Yousuf Khan, known to the world as Dilip Kumar, was born on December 11, 1922, in Peshawar. He was the fifth child in a family of 13 children of Mohammad Sarwar Khan and his wife Ayesha Begum. Having a fair complexion, lustrous hair, expressive eyes and a sprightly nature, Yousuf was regarded as a very special child, and his grandmother rarely let him leave the house without smearing his forehead with kajal to ward off the evil-eye.
Mohammad Sarwar Khan was a fruit merchant by profession, and in search of better prospects, he and his family migrated from Peshawar, first to Deolali and then to Bombay. Yousuf received his basic primary education from Anjuman-e-Islam High School, Byculla, Bombay, and after matriculation, he attended Wilson College. Unfortunately, he soon had to drop out in order to help his father run his fruit business, which was facing a downward trend and barely supporting the family’s deteriorating budget.