‘The ultimate now reduced to a small mound of grave’: Amitabh Bachchan pens an emotional note for late actor Dilip Kumar

The death of Dilip Kumar marks the end of an era in Bollywood. Not only his family and friends have been devastated by his death, but so has Bollywood. In commemoration of the great actor, celebrities have expressed their condolences and written kind messages.

Remembering Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan took to his blog and wrote heartfelt words for him.

He wrote, “The name that had been floating in that vacuum suddenly took shape, right there on the screen in front of me .. large and in black and white .. that name, that visual often repeated in converse .. DILIP KUMAR .. there was something in his presence .. when he appeared all others became a blurred focus .. when he spoke, you felt right, convinced .. and you came back with all of that home .. and it remained with you,” “After long contemplation which drove me to awe and shivering excitement, I decided to approach him for an autograph .. but no autograph book .. so out again in the street, a book bought and inside the restaurant again and the relief to still find him there .. the walk up to him .. he is concentrated conversation .. i push my words to him in general and the book in hand .. there is no reaction .. he did not even look at me or the book .. and after a short while walked away , out through the door and gone .. the autograph book still in my vacant hands .. the autograph book was not important at all .. it was his presence .. thats it,” 

Talking about Dilip Kumar’s personality, Amitabh shared, “You never found a single element out of place when he performed on-screen or in his non-public appearance, or even the public appearance .. his eyes his walk his each limb his every spoken word was like poetry .. the graph and the tone, the pauses the rapid-fire, the run by a train, that glass of the sorrow and the inconsequential and consequential expressions of learning.”

Describing how he felt in front of his mortal remains he wrote, “I stand in front of this mound on the earth, freshly dug .. a few garlands and flowers scattered about over the mound .. and no one around him .. he sleeps underneath .. under the earth of his bearing .. it is peaceful and quiet .. this large presence .. this mountain of talent .. this gregarious creative visionary .. this excellence of the excelled .. the ultimate .. now reduced to a small mound of grave .. he is gone.”

He concluded his note with, “History shall ever be .. before Dilip Kumar after Dilip Kumar .. that is how it always was .. now more so than ever.”

For the unversed, In the 1982 film Shakti, For the unversed, in the 1982 film Shakti, Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan played father and son. It was the only time the two shared screen space. The movie was written by Salim-Javed and directed by Ramesh Sippy.