Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu: An eternal love story

One of the most celebrated couples of Bollywood, Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu were married for 54 years and Banu remained Kumar's devoted companion till his last day.

Always by his side, through thick and thin, Banu served as an anchor to the thespian- especially in the last 10 years when his health started deteriorating. A love story that stood  the test of time, Banu's devotion, care and love for her husband over the years will remain inspirational for generations to come. Much like their love story- which many would argue- seems straight out of a Bollywood movie itself.

About her infatuation and attraction towards Dilip at a young age, Saira had once said in an interview, "I was not just another girl smitten by Dilip Kumar. 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 has often said in interviews that ever since she watched Dilip Kumar's Aan (1952), she wanted to be "Mrs Dilip Kumar".

An industry child herself, Saira had gone for the Mughal-E-Azam premiere just to catch a glimpse of Dilip Kumar but he could not make it to Maratha Mandir that evening in 1960. Talking about a later in-person meeting with him, Saira had said in an interview: "When he smiled at me and remarked that I was a pretty girl, I could feel my whole being taking wing and flying rapturously. I knew somewhere deep within me that I was going to be his wife." It was just six years later that the two got married in a close, family function.

Dilip has also recounted the moment he fell in love with her. "When I alighted from my car and entered the beautiful garden that leads to the house, I can still recall my eyes falling on Saira standing in the foyer of her new house looking breathtakingly beautiful in a brocade sari. I was taken aback, because she was no longer the young girl I consciously avoided working with because I thought she would look too young to be my heroine.She had indeed grown to full womanhood and was in reality more beautiful than I thought she was. I simply stepped forward and shook her hand and for us time stood still," he wrote in his memoir Dilip Kumar: The Substance and The Shadow.

After her acting debut with Shammi Kapoor in Junglee (1961), Saira was rumoured to be dating Rajendra Kumar and it was her mother Naseem Banu urged Dilip to talk Saira out of the relationship. Naseem Banu is also believed to have played cupid between Dilip and Saira.

In his memoir Dilip Kumar wrote about the bond he shares with Saira. Remembering a time when she was unwell, Dilip wrote, "(While on a Europe trip) I suddenly awoke to the feeling that Saira was not by my side. I hurriedly got up, looked everywhere possible and then darted to the bathroom. What I saw was a nightmare. She was lying unconscious, her body curled and quite still in a white nightgown, her long braid of hair cascading on the floor. By sheer providence, her head had not been injured. She had missed falling on the basin. As I quickly bent and carried her in my arms to the room, all I could utter was 'Ya Allah! Nothing must happen to you, nothing must happen now that I have found you.' Hurriedly, doctors were called and they pointed out that we had made the terrible mistake of shutting off fresh air by closing all windows and since there was a sigdi with burning coal in some part of the cabin, obviously, some of the coal was left unburnt and hence the dangerous presence of carbon monoxide everywhere inside the cabin. It could have been lethal."

It was in the early 2000s that a major health setback hit the actor and his family was caught unawares and unprepared. Imagine, waking up to a husband who doesn't remember who you are? Has no memory that you are his wife and behaves as clueless as someone who's met you for the first time in their life. And this after spending almost four decades with you under the same roof. It is a harsh truth that is neither easy to acknowledge or accept. That was a temporary disorientation that lasted a few minutes but triggered the family to get further medical investigations done. The reports showed that Dilip Kumar has Alzheimer's disease.

Saira was upset and shaken. But she didn't waste time on brooding over 'Why Me'. She knew she was now his memory. The former actress had always been a hands-on wife and she knew that that disease that had gripped her Yusuf Saab (as he fondly called him) needed her to be more alert and aware. She read up material on Alzheimer's and had lengthy discussions with the doctors to understand more about it. His ability to remember had weakened but he had Saira who was arming herself each passing day with ways to deal with this. Yes, she was going to be with him in this journey, throughout.

In 2014, Saira had said about Dilip, "I am still head over heels in love with my Kohinoor, Yousuf Sahab, the way I was when I first felt attracted to him as a 12 year-old. Ours has been as good and enduring a marriage as so many marriages that have survived the ups and downs for four decades. No marriage is perfect. How can it be, when as human beings we are not perfect? It is mutual love, respect and adoration that keep a marriage ticking."