Dilip Kumar to be honoured with Padma Vibhushan

Cinema icon Dilip Kumar (right) will be honoured with the Padma Vibhushan—India’s second highest civilian award—today, two days after his 93rd birthday, his close friend Udaya Tara Nayar has confirmed.

“Dilip Kumar will be honoured with Padma Vibhushan on December 13 at his residence here. Home Minister Rajnath Singh will be coming from Delhi to present the award to him,” Nayar, who is also the compiler of the actor’s autobiography, said.

Dilip Kumar couldn’t make it to the awards ceremony, which was held in April in the national capital, to receive the honour in person due to health issues. For now, the actor has decided to skip his birthday celebration to mark the solidarity towards Chennai floods victims.

His wife and actor Saira Banu says, “He has got so much love from all over the world. What more can I give him? I can only pray for his good health and that’s my gift for him.” The actor also said that they always like to have a small celebration.

“I think his health gets affected after any celebration,” she said, adding, “We are also very affected by the Chennai incident and decided to keep it quiet. After what happened in Chennai, it wouldn’t have been right to have a huge celebration.”

Dilip Kumar, whose real name is Yusuf Khan, became a name to reckon with in the 1950s and 1960s, thanks to his performances in Aan (1952), Daag (1952) and Devdas (1955). He bid adieu to the arclights in 1998. His last movie was Qila.