By Alex Deleon

Dilip Kumar, one of Bollywood’s most revered actors has died. The Indian actor died Wednesday ,July 7, in a hospital in Mumbai after a long illness. He was 98.

Kumar was known as the “Tragedy King.” because of the many heartbroken lovers he portrayed, which became his calling card during the Golden age of Hindi cinema. 

His active career spanned five decades from 1944 to  1998 during which. time he appeared in over 160 films.    Among his most famous films were, Devdas, 1955, and Mughal-e-Azam, 1960, both  enduring landmarks of Indian cinema,

  In Devdas he played the scion of a wealthy family who is separated from his lifelong sweetheart when she is married off to another because of class differences. He then turns to alcohol and basically drinks himself to death  ignoring the tender love offered him by a beautiful courtesan whose circle he has entered.  

A remake of Devdas starring Shahrukh Khan, the "King of Bollywoid" was a great hit in 2002, but the Dilip version is still regarded as the benchmark for that iconic role

   In Mughal-e-Azam, a massive historical epic, he was again separated from the love of his life by class difference circumstances and his true love, Anarkali, was walled up alive by his father, the Moghul emperor

Amitabh Bachchan  another Bollywood  superstar himself, now 78, stated' : “Whenever the history of Indian Cinema will be written, it shall always be ‘before Dilip Kumar, and after Dilip Kumar.' -- ა truly  profound tribute from one legend to another.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet, “Dilip Kumar will be remembered as a cinematic legend.” His death is “a loss to our cultural world.” 

Kumar was given a state funeral. His body  covered by the Indian flag.  He was buried in a Muslim cemetery in Mumbai.

Photo:   Dilip Kumar at the height of his career , DEVDAS, 1955, drowning his sorrows in        alcohol.