
Lord Meghnad Desai, a self-confessed Hindi movie buff, couldn8217;t have asked for a better rollcall of dignitaries at the launch of his new book on Dilip Kumar. The evening, which saw the unveiling of Desai8217;s ,i>Nehru8217;s Hero: Dilip Kumar In the Life of India, also brought about the reunion of a star pair that dominated cinema in the 8217;50s.
With a select crowd including table maestro Zakir Husain, INTACH8217;s Tasneem Mehta and filmmaker Ismail Merchant in attendance, it was time for Tragedy King Dilip Kumar and former co-star Vyjayanthimala Bali to take centrestage, exchanging notes on the 8216;8216;old times8217;8217; and paying mutual compliments.
Sharing memorable experiences from the time spent in the company of the film icon, Vyjayanthimala recalled how he 8216;8216;taught me how to deliver dialogues in Bhojpuri for Ganga Jamuna.8217;8217;
Desai8217;s book looks at the Nehruvian era 1947-1964 through the works of Kumar. Desai, who could only meet his subject briefly during the writing of the book because of 8216;8216;different engagements8217;8217; that both had, said: 8216;8216;I adored Dilipsaab, saw his films first day first show.8217;8217;
The star too paid a tribute to the writer saying, 8216;8216;Only he could have done this. I don8217;t have words to express my gratitude to him. An actor like me owes a great deal to an admirer like him.8217;8217;