Over the course of a glittering career that lasted for more than half a century–55 years to be precise– Bollywood’s legendary thespian Dilip Kumar acted in some of the most memorable films ever to hit the Indian screens.
His films like Devdas (1955), Naya Daur (1957), Madhumati (1958), Mughal-E-Azam (1960), and many more blockbusters still enthrall film buffs.
But not many people are aware that Dilip Kumar once turned down the offer to act in Hollywood’s epochal film Lawrence Of Arabia directed by the famous David Lean. The film, which was released in 1962, went on to win no less than seven Oscars including Best Film and Best Director for David Lean in 1963. It had the honour of being nominated in 10 categories and won seven.
Appearance suited the role
It was the director David Lean who made the offer to Dilip Kumar. The story was about a British army officer named T.E. Lawrence who helped the Arab revolution against the Ottoman Empire in 1916. In the movie there is a character named Sherif Ali ibn el Kharish who is an employee of King Feisal of Iraq. It was this role of Sherif Ali that was offered to Dilip Kumar because the director wanted an actor with eastern looks to play the part. David Lean felt that Dilip Kumar had the right appearance for the role.
David Lean gained legendary status in Hollywood after directing spectacular classics such as Bridge On The River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence Of Arabia.
David Lean’s wife was from Hyderabad
Lean had witnessed Dilip Kumar’s acting ability for he was a keen follower of Hindi films. That was because his fourth wife was Leila Devi from Hyderabad. The famous director married no less than six times but his fourth and longest-lasting marriage was to Leila Devi also known as Leila Matkar.
According to an article in The Independent, Leila and David met in India in the mid-1950s. Thereafter, Leila left her husband and two children to marry Lean. They got married in 1960, but it ended in divorce in 1978.
However, during the period that they were married, Lean got an introduction to Hindi films due to his wife’s influence. After watching several Hindi films, Lean was impressed by Dilip Kumar’s acting ability. So when he was going to direct Lawrence of Arabia, he sent a telegram to Dilip Kumar’s agent cum secretary that read: “Need Dilip Kumar for playing a role in a first world war epic set in Jordan and Morocco. Send a Quote.”
But without hesitation, Dilip Kumar turned down the offer. The actor had two issues – the first was that he had a packed schedule in India and had a lot of films on hand. He could not commit himself to spending 150 to 200 days in Jordan plus the travel time.
Main stumbling block
But it was the second factor that was the main stumbling block. Dilip Kumar did not like the tone and tenor of the message sent by the director. It was not couched in the politely formal but yet friendly language that is normally used in the culture of the Indian subcontinent. It was too businesslike and curt. It was almost as if the director wanted to buy food supplies.
This aspect of David Lean’s persona was once confirmed by an editor of his films. The man said, “David lacked the human touch. David was a very fine director but never had much consideration for what the actors had to undergo. He just wanted them to perform on the screen. Nothing else mattered to him.”
When the news broke that Dilip Kumar refused David Lean, a lot of pressure was put on him. His friends tried to persuade him to change his mind while some Ministers in the government called and told him it would put India on the world map if he acted in the film. But all this only served to further aggravate the actor and harden his stand. He did not worship Hollywood. For him, it was just another film industry–not something superior to Bollywood.
When David Lean realised what had happened, he came to India, visited Dilip Kumar at his house and tried to persuade the actor. But Dilip Kumar had made up his mind and did not change his stand.
Omar Sharif gets the role
It was only after Dilip Kumar’s negative response that David Lean went to Omar Sharif and gave him the role. Egyptian star Omar Sharif who was born in the city of Alexandria in Egypt, also had the kind of appearance that was suitable for playing the part of Sherif Ali. That role gave Omar Sharif his big break, and from there his career shot up. In interviews that he gave later, Omar Sharif acknowledged the big impact that his role in Lawrence Of Arabia had on his career.
Following the release of Lawrence of Arabia in 1962, Dilip Kumar was invited to the US embassy in New Delhi to view the movie. After watching it, Dilip Kumar sent a message to Omar Sharif that read: “I am glad that I refused to do the work. I could not have done justice to the role as well as you did.” The details of all this background information were disclosed by Omar Sharif after many years. The Egyptian mega star referred to Dilip Kumar as his best friend in India and added that Dilip Kumar was one of the best actors on the entire planet.
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