Dilip Kumar's latest tool, Twitter

Why did actor Dilip Kumar who had kept himself out of social dos for so many years suddenly decide to join the Twitter brigade? Of course, he wanted to engage with his fans online. But is it the real reason?

“Most of Dilip Kumar’s fans are above 70 years of age. He has a lot of young fans as well but there’s a real reason why he decided to join Twitter,” says a family friend of Dilip Kumar. Dilip Kumar joined Twitter on his 89th birthday on December 11, and as of December 28 he has more than 63,000 followers. The veteran actor is said to be overwhelmed by the response he received on his site. “It is a true blessing to be so loved and a wonderful feeling to wake up and realise one is younger than he was yesterday,” posted the actor who recently hosted a birthday bash at his residence which was attended by all his close friends.

So what’s the real Twitter reason? Apparently, signing up on Twitter was the only way to counter the numerous ‘death rumours’ that had upset his family recently. One of his family members suggested to him that if he signs up on Twitter then nobody would dare to start those rumours again. One clarification there would be enough to quash all rumours.

“I would request all of you to show some respect. Every two months, my phone doesn’t stop ringing asking me if Dilip Saab is okay. Imagine how I feel when I am faced with such calls. I request everybody to show some respect to us by not listening to these silly rumours,” actor Saira Bano had told After Hrs in November. Apparently, Dilip Kumar also got perturbed by these calls because of those rumours and hence decided to tweet to tell everybody that he is in fact hale and hearty. God bless him so that he remains hale and hearty for another 100 years.

s_banerjee@dnaindia.net