1960 seminal period romance Mughal-e-Azam, where he played King Akbar, the father of Dilip’s character, Prince Salim. Both Dilip and Prithviraj belonged to the same neighbourhood of Peshawar in Pakistan, from where they recloated to Mumbai. Interestingly, Prithviraj’s eldest son and legendary actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor was Dilip’s childhood friend.

“So, when I entered films, I feared that criticism. He (Kumar’s father Lala Ghulam Sarwar Ali Khan) was hot-headed as a Pathan. I was also afraid that if he found out, he’d be very angry. At that time, two or three names were suggested — Yusuf Khan, Dilip Kumar or Basudev. I personally said, ‘Just don’t keep Yusuf Khan. Anything else works’ (laughs). Two or three months later, I saw my name in an advertisement, I realised that I’ve been christened Dilip Kumar,” added the actor.

Who christened him Dilip Kumar?

In his 2014 autobiography The Substance and the Shadow, Dilip Kumar revealed that his screen name of Dilip Kumar was suggested by Devika Rani, legendary actor and owner of the pioneering production house Bombay Talkies. The banner produced Dilip’s debut film, Jwar Bhata, a romantic drama. Devika felt the screen name of Dilip Kumar would be more suited for the actor’s romantic onscreen image.

“She (Devika) said, quite matter-of-factly: ‘Yusuf, I was thinking about your launch soon as an actor, and I felt it would not be a bad idea if you adopted a screen name. You know, a name you would be known by and which will be very appropriate for your audience to relate to and one that will be in tune with the romantic image you are bound to acquire through your screen presence,” Dilip wrote in his memoir.

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“I thought Dilip Kumar was a nice name. It just popped up in my mind when I was thinking about a suitable name for you. How does it sound to you?’,” Devika Rani asked Dilip Kumar.

That suggestion proved historic, as Dilip Kumar went on to become one of Indian cinema’s greatest legends. The Padma Vibhushan awardee died at the of 98 in 2022.