IN PICS | “No Fuss, No Bloated Ego”: The 'Evergreen Couple' Dilip Kumar & Saira Banu Through The Years

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Dilip Kumar was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Hinduja Hospital, Khar, on June 29, after reportedly complaining of breathlessness. Legendary Bollywood actor passed away on Wednesday. The image was shared on June 7th, when he was about to be discharged from the hospital after being diagnosed with bilateral pleural effusion.

At 44, Bollywood's highly eligible bachelor who was 'never going to settle down' married Saira Banu 22 years younger to him on October 11, 1966 shocking the film industry. The daughter of actress Naseem Banu, had a crush on Dilip Kumar since the age of 12 she admitted in an interview once!

Dilip Kumar had initially kept his distance from Saira Banu as he thought Banu didn't match his maturity but went on to propose to her while she was shooting for Jhuk Gaya Aasmaan.

After 16 years of marriage, Dilip Kumar married Hyderabad socialite Asma Sahiba in 1981 but the marriagedidn't last very long and ended in 1983.Talking about it, Dilip Kumar once said, "Well, the one episode in my life that I would like to forget and which we, Saira, and I, have pushed into eternal oblivion is a grave mistake I made under pressure of getting involved with a lady named Asma Rehman whom I had met at a cricket match in Hyderabad".

They have been together through thick and thin despite, people and well-wishers thinking the marriage wouldn't last very long because of their age gap. However, Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu remained the evergreen couple proving everyone wrong.

Saira Banu's mother Naseem Banu who brought the duo closer and their love blossomed. Banu never stopped working after her marriage, the couple acted together in in three films - Gopi (1970), Sagina (1970) and Bairag (1976).

Dilip Kumar received the Padma Vibhushan in 2015, he was also known as "Tragedy King" because of the depressing and deep roles he took up for the movies.

The couple never had children although Dilip Kumar once reveal that Saira Banu conceived in 1972, but developed high blood pressure in her eighth month of pregnancy and the doctors couldn't save the baby, which had been strangulated by the umbilical cord. After the incident, they didn't plan on having children.

Dilip Kumar in his memoir said that their long relationship endured because they both had “no fuss, no bloated ego” personalities.