Modi government may give Bharat Ratna to Dilip Kumar; buzz rife in power circles

MUMBAI: Speculation is rife in the corridors of power that the Modi government may select nonagenarian actor Dilip Kumar for the prestigious Bharat Ratna award for the current year, a move that will help BJP send out the right signals to the Muslim community.

If a high-ranking official is to be believed, routine information on 93-year-old Dilip Kumar is being gathered from different agencies. "It's a routine procedure. Information on leading personalities from different walks of life is gathered while conferring Padma awards and Bharat Ratna," he said.

In the event the Centre decides to confer the award on Dilip Kumar, the question will be if it will be possible for him to travel to New Delhi to receive the award in view of his health. When the Centre declared Bharat Ratna for former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee, President Pranab Mukherjee, in a major departure from tradition, went to Vajpayee's residence to present him the award.

Now, if the Centre takes a decision, the possibility of home minister Rajnath Singh presenting Kumar the award is not ruled out. "The Dadasaheb Phalke award was presented to film-star Shashi Kapoor in Mumbai recently. Similarly, Bharat Ratna too could be presented in Mumbai," the official said.

Pakistan-born Muhammed Yusuf Khan, popularly known as Dilip Kumar, debuted as an actor in the film Jwar Bhata in 1944. A former sheriff of Mumbai (1980), he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1991, Dadasaheb Phalke award for outstanding contribution to Indian cinema in 1994 and Padma Vibhushan in 2015.

A state bureaucrat said so far, there has been no communication from the Centre on the Bharat Ratna proposal. "In fact, there is no need to consult the state as the prerogative is that of the Centre. While selecting nominees for Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan, there is no practice of consulting the state. We found that names not recommended by the state government were on the list of recipients of Padma awards," he said.