His first film Jwar Bhata was released in 1944 which went unnoticed. In 1947 he shot to prominence with working with the legendary singer and actress Noor Jahan who agreed to act opposite him in the film Jugnu which was his first major hit. In 1949, he co-starred with Raj Kapoor in the romantic melodrama film Andaz, which went to become a huge success and made him a star. Throughout the 1950s he was one of the biggest stars of Bollywood along with Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand. He became known for playing tragic roles in popular films such as Deedar (1951), Amar (1954), Devdas (1955) and Madhumati (1958) which earned him the title of "tragedy king".
He was also successful in playing lighthearted roles such as playing a swashbuckling peasant in Aan (1952) and a comic role in Azaad (1955). In 1960 he starred in the historical film Mughal-e-Azam which is as of 2008, the second highest grossing film in Hindi film history inflation adjusted in which he played the role of the Mughal crown-prince Jehangir, the son of Akbar.
In 1961 he produced and starred in the hit Ganga Jamuna in which he and his real-life brother Nasir Khan played the title roles. Despite the film's success he did not produce any film after this. Dilip had a narrow brush with international fame in 1962, when British director David Lean offered him the role of Sherif Ali in his 1962 blockbuster, Lawrence of Arabia. However, Kumar declined the part. The role eventually went to Omar Sharif, the Egyptian actor. After a brief period of box office flops in the mid 1960s, he bounced back when he played a dual role of twins separated at birth in the film Ram Aur Shyam (1967) which was one of the biggest box office hits of the year. The success of Ram Aur Shyam spawned a number of remakes and imitators.
In the 1970s Kumar acted in fewer films as newer actors such as Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan had begun to take the spotlight.
In 1976 film Bairaag in which he played triple roles flopped very badly so he took a five year break from acting.
He made a comeback in 1981 with the multi-starrer Kranti which was the biggest hit of the year. He went onto play character roles as an elderly family patriarch or a police officer in a string of box office hits including Shakti (1982) (in which he starred alongside the reigning superstar of the time Amitabh Bachchan), Vidhaata (1982), Mashaal (1984) and Karma (1986). In his last major successful film, Saudagar (1991) he appeared alongside another legendary actor Raaj Kumar after three decades since they last appeared together in Paigham (1959). In 1993 he won the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 1996 he was attached to make his directorial debut with a film titled Kalinga but the film was shelved. In 1998 he made his last film appearance to date in the box office flop Qila. His classic film Mughal-E-Azam was fully colorized in 2004 and re-released. Even in 2004, it did well at the box office. Another one of his classic films Naya Daur was colourized and released in August 2007. He is from golden era of actors like Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar is one of the last actors from the golden era of Bollywood.
Acting Filmography
1944
Jwar Bhata
1945
Pratima
1947
Milan
Jugnu
Jugnu
1948
Shaheed
Nadiya Ke Paar
Mela
Mela
Ghar Ki Izzat
Anokha Pyar
Anokha Pyar
1949
Shabnam
Andaz
1950
Jogan
Babul
Arzoo
1951
Tarana
Hulchul
Deedar
1952
Sangdil
Daag
Aan
1953
Shikast
Footpath
1954
Amar
1955
Udan Khatola
Insaniyat
Devdas
Azaad
1957
Naya Daur
Musafir
1958
Yahudi
Madhumati
1959
Paigham
1960
Kohinoor
Mughal-E-Azam
1961
Gunga Jumna
1964
Leader
1966
Dil Diya Dard Liya
1967
Ram Aur Shyam
1968
Sunghursh
Sadhu Aur Shaitan
Aadmi
Sadhu Aur Shaitan
Aadmi
1970
Sagina Mahato
Gopi
1972
Daastan
Anokha Milan
1974
Sagina
Phir Kab Milogi
1976
Bairaag
1981
Kranti
1982
Vidhaata
Shakti
1983
Mazdoor
1984
Duniya
Mashaal
1986
Dharam Adhikari
Karma
1989
Kanoon Apna Apna
1990
Izzatdaar
Aag Ka Dariya
Aag Ka Dariya
1991
Saudagar
1998
Qila
Dilip Kumar's uncompleted/unreleased films
Bank Manager
Taj Mahal
Akhri Mughal
Har Singhar
Shikwah
Janwar
Chankia Chandar Gupt
Kalinga
Aag Ka Darya
Asr
Kala Aadmi
