Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow

The book's first 25-chapter segment focuses on Dilip Kumar's life and career; he was born Yousuf Khan on 11 December 1922 in Peshawar, British India (now Pakistan), and was educated at Barnes School and Khalsa College, and moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) following the partition of India in 1947. His acting debut came in the drama film Jwar Bhata (1944), in which he used the stage name "Dilip Kumar". Kumar's commercially and critically successful films include Andaz (1949), Tarana (1951), Aan (1952), Azaad (1955), Devdas (1955), Naya Daur (1957), Madhumati (1958), Kohinoor (1960), Mughal-e-Azam (1960), Gunga Jumna (1961), and Ram Aur Shyam (1967). Kumar's well-publicised six-year relationship with the actor Madhubala, his marriages to Saira Banu in 1966 and Asma Rehman in 1982, and his political career are also detailed. The book's second part includes commentary from 43 of Kumar's collaborators and acquaintances.

In June 2004, Udaya Tara Nayar, a film journalist and former editor of Screen,[2] was helping Saira Banu to rearrange Banu's husband Dilip Kumar's bookshelf. Occasionally, Nayar read Kumar's collection of poems, in both English and Urdu. Kumar picked up a biography of himself; he said the information in it was mostly incorrect, though the author claimed to know him personally. Banu, who had always wanted Kumar to write an autobiography, asked him to do so with enthusiasm. She believed his story would motivate young people "in any walk of life who have chased dreams of making it big in their chosen professions".[1]^:11

Concurring with her idea, Kumar wanted someone to compile his own words. Banu recommended Nayar, who was both happy and frightened because Kumar rarely publicly talked about his personal life and achievements. Nayar thought Kumar's introversion was the main reason authors who write books on him use his interviews with the media and information from his close friends.[1]^:11–12 Writing an analytical column in Scroll.in, Gautam Chintamani said previous publications about Kumar are more about his career than his pre-acting and private lives.[3]

Nayar began writing the book the same day. According to Nayar, who found Kumar's marriage to Banu the most interesting part of his life, said the "real picture began to emerge" as the writing continued.[1]^:12–13 .[4] The book was titled Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow, which according to Nayar was suggested by Kumar; the "substance" means Kumar's life as Yousuf Khan and the "shadow" is his life as Dilip Kumar, according to whom; "when we walk our shadow grows larger than our actual image".[4] The Press Trust of India announced the book in 2012,[5] and Hay House released it on 20 June 2014 with a hardcover book.[6] Its Amazon Kindle version was released on 28 July 2014.[1]

Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow was praised for its writing and photographs while Kumar's selectiveness was generally panned. Deepa Gahlot concluded: "The book is readable, but it has the informality of a diary rather than a serious memoir. Still, it is a precious addition to the Bollywood bookshelf—at least it all comes from the star himself and the words are not recycled."[7] Arvind Gigoo of Daily News and Analysis commended Nayar's writing and said she "has performed the role of an understanding Father Confessor". He praised the book's contents and photographs, describing it as a "a captivating literary tour de force".[8] The News International's Sarwat Ali was more critical, saying the book should have been be written when Kumar was younger and "would have had the energy to pay more attention to the final product which suffers badly from supervision in editing and graphic design". Ali stated some events of Kumar's life, such as his second marriage and his affair with Madhubala, are not explained in detail.[9]

Madhu Jain from India Today the writing in Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow is "measured, evidently calibrated and impossibly calm",[10] while according to Shahabuddin Gilani from The Express Tribune, the book is "not an entirely honest memoir" because many aspects of Kumar's life are not revealed in detail.[11] Characterising its narration is easy to understand, Mahbubar Rahman of The Independent said Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow "exceeds all expectations of readers" and is a "lucid reminiscence" that "is intricately laced with candid observation and comments which are uniquely his own".[12] Sanjukta Sharma, in her review for Mint, wrote:

The first few chapters ... have the architecture and visual breadth of a novel. He writes about his youth with self-deprecating honesty. Given the tone of the book until it reaches the phase of his youth, middle age and late life read like parodies. A voice so different, it seems someone else took over the project entirely. The last section of the book is a series of tributes by close friends—a strange section to have in an autobiography.[13]

In a review for The Indian Express, the British economist and author Meghnad Desai, who earlier wrote a 2004 biography book on Kumar, praised Nayar for doing a good job.[14] Asif Noorani of Dawn said Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow is "worth reading" and that the photographs add to its value;[15] in the same publication, Jawed Naqvi said the book is "crammed with ... abiding sentiment".[16] Raza Rumi from The Friday Times stated Nayar "has done a great job of putting this book together. But it is Dilip Kumar's reflective tone and tender voice that makes it a book worth reading. In a way it also sums up the history of Indian cinema for at least a few decades of the twentieth century." Rumi said Nayar's writing is "mellow and somewhat dispassionate"; she further said the "Reminiscences" part is interesting but that it needs more editing and that the photographs make the book more "captivating".[17]

S. Nanda Kumar of Deccan Herald wrote; "This, and other tales, are told with attention to the tiniest details, speaking volumes of his powers of observation and remarkable memory. He is a master raconteur, the opening of the book is like the beginning of a film."[18] Baradwaj Rangan described Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow as "a lopsided autobiography" that "sheds light on his early life and career, but skimps on what we really want to know";[19] and Ziya Us Salam, sharing similar thoughts, said it "sheds fair light on the person he is".[20] In The Free Press Journal, P. P. Ramachandran commented the book's narration is "authentic, heartfelt and compelling", and called it "outstanding".[21] Saibal Chatterjee from Tehelka said the book is a "goldmine of information and insight on a luminous career".[22] Another Daily News and Analysis review, this time by Boski Gupta, labelled it a "treat for every cinema lover".[23] Sangeetha Devi Dundoo included it in her "Reading List" of the year in The Hindu.[24]

• Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow at Google Books