When Raj Kapoor shouted at Rishi Kapoor for not giving Dilip Kumar’s intense look: ‘Mujhe Yousuf chahiye’

Raj Kapoor had once shouted at Rishi Kapoor for being unable to give the intense expression of a despondent lover that Dilip Kumar would give. The incident took place during the filming of the 1982 movie Prem Rog, directed by Raj. He had also shouted ‘mujhe Yousuf chahiye (I want Yousuf)’. Dilip was born as Mohammed Yousuf Khan.

Rishi Kapoor had described the incident in Dilip Kumar’s autobiography, Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow. He wrote, “I have three distinct memories from my adult years that I can share without reservations…The other memory is from a day in our studio [RK or Raj Kapoor Studio] when we were filming Prem Rog [released in 1982]. I had to bring the intense expression of a despondent lover, and as hard as I was trying, Raj Kapoor, the director, was not getting the look he wanted, which was irritating him. Then he shouted at me in the presence of the entire unit, ‘Mujhe Yousuf chahiye. I want you to give me the look Yousuf would have given in the situation. I want the look in his eyes when he expresses love, his intensity, his realism’.”

“The unit was silent. Nobody could believe that he was talking about his professional rival Dilip Ku-mar. I think it was the ultimate acknowledgement of the actor—director Raj Kapoor for Yousuf Uncle’s unmatched ability to portray love with all its agony and ecstasy. It was possible only because they had that kind of genuine respect and love for each other. Would you hear Shahrukh [Khan] say that about Salman [Khan] or vice versa today?” he added.

Dilip Kumar died at a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday morning after a prolonged illness. He was 98. On Wednesday evening, he was laid to rest with full state honours at the Juhu Qabrastan in Santacruz Mumbai in the presence of family, including his actor-wife Saira Banu.

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He has starred in around 60 films, most notable being Naya Daur, Mughal-e-Azam, Devdas, Madhumati and Ram Aur Shyam in a career spanning a little over five decades. He later graduated to character roles, Shakti and Karma. Known as the Nehruvian hero, did his first film Jwar Bhata in 1944 and his last Qila in 1998, 54 years later.

Dilip Kumar was born on December 11, 1922, at his family home in the Qissa Khawani Bazaar area of Peshawar.