Famed Indian star Dilip Kumar left for his final abode aged 98, an official statement from his family confirmed on Wednesday. The actor was suffering from an age-related illness and breathed his last at the age of 98. Referred as ‘The First Khan‘, is credited for introducing method acting in the Indian cinema. He made his debut in Hindi cinema in 1944 with the film Jawar Bhata and went on to act in several genres such as romantic, social drama, dramatic, comical and periodic films.

Apart from his over 5 decades-long acting career, everyone knows about his tragic love story with Bollywood’s diva Madhubala. However, there are still some unknown facts that are not known by his fans. So here we are with some lesser-known facts that will help you in knowing the legendary actor Dilip Kumar:

• Not many know, Dilip left his Mumbai house when he was a teenager after an argument with his father. He resided in Pune for some time and set up a sandwich stall at the army club, and after saving about Rs 5000, Dilip returned to his house.
• He was the son of a fruit merchant who owned orchards in Deolali near Nashik and Peshawar, Pakistan.
• Before debuting as an actor, Dilip Kumar joined Bombay Talkies as a script-writer in 1942 as he had proficiency in the Urdu language. The actor was paid a hefty amount of Rs 1250 per month as his salary.
• Though the actor had given some major hits in the 1940s, he rose to fame after giving a string of hits Babul,’ ‘Devdas,’ ‘Hulchul,’ ‘Yahudi,’ ‘Daag,’ ‘Sairat,’ ‘Naya Daur,’ and ‘Deedar’.
• He was the first actor to win the first Filmfare Best Actor Award for his film Daag in 1954.
• Dilip Kumar holds the record for winning three consecutive Filmfare Best Actor Awards in 1955, 1956 and 1957. To date, no other actor has attained such feat in the history of Hindi cinema.
• Not many know that after acting in several tragedy movies, he got so involved that it took a toll on his mental health, giving him bouts of depression.
• His last phenomenal success at the box office was in 1991, Saudagar, co-starring veteran actor Raaj Kumar and helmed by veteran director Subhash Ghai.