selectvenue The love story between Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu is still melting millions of people’s hearts. Despite having a 22-year age gap, the pair was able to remain together and served as a role model for future generations. Their tale is on par with a Bollywood movie. Before the renowned actor passed away, Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu had been married for 54 years. Through both good and bad times in their lives, the two have remained friends. Saira Bano stayed by his side even when he was dying.
When Saira Banu made her acting debut in 1961’s Junglee opposite superstar Shammi Kapoor, she was barely 16 years old. Six years later, she married Dilip Kumar, who she affectionately refers to as “Dilip Saab,” at the time India’s most eligible bachelor. She has subsequently relished playing Mrs. Dilip Kumar, despite the fact that some of her biggest hits, including Padosan, Gopi, Purab Aur Paschim, and Jwar Bhata, occurred after her marriage.
She once opened up about her thoughts in a tabloid interview, claiming, “I wasn’t just another lady who fell in love with Dilip Kumar. My dream had a firm base of faith—confidence in God and faith in myself—so it wasn’t a castle in the air for me.
When the first screening of Mughal-e-Azam, Dilip Kumar’s wildly popular tragic romance, was held at Mumbai’s illustrious Maratha Mandir in 1960, 16-year-old fangirl Saira Banu attended in the hopes of catching a glimpse of her idol firsthand. She was disappointed to learn that Dilip Kumar was unable to attend the premiere. Later, she had her first close-up view of the famous figure. She claimed to have a vivid memory of their meeting and claimed to have read somewhere that she would someday wed him. Saira had recalled that first meeting and had stated in an interview: “I could feel my entire being take flight and fly rapturously when he smiled at me and said that I was a gorgeous lady. I had a deep-seated knowledge that I would marry him.”
His autobiography, Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow, also contains a passage in which he describes being stunned by Saira Banu’s beauty. “I can still remember my eyes first catching sight of Saira standing in the foyer of her new home looking stunningly gorgeous in a brocade sari as soon as I got out of my car and entered the lovely garden that leads to the house. She wasn’t the young woman I purposefully avoided working with because I believed she would appear too young to be my heroine, which surprised me. She had developed into a mature woman and was much more attractive than I had initially believed. Time stopped for us when I simply approached her and shook her hand.”
Despite having a 22-year age difference, the couple quickly fell profoundly in love. Naseem Banu, Saira Banu’s mother, was essential to the actor and actress’s union. She served as the two people’s cupid, bringing them together. Finally, Dilip Kumar asked Saira Banu to marry him, and Saira had no choice but to accept. In the year 1966, the couple wed.
Despite rumours that they might split up because of their disparate ages, Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu remained together. After becoming married to the actor, the actress appeared in numerous high-profile movies. But in 1976, she made the decision to hang up her boots and focus on raising her family. Dilip agreed with her choice. The situation in this relationship was not perfect. Saira Banu miscarried in the eighth month of her pregnancy in 1972. Saira Banu was unable to become pregnant again after the doctors failed to rescue the baby.
In 1981, Dilip Kumar married Asma Rehman, a Pakistani woman, 16 years after he wed Saira. But in 1983, his second marriage came to an end. The couple’s reunion signalled new beginnings once he later returned to Saira. He also talked about Asma’s portion in his memoirs. “Well, the one episode in my life that I would like to forget and that we, Saira and I, have indeed pushed into eternal oblivion is a grave mistake I made under pressure of getting involved with a lady named Asma Rehman whom I had met at a cricket match in Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), where she then lived with her husband,” he wrote.
Saira Banu has discussed Dilip Kumar abandoning her for another woman in an interview “Saab has always been the only option for me. Since I can remember, I have been a fan of his. I wanted to marry him when I was a teen. I have a strong will and once I made a decision, there was no turning back. I was aware that Saab had his pick of several lovely women, but he selected me. It was a dream come true for me, and my marriage has been a real-life version of that ideal.”
Saira Banu was with Dilip Kumar till his last breath. The pair, who have been married since 1966, have overcome all the setbacks they have faced over the years, including the fact that there is a 22-year age difference between them.
