The Filmfare Struggle and Dilip Kumar’s Line: “I’ll Ask God Why He Didn’t Make Me as Handsome as Dharmendra”

By Sharad Rai

There was a time when the Filmfare Awards held unparalleled prestige in Bollywood. Unlike today—when award shows are countless and scattered—those days had one dominant ceremony, and there was a constant tug-of-war between commercial cinema and art cinema. Filmfare was often accused of favouring parallel cinema, leaving mainstream stars disappointed.

Among those mainstream icons was Dharmendra, who too yearned for this honour. Like many commercial film stars, he would dress up in a brand-new suit, attend the ceremony full of hope, and return home empty-handed.

A few years ago, I went to interview Dharmendra at a bungalow in Madh Island (Mumbai). He appeared somewhat serious that day—the Filmfare Awards were scheduled the same night. I asked, “Are you going?” Sensing his emotional vulnerability, I repeated the question gently.
He smiled faintly and replied, “No… not anymore. They’ve given me a Lifetime Achievement Award. I used to go every year, but they never gave me anything. And when they finally did, it was the Lifetime Award.”

Dharmendra’s Filmfare Win Led to Delayed Debut

Ironically, Dharmendra’s journey in cinema had begun through Filmfare’s All India New Talent Contest, which he had won. But even after winning, he wasn’t offered a film immediately. Eventually, Arjun Hingorani cast him in Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere for a salary of ₹51—and from there, his film journey began. He rose to fame as a romantic hero and then as an action star, working with almost every leading actress of the era.

Back then, Filmfare was the biggest award. Dharmendra believed he would be honoured for his performances—but fate had other plans. In 1966, he was nominated for Phool Aur Patthar (opposite Meena Kumari), but he didn’t win. “I had gone all dressed up,” Dharmendra once recalled.
Again, in 1971, he was nominated for Mera Gaon Mera Desh. This time too, he lost the Best Actor award—deepening his disappointment. The bias toward art cinema continued.

Before entering films, Dharmendra had been a huge fan of Dilip Kumar, staring at his posters and dreaming that one day his own posters would be up like that. Years later, Dharmendra became a star himself. Their birthdays fell just three days apart, and every year Dharmendra would visit Dilip Kumar on 11 December to wish his idol.

Then came 1997. The Filmfare Committee decided to honour Dharmendra with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The chief guests were Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu.

For Dharmendra, this was an overwhelmingly emotional moment. On stage, unable to hold back, he said: “I have done over a hundred films, yet I was never given a Best Actor award…” That’s when Dilip Kumar said something that was far greater than any award:

 “Whenever I meet God, I will ask Him just one thing — Why didn’t You make me as handsome as Dharmendra?” Hearing this from his lifelong idol meant more to Dharmendra than any trophy ever could. While narrating this, Dharmendra had turned emotional—he seemed to forget all his previous disappointments from Filmfare.

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Before this, he had already received the National Award in 1990 as the producer of Ghayal. Later, he received Lifetime Achievement honours from Zee Cine Awards (2005) and IIFA (2007). In 2012, he was conferred the Padma Bhushan, and he even served as a Member of Parliament from Bikaner, Rajasthan.

But the words spoken by Dilip Kumar remained the greatest honour of his life: “I’ll ask God why He didn’t make me as beautiful as Dharmendra.”

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