Born as Muhammad Yusuf Khan on December 11 in the Qissa Khawani Bazaar neighbourhood of Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province of Undivided India. He was one of twelve children of fruit merchant Muhammad Sarwar Khan and Ayesha Begum. His family was acquainted with the Kapoors who lived in the same neighbourhood, and Yusuf as a young child became friends with Ranbir Raj Kapoor, who grew up to be the actor, Raj Kapoor. When was 9 years old, the family moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) as his father was worried about diminishing business prospects due to the impending World War II. Admitted to Anjuman-i-Islam School. Here he befriended Mohammad Umar Mukri (who later attained fame as a comic actor). At this time, he also became an avid reader and read books extensively at the school library and elsewhere. He also studied the British Constitution at school which came in handy later when he had to deliver a speech about superiority of the Indian nation at a club in the presence of British officers. The family had to temporarily move to Deolali because his elder brother Ayub had developed a respiratory disorder and Deolali was seen as an ideal location for his treatment and recovery. During this period, Yusuf was admitted to the Barnes School in Deolali. As Ayub's health improved, the family moved back to Bombay.

He attended Khalsa College, where he reconnected with his childhood friend Raj Kapoor. They often played soccer in college, and Raj took him to see his family in Matunga. He also studied briefly at Wilson College for about a year. Later, Yusuf ran away from home after a minor disagreement with his father and went to Poona (now Pune). He secures a job managing a sandwich and dry fruit stall at the British Army Club, earning his first independent income of Rs 5,000. When asked by an officer to deliver a speech at the club about India's position in World War II, Yusuf fell back on his school study of British Constitution to defend India's stand and make a case for its freedom. His comments were not taken well and he was arrested, spending the night in prison with a group of Gandhians. This experience shaped Yusuf's patrotism and worldview. A chance meeting with an old acquiantance at Churchgate station took him to the famous Bombay Talkies studioes and the office of Devika Rani, its star-owner. She offered him the job of an actor, a salaried employee of Bombay Talkies. Though he harboured no desire to join films, the salary was a substantial figure for him to turn her down. He accepted the job.

It was suggested that he adopt the screen name Dilip Kumar to have a secular appeal and a romantic image. With that name, he debuted in Amiya Chakraborty's Jwar Bhata (1944). Unlike most new actors, Dilip Kumar wasn't nervous at all. He was instructed to run as soon as director Amiya Chakraborty yelled "action!". Dilip wanted to know why he was running, and the director told him that he was to save the heroine from killing herself. But he ran so fast that the camera only captured a blur. The director asked him to run a little slower, which confused the new actor. How could he run slow while saving a woman who was about to die? Jwar Bhata took two years to make but when it was released in 1944, the film flopped commercially, and Dilip Kumar was panned by film critics across the board. Baburao Patel of Film India called this new hero "anemic", adding that "his acting effort amounts to nil".

Jwar Bhata was followed by Pratima, actor Paidi Jairaj's directorial debut. It received as lukewarm a response as Dilip Kumar's first outing. The critics had a field day. Dilip Kumar kept working on his craft, trying to hone it with each passing day. This included conversations with his directors and his mentors Sasadhar Mukherjee and Amiya Chakraborty. He watched a film every day, often watching them repeatedly to capture the details. His first box office success came in 1947 with Jugnu, a love story which became immensely popular amongst the youth. Despite the poor reviews and continued criticism of Dilip Kumar's acting, the film was a runaway hit. It pitted him against Noor Jehan, and with Mohammed Rafi, who appeared in the film as one of their classmates. The light, jovial tone of the film worked for youngsters but also ran into foul weather for its candid depiction of romance. Dilip Kumar's winning streak continued with Shaheed and Mela. In 1949, the multi-starrerAndaz pitted him with his old friend Raj Kapoor and with Nargis. A tragic romance, it had several firsts. It was the first and only film starring both Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar, the first major success featuring the iconic Raj-Nargis pair, and one of Lata Mangeshkar's early hits as a playback singer. Dilip Kumar's performance was lauded and contributed immensely to his stardom. The film was one of the biggest commercial successes of that era. Shabnam released in the same year was also a huge success. Just five years after his debut, Dilip Kumar was a recognisable star with a fan following of his own. A young man called Harikrishan Goswami, enamoured by Dilip's performance in Shabnam, decided to call himself Manoj Kumar, after Dilip's character in the film.

The 1950s saw Dilip Kumar rise to dizzying heights of superstardom. The decade began in right earnest with three big hits: Jogan, Babul and Arzoo (all 1950), followed by Deedar and Tarana (1951), which was his first collaboration with Madhubala. His performance in Daag (1952) won him the very first Filimfare Award for Best Actor. Around this time, Dilip Kumar was given the moniker "Tragedy King", an allusion to his intense and tragic parts. He was beginning to feel that his roles were taking a toll on him. On the advice of one Dr. W.D. Nichols, he decided to switch to comedy and more lighthearted roles. This brought about Aan (1952), a swashbuckling adventure film in technicolour. It became one of the highest-grossing Indian films of the year. The film had a lavish premiere in London, and was released internationally as The Savage Princess. It featured Dilip Kumar in sword-fights and comedy sequences, a far cry from the kind of roles he was seen in till then. Aan was a success both in India as well as overseas.

Despite his decision to stick to levity in his performances, some of the sombre and tragic roles Dilip Kumar had signed on for continued to appear, and were lapped up by audiences. Among them was Footpath (1953), which featured one of his most intense performances as a black marketeer overcome with guilt and remorse. The film featured one of his most iconic songs, Shaam-e-gham ki kasam, making Talad Mahmood his 'singing voice' for quite a while. In Amar, he plays yet another grey role of a rich lawyer who ends up molesting a poor woman. The apotheosis of Dilip Kumar's "tragedies" was Bimal Roy's Devdas (1955) in which he played the title role. Widely considered as one of his most accomplished performances and one of the best in Indian cinema, it is considered the definitive portrayal of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's eponymous creation. In his memoirs, Kumar emphasised the power of Rajinder Singh Bedi's dialogues that retained pathos and profundity while being simple enough for generations of Indians to recite. Much of the durablity of these lines could also be attributed to Dilip Kumar's matchless dialogue delivery which endeared them to millions of Indians. His portrayal, despite every reason to be theatrical, was instead marked by nuanced body language and the eloquence of silence. His performance in Azaad, which came out in the same year, was polar opposite. It was a costume drama with a generous amount of comedy and action, allowing Kumar to tap on to the more jovial aspects of his histrionics to pull off scenes that evoked laughter and mirth. Azaad and Devdas won him his second and third Filmfare awards respectively. Dilip Kumar's winning streak continued with Naya Daur (1957) and Madhumati (1958). While B.R. Chopra's Naya Daur was a compelling tale about the clash of tradition and modernity symbolised in the race between an automobile and a tonga, Bimal Roy's Madhumati was a timeless romance of reincarnated lovers. Both stand tall in Dilip Kumar's filmography, showcasing some of his most memorable roles.

The decade saw Dilip Kumar star in three of his most epic masterpieces: Mughal E Azam (1960), Gunga Jumna (1961) and Ram aur Shyam (1961). Mughal E Azam was K. Asif's magnum opus, a decade and a half in the making. Asif had conceived of it in the mid-1940s, basing it on a fictional play about the romance between Mughal emperor Akbar's son prince Salim and Anarkali, a court dancer. Initially, he had plans to cast D.K. Sapru as Salim but it had to be scrapped due to the demise of the actor who was playing Akbar, Chandramohan. When Asif revived the project, the role of Salim came to Dilip Kumar. He was pretty much on his own when it came to preparing for the role, as Asif told him precious little. Kumar sourced some books from his old school library and from other sources. He strove to create a screen persona that followed the descriptions he read in those books. Salim's gait, demeanour and mannerisms were largely derived from Kumar's own research. The film was a major commercial and artistic triumph, and continues to be popular, more than six decades after its release.

GungaJumna (1961) was produced, written (story & screenplay), and ghost-directed and edited by Dilip Kumar. It was during the shoot of Naya Daur that the idea of GungaJumna came to him. One of its objectives was to relaunch his brother Nasir Khan who was facing a downturn in his career. The film had Dilip Kumar play a villager who became a dacoit to fight against the injustices of the feudal landlord. Kumar was driven by the need to make a film about the plight of rural labourers and farmers whose lives hadn't improved even with the Independence of the country. The film required both Dilip and Vyjayanthimala to learn the dialect of Uttar Pradesh for their depiction to be authentic. The plot, which was about two brothers: one an outlaw and the other a police officer, inspired countless films over the years, including Deewaar (1975), and aspects of Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Trishul (1978), and several others. Ram aur Shyam (1967) was the remake of director Tapi Chanakya's earlier Telugu hit Ramudu Bheemudu (1964), about two twin brothers, one timid and the other brave. The contrast between the characters allowed Dilip Kumar immense scope for improvisation and creative fulfilment. In September 1966, Dilip Kumar married Saira Banu.

The 1970s began with two collaborations with his wife Saira Banu: a Bengali film called Sagina Mahato directed by Tapan Sinha, and Gopi. This followed a string of box office failures, including Dastaan, Sagina (remake of the Bengali film) and the ill-fated Bairaag, which he considered a better overall performance than Ram aur Shyam. He was now in his 50s, too old for playing a conventional hero. A new approach was necessary, which would present itself sometime later, in the 1980s. Dilip Kumar took a break from films. Around 1975, he successfully defended himself against unjust tax evasion allegations and penalties levied by the Income Tax Department, giving a 40-minute mesmerizing testimony before the Income Tax Tribunal.

In the year 1980, Dilip Kumar was appointed as the Sheriff of Bombay by the Government of Maharashtra. In 1981, he returned to the screen with Manoj Kumar's epic period action drama Kranti (1981). He played a revolutionary in a fight against the British rule. This was an era dominated by action films, and Dilip Kumar's new violent avatar was gladly accepted by audiences. This was followed by a string of action roles, but what was new was that in every such role, he was either playing his age or even older. In that respect, Dilip Kumar remains the only Hindi film star who had sustained success as an ageing action hero. And he always had big stars sharing screen space. In Ramesh Sippy's Shakti (1982), he was pitted against the reigning superstar Amitabh Bachchan, and in Subhash Ghai's Vidhaata (1982), he had the young Sanjay Dutt, and a fledgeling Anil Kapoor in Yash Chopra's Mashaal (1984). In Karma (1986), he had a whole bevy of young stars, including Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah. Shakti (1982) was a casting coup, but Ramesh Sippy managed to strike a balance between screen presence of the thespian and the dynamism of the angry young man. A whole generation had come and gone, and Dilip Kumar had to lock horns with the current superstar. He did it admirably, supported by the writers Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, both fans of the veteran actor. Starting from Vidhaata (1982), Subhash Ghai cast him in three films, including Karma (1986) and Saudagar (1991). In Saudagar, Ghai pitted him with Raaj Kumar, who Dilip had last worked with in Paigham (1959), more than three decades ago. Though both had formidable star personas and iniosyncracies, Ghai was able to play to their strengths and it showed in the film. In the same year, a film called Kalinga was announced with Dilip Kumar attached as director. The film had an ensemble cast but kept getting delayed due to several reasons. Eventually, after shooting quite a bit, the film had to be shelved. Dilip Kumar was conferred the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1991 and Dadasaheb Phalke in 1994. In 1998, Kumar made his final appearance in Umesh Mehra's Qila and hung up his boots.

He was nominated by the Indian National Congress to serve as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha representing Maharashtra in the year 2000, and he served there till 2006. In 2015, he was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan. On July 7, 2021, he passed away at the age of 98 at Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai after a prolonged illness. He was buried with state honours at the Juhu Muslim Cemetery