Divya
The recent passing away of veteran Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar had many in tears.
However, we will be giving you a very different story of Dilip-ji, showing you his life behind the silver screen.
While Dilip Kumar married into the industry and had a beautiful long marriage with actress Saira Banu, he also had a very close friend from the political world. Soldier and member of the Indian National Army, General Shah Nawaz Khan shared a deeply personal bond with Dilip-ji.
Who is General Shah Nawaz Khan?
General Shah Nawaz Khan was one of the three defendants in the first of the INA (Red fort) trials and is the adoptive father of the late Lateef Fatima Khan, mother of superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
Interestingly, the General also married Shah Rukh Khan’s parents and was extremely close to Sanjay Dutt’s father, the late Sunil Dutt.
Films such as ‘Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero’ and ‘Raag Desh’ are based on his very patriotic and brave life story. Khan was also the right-hand man of Nationalist Subhash Chandra Bose during the Indian freedom struggle.
Relationship with Dilip Kumar
Dilip Kumar and General Shah Nawaz share an amicable bond that has been passed down to their further generations too. Another unknown fact is that the General was asked to be a witness to Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu’s wedding too! We spoke exclusively with Khan’s granddaughter, Nameera Nawaz Khan, who says, “I was named by Dilip Kumar-ji because of which I have always felt close to him. Our entire family is very saddened by his demise.”
Yes, you read that right. it was Dilip-ji who has christened the General’s granddaughter with her name – Nameera. She also says, “He has been an important part of our family and losing a humble person like him is not only a shock to the industry but politically and socially as well. We feel a lapse in our family since we have been losing such great pillars who continued the legacy and gave us a ray of hope to look up to. I personally think that it’s actually an end of an era for us as well.“
Nameera has always been interested in working with the social development sector where she aims on bringing real change for what her grandfather stood up for. He brought change on so many levels and being his granddaughter, she wants to forward his legacy.
In our chat, Nameera also mentioned how the families would meet occasionally. Dilip-ji’s brother, the late Ehsan Khan, too was close to the family and was present at the General’s son’s wedding.
This only proves that friendships last not only a lifetime but also for generations to come.
