Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah has although appreciated Dilip Kumar‘s performances, he feels that Dilip ‘chose to play safe’ and didn’t do enough for Indian cinema besides acting. Naseeruddin expressed this and more in an opinion piece written after Dilip’s death.
Dilip passed away on 7 July after a prolonged illness. Coincidentally, Naseeruddin was suffering from pneumonia and admitted to the same hospital as Dilip in his last days but they did not meet. In an opinion piece for The Indian Express, Naseeruddin acknowledged the ‘undoubted greatness’ of Dilip’s performances but questioned his contribution to Indian cinema. He observed that Dilip’s filmography was quite limited, compared to his contemporaries.
“Some of those works doubtless will survive the test of time but given the position he was in, it is more than evident he didn’t do enough apart from acting and being involved in social causes close to his heart. He produced only one film, didn’t direct any (officially at least), never passed on the benefit of his experience, didn’t bother to groom anyone, and apart from his pre-1970s performances, left behind no significant lessons for future actors. Even his autobiography is a rehash of old interviews,” wrote Naseeruddin.
He added, “It’s baffling why a man as conscious of his place in history, as he was, should be reluctant to record his interaction with some of the admittedly great filmmakers of his time or say anything really informative about the nature of his work and technique. I wish, at some point, he had at least been forthright about the travails involved in retaining legions of devoted fans.”