Saira Banu recalls Dilip Kumar’s final days: It was a festival for me when he would open his eyes after sleeping for long hours – Times of India

Saira Banu, who attended the inauguration ceremony of the festival, turned emotional looking at the huge posters of the late actor and her husband Dilip Kumar. Recalling the late actor’s final days, she said, “Aisa lagta hai mujhe ke karwat lekar so rahe hain mere paas. Aur jab unki beemar halat thi, pichle saalo mein (I feel he is still sleeping next to me with his face on the other side. When he was ill in the last few years), he used to sleep for long hours. And I would always naturally be by his side, the woman in love that I am with him still. Aur jab woh kabhi unki aankh kholte the (And when he would open his eyes), it was a festival for me, it was Eid for me.”

She added, “He would turn around, look at me with those beautiful penetrating eyes, the most beautiful smile and say ‘Saira, abhi tak yahan baithi ho (Saira, you are still sitting here).’ I would tell him, “Yes of course, abhi tak baithi hu aapke liye ki aapki aankh khule, aapke face pe, aapke jism pe koi harkat ho. Jab aap sote ho, yeh duniya bahut khamosh ho jaati hai, meaningless ho jaati hai mere liye. Lekin jab aap jaagte ho, iss duniya mein harkat aa jaati hai, log chalne-firne lagte hain (Yes, of course I am still sitting for you so I can watch you open your eyes, make a movement. When you are asleep, the world becomes meaningless for me. But when you wake up, the world awakens, people start moving again)’.”

Dilip Kumar, who was popularly known as the tragedy king of Bollywood, passed away in July 2021, at the age of 98.