New Delhi: Actor Saira Banu recently made her Instagram debut, and her posts revolve around her late husband and veteran actor Dilip Kumar. In her latest post, she wrote about the friendship between Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor. Sair Bano shared a picture of the two stalwarts of the Indian cinema with a long note about their friendship. In the picture, Raj Kapoor is seen playing a harmonium while Dilip Kumar is in a whistling pose.
Saira Banu shared that the actor were childhood friends and were closer than siblings. Both were born in Peshawar and did their education at the Khalsa College in Bombay (now Mumbai).
She wrote, “Dilip Sahib and Raj Kapoor were childhood friends. They were both born in Peshawar, their native city and as they grew up, they studied at “Khalsa College”, in Bombay. Later on, they spent days in their formative years at “Bombay Talkies” where they worked under the scrutinizing care and guidance of stalwarts like Devika Rani, the owner, Mr.Shashadhar Mukherji, producer and the elite company of superstar Ashok Kumar.
Raj Kapoor and Dilip Sahib loved each other in the same measure as they loved their own siblings, but they both shared thoughts, emotions and secret aspirations more with each other than perhaps anyone in their own respective families.”
She added that at their marriage, Raj Kapoor danced from Dilip Kumar’s house to Saira Bano’s house. She also wrote about their professional healthy rivalry.
“If Raj ji were in London and Sahib phoned that he was needed here in town for some important function, Raj ji would think nothing of just flying back immediately, this was the love and respect they had for each other. At our marriage, Raj ji and Shashi danced all the way from Sahib’s house to my house.”
“Of course, they had their professional rivalry, and it would have been abnormal if they did not compete as professionals, but the beauty of it was that they hated to see each other fail or fall from their respective positions as “Superstars”. They were immensely proud of each other in a loving way. For instance, on the release of ‘SHAKTI” Raj Ji sent a huge bouquet of roses to Sahib with a special note that said “Long Live The King.”
Saira recalled the time when Raj Kapoor had a heart attack and Dilip Kumar was abroad to attend a felicitation function.
She wrote, “Sahib was abroad to attend a felicitation by the president when Raj Ji suddenly had a cardiac stroke and was admitted to ‘Apollo Hospital’ in Delhi. The very day Dilip Sahib returned to India, took a flight to Delhi, and was rushed to the hospital. He said to Raj Ji "I have just come back from Peshawar’ and brought back the ‘Khushboo’ of Chapli Kebabs to tempt you. We will go together and walk through the bazaar as we used to and enjoy the Kebabs and Rotis. Raj wake up and stop acting. I know you are a great actor, but you have to take me with you to the courtyard of the house in Peshawar”. Dilip Sahib’s voice was now choking, and tears were streaming down as he spoke to his dearest friend, lying unconscious on the bed.”
Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar worked together in ‘Andaz.’