New Delhi: Dilip Kumar is one of India's most iconic actors. Dilip Kumar's wife and actor Saira Banu often shares pictures and recollects memories with the yesteryear megastar. Once more, on the occasion of Dilip Kumar's 101st birth anniversary, Saira penned a heartfelt note with a clip featuring several birthday celebrations over the years.
Taking to her official social media handle, Saira Banu wrote, "Once more it is December the 11th, the day of days when the skies are blue with a smattering of dreams like puffy white clouds that seem to be dancing in the skies with happiness and exaltation. The whole house used to be flooded with so many flowers…that it seemed as though we had stepped into the "Garden Of Eden".
Now the Birthday greetings and cheer keep pouring in with messages of love and remembrance in a million ways, be it through offerings of beautiful Sketches, Cards, Paintings and umpteen messages of love and dedication that give me emotional goose pimples."
Saira Banu also shared, "All this for "The Ultimate Actor" who has been a source of inspiration for generations of actors who have been inspired to touch the zenith of their accomplishments by Dilip Sahib who has not just been the greatest actor ever but also a very great human being.
"Being wed to the Shahenshah himself was akin to living a dream of my childhood; he proved to be the most wondrous husband one could ever entreat. I recall Sahib would often scribe short notes to me, and in response to his endearing gestures, I would reciprocate via notes. Now imagine waking up from a deep slumber and discovering a handwritten note that said, "Saira, I shall return in 45 minutes, Love Yousuf." I wonder what an absolute delight it was to express love to your significant other in the times when mobile phones did not exist. I have lived and experienced an eternity full of love and warmth with Dilip Sahib while he was around, and to this day, the essence of his love surrounds me in the best way possible."
Likewise, on Sahib's birthday, I would procure the most exquisite and carefully selected greeting cards to honour his special day. As a man as remarkably extraordinary as Dilip Sahib, he deserved nothing less. I always tried to be a devoted wife to him, and I found immense joy in his chivalrous nature, which unfailingly filled my life with happiness."
Dilip Kumar or Mohammed Yusuf Khan is often credited with method acting in India. Born in British India on December 11, 1922, in a fruit merchant's family, Dilip Kumar changed acting as a profession in Bollywood forever.
As one of the most felicitated actors in Bollywood, Dilip Kumar married Saira Banu in 1966 who continued to be his partner throughout his life.