Sharmila Tagore On  Dilip Kumar

The iconic  diva Sharmila Tagore got to  work  only once with the great Dilip Kumar. It was a film called Dastaan in 1972  directed by B R  Chopra. A  critical and commercial disaster.

It  was  the  first  time that Sharmila Tagore worked  with  Dilip Kumar.  “I had worked with B R Chopra before in  one of my earliest Hindi films Waqt. This was my second  film with them. They were delightfully  professional and  organized. With Dilip Saab this  was my first  film.I think he had  done  a  very  popular film Naya Daur with the  same banner before.  Somehow  we never had an opportunity to work together  before.”

Knowing  the Thespian  had a double role, and that she  had little  to do in the script,Sharmila agreed to be  part  of Dastaan.

She says,“It doesn’t matter that Dastaan didn’t  work. I enjoyed  the experience of working with Dilip Saab thoroughly.It was interesting to  watch him at  work.His  approach  to his  characters—he had a double  role  in Dastaan—was unlike anything I  had seen.He was  such a learned man  and so dignified,”  says Sharmilaji who  has worked with almost every  major star of  the 1950 , 60s and  70s. However she did  only one film with  Dilip Kumar(Dilip Kumar)  and  Dev Anand(Yeh Gulistan Hamara).

 She reiterates that her  association with  Dilip Kumar went far beyond Dastaan. “We were  family friends. I met Dilip Saab’s sisters and his  brother Ehsan  socially.There was  always a bonding with his family.”

Any regrets that she did not get to work  more with  Dilip Kumar?

Sharmilaji replies gently. “I’ve no  regrets about  anything that  happened or didn’t happen in my career.I never  planned anything. Whatever happened, happened  on its own.  I’ve never  paused to  regret  anything.”