When Dilip Saab wouldn’t talk to me: A journalist recalls a 1997 interview

Back in 1997, my first attempt to interview Dilip Kumar ended even before it began with the thespian ticking me off with a hugely embarrassing: “Nikal jaiyye bahar! (Get out!)”

Sitting regally, wearing a crisp white kurta pajama, rimmed spectacles resting on his chest, he had shown me the door without raising his voice, as if he was delivering a dialogue from one of his evergreen hits.

Moments ago, I was granted a chance to speak to the thespian, but with a rider, “Bas ek sawaal poochhiyega (Ask one question only, please)!” by his staff. I wasn’t complaining as even senior bureaucrats, politicians and influential people were also being reminded to take not more than 30 seconds with the actor. And they followed the diktat.

“Theek hai, ek sawaal koi pooch sakte hain (You can ask any one question!),” Kumar said soon after I had introduced myself.

But before I could, one of his aides appeared out of nowhere and showed him the front page of a newspaper with the headline, “Dilip Kumar in Lucknow to test waters against Atal.”

“Don’t grant any interview, sir, this is what they do,” the aide said. Atal Bihari Vajpayee or Atal ji, as the former PM was known, was the MP from Lucknow and Kumar got angry on knowing that there were speculations about his contesting as a Congress candidate against Atal ji.

I hadn’t authored the piece which had originated after a press conference that Kumar had addressed in Lucknow the previous evening in the presence of some senior Congress leaders. But Kumar wouldn’t listen and ordered me out.

But I wasn’t ready to leave without making my point. After hours of dogged arguing with Kumar’s staff, I was allowed in again, with another rider, “Just one question, and don’t offend him again!”

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When I asked the thespian if I could switch on the dictaphone, he said, “Nahin, mujhe tumpe yaqeen nahin hai (No, I don’t trust you). After an aide whispered some explanation for my re-entry, he said, “Theek hai, on kar lo (Ok, switch it on).”

Right then, all set. But what do I ask him? I only had the permission to ask a single question without offending him. Any by then, the mind had become a cocktail of emotions. Somehow I managed to put together an opening question. “Aapka asal naam Yusuf Khan hai, magar log aapko Dileep Kumar ke naam se zyada jaante hain … Kya kabhi Yusuf aur Dileep main jaddojahad nahin hoti hai (your real name is Yusuf Khan but you are popularly known as Dileep Kumar. Is there a identity clash at times?)

“Yaqeenan hoti hai .. kabhi Yusuf Dileep pe aur kabhi Dileep Yusuf pe haawi ho jata hai … aur ye kashmakash chalti rehti hai ..(It happens. At times Yusuf weighs heavy on Dileep, at times its the other way round and this continues …).”

As I got up to switch the dictaphone off, he said, “Ek sawaal aur poochh sakte ho (You can ask one more question).”

I didn’t know what to ask him now, so I threw in a poorly structured political query which sought his response on why he was venturing into politics. I laced the query with examples of the likes of Sunil Dutt (who was into politics but angry at not finding enough political assistance in his attempt to rescue his son Sunjay Dutt) and Amitabh Bachchan (who by this time had realised politics wasn’t his cup of tea).

This angered Kumar who countered the query by saying that in a democracy, everyone had the right to make a choice. I was exhausted by then, both mentally and physically. So I quickly thought of pushing in a query about his directorial debut ‘Kalinga’.

“Dilip saab, aapki directorial debut Kalinga ka bahut intezaar …” Before I could complete the query, he cut me short. “Manish tumharey sawaal bahut randomly aa rahe hain (You are asking questions randomly),” he said. I admitted as much. “Ji, itne sab ke baad aapse baat karne ka andesha nahin tha (After all this, I wasn’t sure we would meet),” I said.

Kumar was quick to correct me. “Andesha nahin tha, ya ummeed nahin thee (Were not sure or weren’t hopeful?),” he asked. I said, “Dono (both).”

At this, he said, “Relax, I grant you as many questions as you want!”

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What followed was a rare, exclusive interview, in which he shared his pain of being targeted by the Shiv Sena after Pakistan had conferred its highest Civilian award, Nishan-e-Pakistan, on him.

“If this continues, I will leave Mumbai. In fact, I have even bought a piece of land near Delhi where I will shift,” he said.

When I asked if he would continue to act, he said, “Bas, ab bahut hua, (Have had enough of it).”

As he talked, I remember thinking at one point that I had all the masala for a super exclusive piece. I switched off the dictaphone when he talked about politics and even his equation with different political parties. At some point, he noticed I was merely listening and not recording him. “Arrey bhai, usko on toh kariye (Switch it on),” he said with a smile, gesturing towards the dictaphone.

By the time we were done, he had spoken freely and frankly, opening up as he rarely did.

Alvida! Dilip Saab.