What made Raj Kapoor tell Dilip Kumar 'will come to you crawling on my knees'

December 14 marks the birth anniversary of legendary film personality Raj Kapoor, affectionately called ‘The Showman of Indian Cinema.’ Born on December 14, 1924, Raj Kapoor made his directorial debut in 1948 with the film Aag and changed the face of Hindi Cinema in the years to come with films like Awara, Shree 420, Sangam and Bobby. Raj Kapoor was accompanied by two other legendary actors in this transformative phase - Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand.

Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar shared love akin to siblings: Saira Banu

Earlier today, Dilip Kumar’s wife Saira Banu took to her social media page paying a tribute to Kapoor and reminiscing Dilip Kumar’s bond with the filmmaker. Banu penned in her note, “Describing the bond between Dilip Sahib and Raj Ji as mere friendship would be an understatement; they shared a love akin to that of siblings. They sought solace in each other's company, exchanging secrets that remained unknown even to their own family members. Raj Ji and Sahib were there for each other until the very end.”

In her note, Banu also mentioned how Raj Kapoor would often ask Dilip Kumar to get married, often telling him, “Jis Din Tu Shaadi Karega, Ghutne Ke Bal Chal Ke Aaunga Tere Paas” (The day you will get married, I will come to you crawling on my knees).

Dilip Kumar flew back to India to meet Kapoor after his cardiac arrest

Recalling the final days of Raj Kapoor in 1988 after he had had a cardiac arrest, Banu mentioned how Dilip Kumar was out of the country for a felicitation at the time, and immediately flew back to Delhi upon hearing the news about Raj Kapoor and rushed to Apollo Hospital to meet him, making light-hearted remarks, giving him incentives of getting well soon. Banu added how Dilip Kumar went near him and said, “"Raj, wake up! I brought the 'Khushboo' of Chapli Kebabs. Let's stroll through the bazaar as we used to, relishing Kebabs and Rotis. Stop acting; take me to the courtyard in Peshawar." Banu concluded her note with the words, “Remembering Raj Ji on his Birth Anniversary with a lot of love and affection.”

Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar worked together only once - for the 1949 film Andaz directed by Mehboob Khan. Although Andaz was a massive hit, Kumar and Kapoor kept their friendship purely personal and never collaborated on a professional project again.