To mark the 100th birthday of the legendary actor Dilip Kumar on December 11, 2022, Film Heritage Foundation has announced “Dilip Kumar – Hero of Heroes” – a festival of 4 iconic Dilip Kumar films in 27 cities across India on December 10 & 11, 2022.
The celebration had honoured the icon by showcasing his milestone films such as Aan (1952), Devdas (1955), Ram Aur Shyam (1967) and Shakti (1982) back on the big screen. Audiences in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Pune, Bareilly, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Raipur, Indore, Surat, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad got a first-hand experience of witnessing the sheer magnetism and versatility of one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema on the big screen through four of his landmark films over two days.
LEGENDARY ACTOR AND OUR BRAND AMBASSADOR MR. AMITABH BACHCHAN LAUNCHED THE OFFICIAL POSTER OF THE FESTIVAL:
AMITABH BACHCHAN
As Dilip Kumar turns 100, I am so glad that we at Film Heritage Foundation are celebrating his legacy with this festival of films in theatres that will showcase some of his memorable performances in the cinema. I would urge every film lover and contemporary actor who have not watched Dilip Kumar larger than life not to miss the incredible opportunity of watching this giant among actors back on the big screen. It will be a master class in acting. Even today I am learning every time I watch his films.
Dilip Kumar was and is my idol. I am still to meet an actor who could match his faultless performance, his flawless diction and the intelligence and commitment he brought to his craft. His every spoken word was poetry and when he appeared on the screen, everything else was a blur. I had the privilege of sharing the screen with him just once and the experience was one I will cherish.
I was deeply disturbed to hear that many of his films are not in a condition to be screened in cinemas and that is a tragedy. Film Heritage Foundation is working day and night to ensure that the work of legends like Dilip Kumar survives and is preserved and restored to be shown to new generations of audiences.
I’d like to thank Ajay Bijli and the PVR Cinemas team for enabling us to bring classic cinema back to the big screen.
SAIRA BANU
I am so happy that “Film Heritage Foundation” is celebrating Dilip Sahab’s 100th Birthday on December 11th this year by screening some of his most popular films in Cinemas across India. They could not have chosen a more apt title to commemorate India’s greatest actor DILIP KUMAR — Hero of Heroes”.
He was my favorite hero from the time I was 12 years old when I first saw him in “AAN” in Technicolor. It will be a joy to watch him back on the Big Screen, larger than life, like he has been in my life.
When I was a Teenager, there were Two ambitions in my Life …… One to be a famous Cine Star and the other dream was to marry my Screen Idol Mr.Dilip Kumar.
I fell in Love with Dilip Sahab when I was twelve. This is something that has been written and re-written in interviews and articles —- time and again. To me Love is Caring, Sharing, Companionship and making the sacred bond of this relationship grow stronger by each passing day. We have been married 56 years by the Grace of God.
I have cherished every moment I have spent in my beloved husband’s company be it during our travelling days to beautiful locales in India or abroad or at home playing Dumb Charades with our family members and friends. There were events, programmes, functions, parties, Get-Togethers which till today remind me of the beautiful times that we have spent together. Those memories are still etched in my mind. To me Life has been like a fairy tale. God has been very kind to me because he gave me the Man of My Choice……Dilip Sahab whom the world adores and respects.
During natural calamities in India or abroad, at a very young age he stood by his ideals and principles of humanitarian grace and gave his “ALL” by participating in collecting and raising funds for the needy, for Droughts, Floods, Famines, Earthquakes and Natural Disasters.
During tensions between our neighboring countries he used to entertain our Jawans on the Border. Dilip Sahab was motivated and worked diligently with “N.A.B.”, National Association For The Blind, the Physically Handicapped, the War Widows, and many such Charitable Groups. During his tenure as a “Member of Parliament”, Rajya Sabha, funds were diverted towards Socio-Civic concerns and Hospitals.
As for his Films he never repeated his choice of roles and subjects, for example while selecting “DEVDAS” he turned down Guru Dutt’s “PYAASA” because of similarity of roles.
Dilip Sahab is very much alive for me and for all his Fans and Students of Cinema who look upto him as their Guru through the unparalleled body of work he has left behind as a precious legacy for us. He is a Living Legend forever. The power of his acting and his charisma are ageless. “Film Heritage Foundation” should be commended for their efforts to preserve and restore our Film Heritage so that the work of great artists like Dilip Sahab is not lost and ever forgotten.
MUMTAZ:
Yusuf Saheb – what can I say about him as an artist? The whole world knows he was one of the best. He was a wonder of the world. I am so happy that Film Heritage Foundation is celebrating his 100th birthday with a festival of films under the title “Hero of Heroes” and bringing films from our time back to the cinemas. I still remember when I worked with Yusuf Saheb on Ram Aur Shyam, the first day of the shoot my first shot was with him and I had to hit him. I was so nervous, but he told me I should not worry and hit him hard as we were professionals and we must be absolutely natural.
I had done two Bhojpuri films with Sujit Kumar and I would like people to see how fluently I spoke Bhojpuri even though it was not a language I knew very well. I wanted to see once again how I performed in these films all these years later, but I am not able to find these films. Saving our film heritage is very important. If we don’t save our films, the generations to come will not know about the stars and the films that were made in our time.
KAMAL HAASAN
Yousuf Sahab set an international bar for Indian actors to follow. Erudite, eloquent and excellent in his chosen field. Cinema can make people believe that those who have departed are still alive. In that context to me Dilip Kumar ji is one of the world’s best actors alive. Thanks Film Heritage foundation for keeping my heritage alive.
SHIVENDRA SINGH DUNGARPUR, FILMMAKER, ARCHIVIST and DIRECTOR, FILM HERITAGE FOUNDATION
Dilip Kumar turning 100! What an incredible opportunity to bring back one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema on the big screen. He truly is the “Hero of Heroes” as even today he is an actor that the biggest stars look up to. Film Heritage Foundation could think of no better way to celebrate this milestone than a festival of his films back in theatres. Even though some of these films were released nearly seventy years ago, the power of Dilip Kumar’s performances, his craft as a method actor and his charisma make him ageless.
I was so excited thinking of how many of his films I could curate to mark the occasion. How did one choose for an actor with such an outstanding body of work? Little did I know then that I would have the opposite problem. I was shocked and heartbroken to discover that many of his great films survived only on low-resolution formats that could not be projected on the big screen. Was this the fate of a towering persona who had dominated the silver screen for so many years to be now confined to a small computer screen or a phone in danger of being forgotten in the years to come? I cobbled together these films with great difficulty with many people asking me why some of their favourite Dilip Kumar films were not included. How did one make them understand? I hope this will be a wake-up call to filmmakers and producers to realize that time is running out and that they should look into preserving their films before it is too late. I would like to thank PVR Cinemas, and especially Ajay Bijli for giving Film Heritage Foundation a platform to celebrate Indian classic cinema back on the big screen again.
SCREENING SCHEDULE:
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