Ace Veteran Bollywood superstar Dilip Kumar turned 86 on December 11, 2008.

According to sources, Dilip Kumar, who took birth on December 11, 1922 in Peshawar, Pakistan, is widely acknowledged for playing tragedy roles in flicks of 50s and 60s like Devdas, Deedar, Amar and Madhumati, which earned him the title of “Tragedy King”.

His birth name Muhammad Yusuf Khan was turned to screen name Dilip Kumar by Devika Rani, a leading actress of 40s and wife of Himanshu Rai (founder of Bombay Talkies).

She is the leading lady who helped him to get his first film ‘Jwar Bhata’ in 1944.

In the age of 44, Dilip Kumar hooked up with Saira Banu, an actress who was only 22, half of his age. She was a very big fan of Dilip Kumar.

Dilip Kumar had also remained in the limelight for his torrid affair with actress Madhubala for seven long years, with whom he costarred in the blockbuster hit Mughal-e-Azam. However the relationship ended suddenly when Madhubala’s father Attaullah Khan didn’t approve of their association.

The Tragedy King had also scripted screenplay of one of his early flicks Ganga Jamuna in which his brother Nasir Khan also starred. The two played role of brothers and film turned out to be a huge success.

According to reports, Dilip Kumar was all set to direct a film called Kalinga in 1996 starring names like Nana Patekar and Jackie Shroff. Sadly the film never got made.

The superstar made his last appearance in the film Qila (1998) where he played a double role.