MUMBAI â In the hierarchy of stardom, a combination of talent, hard work, reinvention and luck decide how long actors survive in the industry. Most actors remain actors as much as is possible.
In the wake of Dilip Kumarâs exit, we look at the star innings of those who have lasted the longest on-screen in Hindi cinema. We do not include Chandrashekhar (1950-2021â72 active years) and P. Jairaj (1929-1995â67 active years), who must be mentioned with due and great honor, but were not stars, though they did essay lead roles in a few films each.
1. Dev Anand (1946-2012): 66 years
The eternal young man was just that. After starting out in âHum Naujawanâ in 1946, he also turned producer with âAfsarâ (1950), followed by his debut as a writer-director with âPrem Pujariâ (1970). Dev also tried his hand at speaking a few lines in a song in âMahalâ (1969), and sang a full-fledged number in âMr. Prime Ministerâ (2005) whe