Vyjayanthimala Recalls How Dilip Kumar Helped Her Out In Ganga Jumna; Says 'He Is In My Heart'

Late actor Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala worked together in several hit films like Madhumati, Devdas, Naya Daur, Ganga Jumna among others. In a recent interaction with an entertainment portal, Vyjayanthimala recounted how Kumar helped her out during Ganga Jumna.

The Leader actress said, "In Ganga Jumna, where I had to speak Bhojpuri - first of all a South Indian speaking good Hindi without the accent was something, and on top of that to speak Bhojpuri, but he was a great help. He helped me a lot to speak and even recorded dialogues for me. It was a wonderful character to play and I was greatly helped by Dilip Saab. I got an award also for that. He was very polite, gentlemanly, and very well behaved. He had no airs, and never threw his weight around."

Vyjayanthimala said that Dilip Kumar's wife Saira Banu also told her that she and the legendary star made the best as they made some quite successful movies.

Reacting to the news of the Mughal-E-Azam actor's demise, she continued, "It's heartbreaking news. (We have worked) very closely, and in quite a number of films - 8 films, that is quite a lot to work with one hero, and for him also one heroine he worked maximum with. We combined well, our films became good hits, and we became a good team. That's what Saira always says... she calls me Akka which means sister in Tamil.

She further added, "He (Dilip Kumar) is in my heart. People you really love, they just go away, but they are always with you in your heart."

Meanwhile, Vyjayanthimala's son Suchindra Bali said that they had always been in touch with Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu and continued, "Whenever we visit Mumbai, we have always called on them. Even last month when he was admitted, we had constantly been in touch on WhatsApp, and that's always been there."

Earlier while speaking to ANI, the actress had opened up about Kumar's deteriorating health in the last few years and recalled an instance when he was unable to recognise her at first. It was when he was reminded of her character from Ganga Jumna, that he immediately flickered his eyes and opened them, when he heard that name.