Dilip Kumar stable; out of danger

Indian cinema’s most venerated actor Dilip Kumar had a health scare on Sunday evening when he complained of chest pain and was rushed to the Lilavati hospital. However on Monday morning he was stable and out of danger. Family-friend journalist Udaya Tara Nayar ruled out the rumour of a heart attack. “Yusuf Saab complained of chest pain on Sunday. And he also had high fever. Rather than risk any further health problem, Sairaji decided to take him to hospital where he is now in a stable condition.” Tara claims the actor’s hospitalization was more cautionary than anything else. “It’s Ganesh Mahotsav time and the family didn’t want to take any risks with Yusuf Saab’s health. God forbid, if there was a medical emergency and the traffic during the festivity would have made it impossible to reach the hospital. Yusuf Saab has had a heart surgery 14 years ago. No one wants to risk any untoward incident. He is much too precious to all of us,” Tara’s biography on Dilip Kumar is being readied for an October release. Says the journalist-author, “It’s not easy to pen down the life and career of an actor who has defined excellence for generations.” As news of the Thespian’s hospitalization spread in the film industry anxious inquiries about his health began to pour in from all quarters. The Big B Amitabh Bachchan who had the privilege of sharing screen space with Dilip Kumar Saab just once in Ramesh Sippy’s Shakti, recalls how radiant the 90-year old doyen of Bollywood looked during a recent a photo-shoot . During the photo-shoot held at Dilip Kumar’s bungalow the legendary actor complimented the Big B, “Look at what a long way you’ve come!” “Nothing compared with you, Yusuf Saab,” replied the Big B sincerely. The nation and specially the film fraternity pray for the Doyenne’s quick recovery.