While shooting for Azaad in Coimbatore in 1955, Dilip Kumar fortuitously met with an astrologer who made a freaky prediction which, the actor thought, would be a cold day in hell. After observing the actor's facial expressions and palm lines, the forecaster indubitably said that he would get married late in his forties, that too, to a charming woman half his age from the same profession.
Dilip Kumar might have pooh-poohed the astrologer’s prophecy as he had already made up his mind not to espouse somebody from cinema. But, of course, destiny had a different plan for him.
When Dilip Kumar tied the nuptial knot with Saira Banu, daughter of yesteryear actress Naseem Banu, on October 11, 1966, it sprang a surprise across the industry for two reasons: One, Dilip Kumar, who was 44 at that time, had already created an image of an unrelenting and highly eligible bachelor who would never settle down, and two, Saira Banu was 22 years younger than him.
The romance between the 'tragedy king' and the highly celebrated Bollywood diva had the exquisite charm of a fairy tale. Saira Banu herself had admitted that she was brewing up a storm in her mind about a strong crush for him since the age of 12, after watching his lovey-dovey roles on screen. “For me, it was no castle in the air because I had given my dream the strong foundation of faith—faith in myself and faith in God,” she later said about this in an interview.
When she ventured into acting after her studies in London in 1961, Dilip Kumar was reluctant to work with her as he thought she did not match his age and maturity. And, when Dilip Kumar sensed that Saira Banu’s inclination towards him was not just a puppy love, but that she had already fallen head over heels, he intentionally kept a distance.
However, it was for the same Saira Banu that Dilip Kumar flew down to Mumbai every other evening from Chennai where he was shooting Ram aur Shyam. His lassitude bloomed into romance after her birthday party in 1966, when the brocade sari-clad woman dismantled all his preconception about her and he realised that she was the one destiny had kept in store for him.
The age difference between Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu had made many, including some of their friends in the industry, think that their relationship would soon fall apart. However, at a time when real-time celebrity couples are known for brittle devotion to their partners, Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu remained the evergreen couple and stood by each other in their winters and summers.
They are a match made in heaven and their marriage survived all the ups and downs for over four decades. It has, of course, its share of controversies, especially when reports emerged of Dilip Kumar's alleged relationship with Asma, a Pakistani woman. However, that did not change anything between him and Saira Banu as she always stood by him, firmly convinced of his innocence.
Dilip Kumar later said in his memoir that their long relationship endured because they both had “no fuss, no bloated ego” personalities. Saira, too, has agreed to it. “Never once did he have a grudge or make a face; he always gracefully and lovingly sat by my side... I have always blessed him for his gesture of love with a peck on his great forehead and it has been a regular ritual between us for all these years,” she wrote.
Saira Banu continued with her career in films even after their marriage and played many celebrated roles for another decade. Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu co-acted in three films—Gopi (1970), Sagina (1970) and Bairag (1976).
