Dalip Tahil is known for his roles in Baazigar, Raja, Hum hai rahi pyar ke, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, and more. He is one of the most versatile and underrated actors in Bollywood. Dalip has even worked in television and theatre. As an actor, Dalip mostly played the roles of father and villain in many Bollywood hits in the 80s and 90s. Interestingly, the actor was in his 30s when he began playing a father on-screen. In an interview with Cyrus Says, the actor opened up about making the bold choice.
Dalip Tahil played the role of Aamir's father in the film, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, directed by Mansoor Khan. It was the first film of Aamir Khan as a lead and became a massive success. However, Dalip didn't think twice before taking up the role of a father in his 30s. At that time, Aamir was around 20 years old and ten years younger than Dalip. However, age difference was why many actors backed out from playing the role. The actor was quoted as saying:
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"It was my first father role, and the film was a game changer for me. I am ten years older than Aamir. In fact, that was the reason why quite a few actors didn't take the role as they didn't want to do a father role. That's what Nasir Hussain sir had told me. I was in my early 30s at the time and didn't think about it twice, the role was fantastic and so I did it."
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When actors become famous for playing a particular role, they are often offered similar roles. Dalip was asked whether he was concerned about being stereotyped in the role of a father. Although being stereotyped as a father wasn't common then, he felt he might fall prey to it. He recalled the situation, saying:
"There was no question of fearing typecast because it was my first time. After that I got a lot of father roles and then I was worried about being typecast, because that is a problem with all actors. If something succeeds, everyone wants you to play the same thing all over again. But fortunately for me I managed to do other stuff."
Apart from Dalip, several other Bollywood actors have boldly chosen to play the role of a parent despite their young age. Anupam Kher was in his 20s when he debuted in the role of an aged father in the film, Saaransh who is dealing with the loss of his only son. Later, he played an on-screen father in many hits. Also, Sonali Kulkarni played the role of Salman Khan's mother in Bharat even though she was nine years younger than him. Recently, Charu Shankar, who played the role of Ranbir Kapoor's on-screen mother in Animal, was only one year older than him.
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Dalip Tahil began his acting career with his stage performances. Filmmaker, Shyam Benegal offered him his first feature film, Ankur in 1974. Dalip has been a part of many popular Hindi movies like Arth, Ram Lakhan, Darr, Judwaa, Ishq, Gupt, Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, and many more. He shall next be seen in the Amazon Prime Video series, The Family Man Season 3, co-starring stars Manoj Bajpayee and Priyamani.
What do you think about Dalip's decision to play the on-screen father of Aamir Khan in his early 30s? Let us know.
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