Director Hariharan’s fan moment with Dilip Kumar

Legendary actor had visited Crown Theatre at Kozhikode where his film Gunga Jamna was screened

Dilip Kumar (centre) at Crown Theatre, Kozhikode, where his film Ganga Jamna was being screened in 1962.

It happened nearly 60 years ago, but director Hariharan still has vivid memories about his first meeting with Dilip Kumar. Like many filmgoers of that time, he was an admirer of the legendary actor, who died in Mumbai at the age of 98 on Wednesday.

So when he came to know that Dilip Kumar would be visiting the Crown Theatre in Kozhikode on that day in 1962, Hariharan was determined to catch a glimpse of the star. “His film Gunga Jumna was being screened at Crown. I was a student of art at the Universal Arts College then,” Hariharan told The Hindu over phone from Chennai.

“I had grown up watching his films, like Mughal-E-Azam, Madhumati and Footpath , and was a huge fan. So I was delighted when I could meet him and get an autograph,” he says.

Cinema wasn’t exactly on Hariharan’s mind at the time. A few years later, he moved to Chennai and became an assistant director.

Several meetings

“I could meet Dilip Kumar on several occasions after I became part of the film industry,” Hariharan says. “When I came to know that he was shooting for the Hindi film Gopi , directed by A. Bhimsingh, at Newtone Studio in Chennai, I went to the set. I was working as associate director of the Malayalam film Kuruthykkalam , which was also shot at the same studio.”

Dilip Kumar then paid a visit to the set of Kuruthykkalam . “Actors Sathyan, Madhu and Sheela were there,” he said. “Since Jose Prakash spoke good Hindi, Dilip Kumar had a long chat with him, I recall.”

Hariharan said he would later try to visit Dilip Kumar during his trips to Mumbai. “I was keeping track of his health condition through a mutual friend in Mumbai,” he says. “With his death, we have lost one of the greatest actors of not just India, but the world also.”