Image was shared on Instagram. (courtesy: sairabanu)
Saira Banu and Dilip Kumar's love story is the stuff legends are made of. Over the years, much has been written and discussed about the couple who were married for 55 years, until Dilip Kumar's death in 2021. Saira Banu, who is celebrating her 79th birthday today [August 23], has shared a special post on Instagram, revealing that her magical love story with Dilip Kumar began at her birthday party in 1966 when she was 22. Posting a lovely black-and-white image from the landmark birthday, Saira Banu shared details. In the photo, Saira Banu – dressed in a saree – is seen standing in front of a cake with Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar on either side, among others.
Sharing her story, Saira Banu spoke about growing up with a mother, who celebrated her birthdays with much pomp and fervour. Saira Banu said, “As far as I can remember, birthdays have been so ‘special' for me --- my mother Pari Chehra Naseem Banu ji went to the ends of the world to always give me the best fun time with my friends whether here in Mumbai or in London School --- not to forget once a towering layered cake that would have put the Qutub Minar to shame! We were a very close-knit small family that lived doting on each other --- my grandma, my grand-aunt, my mother and my darling brother Sultan.”
Things changed and these birthday parties became grander once Saira Banu entered the world of cinema. She said, “Then Hey Presto! What good luck! No sooner than I finished my London School and came back home to Bombay I had the sheer luck of getting to do Junglee, the super hit Eastman Colour Film that became the rage of the time. Until now black and White films were the order of the day and held the roost. Soon life became a blast of light and joy and occasions such as birthdays blossomed into a flood of appreciation, flowers, and messages from friends and fans making the whole house into a ‘Garden of Eden'.”
Shedding light on the birthday party in 1966 that changed her life, Saira Banu said, “On 23rd August 1966 such a quality evening, the House Warming of our new residence at 34-B Pali Hill was on, the house was made intentionally and absolutely Dilip Sahib's ‘Dar Kay Saamney' (Ghar Kay Saamney). He was shooting in Madras and on my mother's invitation flew into town to attend my birthday. Life became besieged with good luck, one miracle after another and can you imagine that the ‘Emperor Of Acting' for whom the world was his stage? Mr Dilip Kumar, who knew me since I was a little girl and consequently refused to work with me, but soon after meeting me at this House Warming Party, exclaimed, ‘You have grown up into a beautiful girl!'”
“The next couple of days he travelled on whirlwind flights from Madras to Bombay every other night and had dinner with me. On one of these magical evenings, he popped the question ‘Will you marry Me?'. Here came the realisation of a dream that I had nurtured ever since I was in my teens. We were happily married and I started my life from an admiring fan to a devoted wife. I got to see the different aspects and qualities of this great human being. He was unlike any person that I had ever met ---- a man who oozed a royal halo of understated elegance,” Saira Banu wrote, sharing how the legendary actor proposed to her.
The carousel also contains a relatively new image of the legendary Bollywood couple cutting a cake, presumably on one of Saira Banu's birthdays.
Here are some other treasured images of Dilip Kumar that Saira Banu has shared on social media.
Saira Banu and Dilip Kumar have worked together in several films including Sagina, Bairaag, and Gopi.